Manuscript Overlap (before publication)

Dear [CORRESPONDING AUTHOR]:

Your submitted manuscript appears to contain substantial overlap with the manuscript ________, submitted to/published by journal ______ (give full citation for published paper; for unpublished papers attach paper only if the other journal has specifically agreed and the authors on both papers are the same or overlapping).

(If necessary elaborate here – e.g., same figures/overlap of text.)

Republishing previously published material without proper attribution in an original research article is not an acceptable practice. In more serious departures from scientific standards we may contact institutional officers and granting agencies. At this point, it is unclear whether the overlap reaches that level of concern. Our journal does, however, require an explanation from you and your co-authors. Until we have heard from you, we cannot proceed further with the review/publication of your paper. If no satisfactory answer is provided, we must withdraw the paper from consideration.

All authors are responsible for the originality of the data presented for publication. We require that all authors take responsibility for a manuscript, so I ask you to share this communication with your co-authors.

We would appreciate a reply by [DATE].

Sincerely,