A troubling case of attempted duplicate publication has come to light, prompting swift action by the editorial team. A paper submitted to our journal was flagged by a reviewer for containing identical data tables to those recently published by the same authors in another journal. Despite the authors' silence in response to inquiries regarding this discrepancy, subsequent investigations revealed further instances of potential misconduct.
Upon closer examination, it was discovered that two papers by the same authors shared approximately 90% of their data, with significant textual similarities and identical references. The authors were contacted repeatedly, with only the first author acknowledging the issue, attributing it to an unintended mistake and promising future compliance.
In collaboration with the editors of the other journal involved, it was determined that both papers should be retracted due to improper submission. Furthermore, the authors have been barred from submitting to our journal for the next three years, and their Faculty Dean has been notified of these sanctions and the underlying reasons.
This case underscores the importance of upholding ethical standards in academic publishing. The retraction notice will be published to transparently communicate the reasons behind this action and to reaffirm our commitment to maintaining the integrity of scholarly discourse.