Examples
Worked examples
- Is an instance
A single 200-participant cohort study published as four papers (one per outcome variable), none of which cross-reference the others.
Counter-examples
Looks similar, but isn't
- Not an instance
A baseline-cohort descriptive paper followed by an intervention-trial paper using the same recruitment infrastructure, with each paper citing the other.
Editorial commentary
Salami publication degrades the literature by fragmenting results, biasing meta-analyses (when the same sample appears in several papers without cross-reference), and inflating individual publication metrics. It is distinct from legitimate companion papers that address genuinely separable questions. Editors increasingly require declarations of overlapping samples or shared datasets at submission.
References
- COPE Discussion Document: Salami Publication (2020)
- ICMJE Recommendations (current edition)
Also known as
salami publication · least publishable unit · LPU
Machine-readable encodings
Use in your systems
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vocab-term="Salami slicing"
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