Any previously unrecognized and unusual hazards identified in an investigation should be clearly noted in a manuscript in which that work is reported. Authors are responsible to be aware of, and adhere to, all laws, treaties, and regulations currently applying to their work. This includes the review and approval of the research protocol by an institutional animal care and use committee, where applicable, and the acquisition of all appropriate permits. Fragmentation of research reports should be avoided. A scientist who has done extensive work on a system or group of related systems should organize the publications so that each report gives a well-rounded account of a particular aspect of the general study.
Fragmentation excessively consumes journal space and unduly complicates literature searches.
The convenience of readers is served if reports on related studies are published in the same journal, or in a small number of journals. Research findings should not be presented as original material in more than one scientific publication. It is inappropriate for an author to submit manuscripts describing essentially the same research to more than one journal, except for the resubmission of a manuscript rejected by, or withdrawn from, another journal. In submitting a manuscript for publication, an author should inform the editor of related manuscripts that the author has under editorial consideration or in press. The relationships of such manuscripts to the one submitted should be clarified, and copies of the related manuscripts should be included with the manuscript submission.