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One manuscript, two journals: Simultaneous submissions and ethical implications in OTSR (2019-2025)
Patrick Haubruck1, Timo A Nees2, Philippe Clavert3
1Raymond Purves Bone and Joint Research Laboratories, Kolling Institute of Medical Research, Institute of Bone and Joint Research, University of Sydney, St Leonards, New South Wales, 2065, Australia; Dept. of General Practice and Health Services Research, Heidelberg University, D-69120, Heidelberg, Germany.
Orthopaedics & Traumatology, Surgery & Research : OTSR
|July 16, 2026
Summary
Simultaneous manuscript submissions are increasing globally, but this practice is largely ineffective. It often leads to publication delays, lower impact, or outright rejection, posing ethical risks to authors.
Area of Science:
- Medical Ethics
- Scholarly Publishing
- Bibliometrics
Background:
- Simultaneous submission of manuscripts to multiple journals violates publication ethics and peer-review integrity.
- Limited data exists on the trends, geographic distribution, and outcomes of simultaneous submissions.
- This study investigates the temporal, geographic, and outcome-related aspects of simultaneous submissions.
Purpose of the Study:
- To determine if the frequency of simultaneous submissions has increased over time.
- To assess the geographic distribution of this practice.
- To analyze the publication outcomes and metrics associated with simultaneous submissions.
Main Methods:
- A retrospective bibliometric study analyzed manuscripts submitted to Orthopaedics & Traumatology: Surgery & Research (OTSR) from 2019 to 2025.
- Sixty simultaneous submissions were identified using editorial management and similarity screening tools.
- Data included submission year, country, publication status, time to publication, journal impact factor, and open access status; temporal trends were analyzed using linear regression.
Main Results:
- A significant upward trend in simultaneous submissions was observed, increasing from 3 in 2019 to 22 in 2025.
- The practice is globally distributed but heterogeneous, with no clear regional pattern in incidence rates.
- 36.7% of manuscripts were not published, and published articles often faced delays, appeared in lower-impact journals, or were accepted elsewhere, not at the initial target.
Conclusions:
- Simultaneous submission is an increasing, global phenomenon driven by publishing pressures, yet it is largely ineffective.
- This strategy frequently results in delayed or failed publications and exposes authors to ethical risks.
- Enhanced publisher collaboration and adherence to ethical guidelines are crucial to curb this practice.
Keywords:
Geographic distributionJournal metrics (impact factor/open access status/article processing charge)Peer-review integrity (reviewer workload/cross-publisher detection/inter-journal communication)Publication outcomes (desk rejection/unpublished manuscripts/time to publication)Simultaneous submission (dual submission/COPE violation/fraudulent behaviour)Temporal trend
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