Uludağ Üniversitesi İlahiyat Fakültesi Dergisi, cilt.29, sa.1, ss.45-80, 2020 (Hakemli Dergi)
Generating multiple publications from one research study is an occurrence often
encountered in academic writing, especially in research areas that conduct field studies.
Grey areas between producing more than one publication from a single piece of research and
salami-slicing, which is considered as an ethical problem, may sometimes cause researchers
to be exposed to ethical violation accusations or even to undergo administrative
investigations. There is very little detailed information about salami-slicing even though it is
considered as an act contrary to research and publication ethics. The same is true for
generating more than one publication from a single piece of research. This article examines
the nature, scope, and limits of salami-slicing, and aims to contribute to the understanding of
salami-slicing by criticizing various approaches and arguments. In this context, the article
seeks answers to the following questions: Is salami-slicing a kind of duplication or a type of
self-plagiarism / auto-plagiarism? Is it necessary to publish the results of a research study as
a single article? What does research integrity mean, and what are the things that disrupt integrity? What are the appropriate and inappropriate forms of dividing a single research
result into pieces or of generating more from one publication? The article first creates a
conceptual framework for what salami-slicing is and is not after reviewing the definitions in
the official legislation and relevant literature, and then, examines the reasons that make
salami-slicing unethical, and finally, expresses opinions on what the scholarly journal editors
and research institutions should do to avoid the problem of salami-slicing