Can I publish an article after my congress abstract?
Last updated:
Authors often worry that presenting at a congress, or having an abstract printed in a congress book, uses up their right to publish a full article. In general it does not, but two things matter: telling the editor, and checking who holds the copyright to the abstract text.
Abstracts and prior publication
The ICMJE Recommendations say that a preliminary report such as an abstract, a letter or a poster does not prevent a journal from later considering a full report. They add that papers presented at a meeting but not published in full, or submitted to conference proceedings, may also be considered. WAME's recommendations agree: presenting an abstract at a meeting does not bar later submission, but the presentation should be disclosed.
Publishers write their own policies. Elsevier's publishing ethics page, for example, treats a paper published "in the form of an abstract", a published lecture or academic thesis, and an electronic preprint as exceptions to its rule against submitting work that has already been published. The page does not say how it treats conference abstracts in detail, so authors should read the specific journal's instructions rather than assume.
What is not allowed is duplication. The ICMJE describes duplicate publication as republishing a paper that substantially overlaps a published one without clear reference to it. Submitting the same manuscript to several journals at once is described by Elsevier as unethical and unacceptable. A full article that adds methods, complete data and discussion to an earlier short abstract is a different thing, as long as the earlier version is disclosed.
Also consider the ICMJE's remark that wide dissemination outside scientific presentations, for example broad press coverage with data tables or figures, may lower the priority that editors give a paper. Keep your press contact brief and stay with the meeting's own format.
Abstract books and copyright
Who owns the copyright of a congress abstract depends on the terms of the individual congress, so check the facts for your own case:
- Read the submission terms or consent form you accepted when you sent the abstract. They say whether the organisers or society took any rights, or whether you kept copyright and only gave a licence to print it.
- If the abstract book was published as a journal supplement, find out whether the supplement is indexed or peer reviewed and which licence applies.
- If you reuse figures or tables from the abstract, ask the organisers or publisher for permission where they hold the rights.
- When in doubt, write to the congress secretariat and keep their answer with your records.
Also look at how much text you will reuse. COPE's guidance on text recycling asks authors to cite earlier publications and be open about overlap, and to reword text that is not a methods description. Do not copy the abstract paragraph by paragraph into the article without saying so.
What to write in the cover letter
The ICMJE says authors should state any substantial overlap with published, submitted or accepted work in the submission letter and provide copies. It also asks authors to state whether the work has been posted on a preprint server and to give the link. A short, factual paragraph is enough. Fill in the placeholders; do not send it with brackets left in.
An abstract of this work was presented as a [poster / oral presentation] at [name of congress], [city], [date], and printed in [name of abstract book or supplement, with link or DOI if available]. The abstract reported preliminary results only. The present manuscript includes the full methods, the complete data set (n = [number]) and a discussion that were not part of the abstract. A copy of the abstract is attached. The work has not been published elsewhere and is not under consideration by another journal.
Add to the letter any related material: a thesis, a preprint, or any other paper from the same data set. Then mention the presentation in the manuscript itself if the journal's instructions ask for it.