Q: Can I submit an article to a journal based on my dissertation?
Hello, I am thinking about publishing a journal article based on my dissertation after revising it. My dissertation was electronically published in 2016 and it can be found on Google. Also, my dissertation was cited once in one of my journal articles. Is it still possible to submit an article a large part of which is based on my dissertation? I will add another statistical analysis and discussion. However, I am concerned about any potential ethical issue such as self-plagiarism.
Publishing a dissertation is different from publishing an article in a journal and it is acceptable to convert a part of your dissertation into a journal article. However, I would recommend that you explain this in your cover letter to the journal editor and ensure that you cite the source (electronic publication of your dissertation) in the manuscript as well.
Regarding your concern about self-plagiarism, the plagiarism detection software used at the journal end will inevitably pick up sentences that are identical to your published dissertation. Therefore, make sure that you paraphrase or rewrite the content so as to avoid self-plagiarism.
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This content belongs to the Conducting Research Stage