Q: If the same table is used in two different manuscripts based on the same data, would it be a case of self-plagiarism?

Technically, this wouldn’t be self-plagiarism, because self-plagiarism involves copying from your own previous published paper. As both the papers are yet to be submitted, the question of self-plagiarizing doesn’t arise.

However, the question that does arise is that of salami slicing, presenting a bigger study as multiple smaller studies to increase the number of published articles and to possibly increase the number of citations. You will need to pull back and see whether you should submit only one big paper. You need to determine if the research question is the same or different for the two papers. Also, you need to assess how different the outcome is between the two papers.

Maybe you submit only one paper now, then add to the knowledge, information, and experiments for the second paper, and present it as an addendum to the first paper. In which case, if you are still using the same table then, you can do so, but you will need to cite it from the first published paper.

In case you are planning to present both papers to the same journal, you may also discuss the matter with the editor through a presubmission inquiry.

For more insights into scenarios such as these, you may refer to the following similar queries by other researchers:

• Is it self-plagiarism if I use an image from one of my previous papers?
• Can I use data and methods from my previously published paper if I cite the source?
• Will my paper be considered a case of self-plagiarism or salami slicing?

Hope that helps. And all the best for deciding how to proceed.