Writing an article for a student publication

[modnarandom]

Is there is a problem in writing an expository article in a college science magazine run by a student group on a topic similar to research that I did over the summer? I thought it was very interesting and included some material from articles which I looked at then. The main reason why I'm concerned is that I have some results from research over the summer which I submitted for publication. The expository article doesn't contain any of the original work which I did, but discusses a topic which is very closely related to what I worked on. Thoughts? The editors said it was fine, but I just want to make sure.

 

[Choppy]

If I understand what you're saying, I think it's perfectly fine.

In my field, for example there's a weekly publication called Medical Physics Web that posts reviews of recently published work, usually with a brief interview of one of the lead authors, and some of the figures from the papers.
http://medicalphysicsweb.org/

E-zines like Science Daily do this on a larger scale for publications that come out of some of the bigger journals like Nature.

In these cases though, the "popular" articles come out after the journal articles and cite the reference, the idea generally being that the popular articles will draw attention to the journal.

I might be a little careful about including figures that are part of your journal submission. There may be copyright issues with those.

But if you're writing an article for a student rag that basically says "I got a position working in X lab, studied how Y relates to Z and had a great time discovering a constant of proportionality of K," then you don't have anything to worry about.

Unless of course, X lab made you sign a non-disclosure agreement and k is considered proprietary information.

 

[modnarandom]

Phew! That's good. It's a student-run publication and I'm not using any figures from my journal submission. The only remaining problem is that I just wrote an expository article but didn't mention that it was related to summer work (had references though).

 

[tia89]

The editors said it was fine, but I just want to make sure.

If so, where is the problem?? They told you it is ok...

 

[Matrix0]

I understand your concern about writing an expository article on a topic similar to your summer research for a student-run science magazine. It is important to consider the potential overlap between your article and your published research, as well as any limitations or restrictions set by the publication.

Firstly, it is important to ensure that your expository article does not contain any of the original work from your published research. This could potentially lead to issues with plagiarism or self-plagiarism, which can have serious consequences for your academic and professional reputation. It is always best to err on the side of caution and avoid any overlap between your published work and other written materials.

However, if your expository article simply discusses a topic that is closely related to your research, without using any of the same data or findings, then it should not be a problem to publish both pieces. In fact, it can be beneficial to have multiple publications on a similar topic, as it shows your expertise and interest in the subject.

I would also suggest discussing your concerns with the editors of the student publication. They have already given you the green light to publish your expository article, but it is always a good idea to communicate openly and ensure that everyone is on the same page. They may also have specific guidelines or policies in place for publishing articles on topics that are similar to previous research.

In the end, as long as your expository article does not contain any of your original research and is not in direct competition with your published work, it should be acceptable to publish both pieces. It is important to be transparent and ethical in all aspects of scientific communication, and I have no doubt that you will handle this situation with integrity. Best of luck with your publication!