Q: If I develop and submit two papers for (from) a questionnaire survey, would it be considered salami slicing?

Often, authors write papers on different aspects of one large research study. This is because it might be difficult to simultaneously publish all the data from, for instance, large clinical trials or epidemiological studies. Segmenting the results from the same dataset into different manuscripts might be considered salami slicing, but the acceptability would vary on a case-to-case basis. If the “slices” of the study address different and distinct questions or have a distinct methodology or populations being studied, publishing separate papers is considered acceptable.

In your case, it appears that the dataset is the same, but you are addressing different questions: in one paper, you are dealing with quantitative aspects, and in the other, qualitative aspects. It is difficult to conclusively state if this would be acceptable or not without seeing the actual papers. Further, you haven’t mentioned whether you have already submitted one of the papers to a journal or whether you intend to submit the split papers together to the same journal. Accordingly, we would urge you to ensure the following:

• Openly declare paper A is part of a larger study and related to the same data in paper B.
• Specify the hypothesis being tested in each paper.
• Cite the companion study in the text and/or include a copy of the related paper when submitting it to the journal editor.

Hope that helps. For more insights, you may refer to these similar queries by other researchers:

• If the dataset and method for two papers are the same but the result is different, would they be considered a case of salami slicing?
• Will using the same sample group in two publications be considered as salami publication?