(so that a competent worker could repeat the experiments), and previous speculation has matured into conclusions.
Therefore, the vast conference literature that appears in print normally is not primary. If original data are presented in such contributions, the data can and should be published (or republished) in an archival (primary) journal. Otherwise, the information may effectively be lost. If publication in a primary journal follows publication in a conference report, there may be copyright and permission problems (see Chapter 31), but the more fundamental problem of dual publication (duplicate publication of original data) normally does not and should not arise.
Meeting abstracts, like conference proceedings, are of several types. Conceptually, however, they are similar to conference reports in that they can and often do contain original information. They are not primary publications, nor should publication of an abstract be considered a bar to later publication of the full report.
In the past, there has been little confusion regarding the typical one-paragraph abstracts published as part of the program or distributed along with the program of a national meeting or international congress. It was usually understood that the papers presented at these meetings would later be submitted for publication in primary journals. More recently, however, there has been a trend towards extended abstracts (or "synoptics"). Because publishing all of the full papers presented at a large meeting, such as a major international congress, is very expensive, and because such publication is still not a substitute for the valid publication offered by the primary journal, the movement to extended abstracts makes a great deal of sense. The extended abstract can supply virtually as much information as a full paper; all that it lacks is the experimental detail. However, precisely because it lacks experimental detail, it cannot qualify as a scientific paper.
Those involved with publishing these materials should see the importance of careful definition of the different types of papers. More and more publishers, conference organizers, and individual scientists are beginning to agree on these basic definitions, and their general acceptance will greatly clarify both primary and secondary communication of scientific information.
