Open Access Policy

Gold Open Access:

• Immediate free access to published articles upon publication.
• Articles published under Creative Commons licenses.
• No subscription barriers for readers worldwide.
• Author retains copyright with broad reuse rights.
• Article Processing Charges (APCs) apply for publication.

Green Open Access:

• Authors may deposit accepted manuscripts in institutional repositories.
• Self-archiving permitted after 12-month embargo period.
• Preprint versions may be shared immediately.
• Repository deposit encouraged for maximum visibility.
• No additional fees for self-archiving rights.

Hybrid Open Access:

• Individual articles made open access in subscription journals.
• Authors choose open access option during submission.
• Reduced APCs compared to full gold open access.
• Immediate global accessibility upon publication.
• Compatible with funder mandates and institutional policies.

Available License Types:

License Selection Guidelines:

• CC BY 4.0 recommended for maximum impact and compliance.
• Consider funder requirements when selecting licenses.
• Institutional policies may specify preferred license types.
• Authors retain the right to choose appropriate licensing.

Institutional Repositories:

• Authors encouraged to deposit in institutional repositories.
• Accepted manuscript versions permitted after embargo period.
• Repository metadata should include proper citation information.
• Link to published version should be provided when available.
• Compliance with institutional mandates supported.

Subject Repositories:

• Discipline-specific repositories supported (e.g., PubMed Central, arXiv).
• Automatic deposit arrangements available for qualifying repositories.
• Metadata sharing with major indexing services.
• DOI registration ensures permanent accessibility.

Preprint Policies:

• Preprint sharing encouraged before and during peer review.
• No restrictions on preprint server selection.
• Preprints do not preclude consideration for publication.
• Authors should update preprints with publication information.

Article Processing Charges (APCs):

Fee Waiver Programs:

• Low-Income Countries: 100% fee waiver for authors from World Bank low-income countries.
• Lower-Middle-Income Countries: 50% fee reduction available.
• Student Authors: 25% discount for graduate student first authors.
• Institutional Memberships: Reduced rates for member institutions.
• Hardship Cases: Individual waivers considered on case-by-case basis.

Funder Compliance:

• Full compliance with major funder open access mandates.
• Automatic compliance reporting for supported funders.
• Plan S compliant publication options available.
• NIH Public Access Policy compliance through PubMed Central.
• European Commission Horizon Europe requirements met.

Institutional Policies:

• Support for university open access mandates.
• Flexible licensing options to meet institutional requirements.
• Repository deposit facilitation services.
• Compliance reporting and documentation provided.

Rights Retained:

• Copyright ownership remains with authors.
• Right to reuse content in future works.
• Permission to share and distribute openly.
• Right to deposit in repositories of choice.
• Commercial reuse rights under appropriate licenses.

Author Responsibilities:

• Ensure proper attribution in all uses.
• Comply with chosen Creative Commons license terms.
• Acknowledge funding sources and mandates.
• Maintain accurate contact information for correspondence.
• Update repository deposits with final publication details.