Open Access Policy
The Animal Environment Journal is committed to the principles of open access, believing that free and unrestricted access to research benefits the academic community, practitioners, policymakers, and the public at large. The journal’s open-access policy ensures that all articles are freely available online immediately upon publication, without any financial or technical barriers.
Rationale for Open Access:
- Promotion of Knowledge Sharing: Open access allows for the immediate and widespread dissemination of research findings, which can accelerate the pace of scientific discovery and innovation. By making research freely available, the journal facilitates the exchange of ideas and knowledge across disciplines and geographic boundaries.
- Increased Visibility and Impact: Research published in open-access journals typically receives more citations and is more widely read than research published in subscription-based journals. This increased visibility can enhance the impact of the research and contribute to the advancement of the field.
- Equity and Inclusivity: Open access ensures that research is accessible to everyone, regardless of their location or financial resources. This is particularly important for researchers, practitioners, and policymakers in developing countries who may not have access to subscription-based journals.
Open Access Licensing:
- Creative Commons Licensing: The Animal Environment Journal operates under a Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license. This license allows others to use, share, adapt, and build upon the work, provided that proper credit is given to the original authors. The CC BY license is the most permissive of the Creative Commons licenses, encouraging maximum dissemination and use of the research.
- Author Rights: Authors retain the copyright of their work and grant the journal a non-exclusive license to publish and distribute the article. This allows authors to use and share their work in any way they choose, including posting it on personal or institutional websites, sharing it on social media, and using it for teaching and research purposes.
- Attribution Requirement: When using or sharing published articles, users must provide appropriate credit to the authors, include a link to the original publication, and indicate if any changes were made. This ensures that authors receive recognition for their work while allowing others to use the research for further study and application.
Benefits of Open Access:
- Global Reach: Open access ensures that research is available to a global audience, including researchers, practitioners, policymakers, and the general public. This can lead to greater collaboration, the application of research findings in real-world contexts, and the development of new ideas and innovations.
- Timely Access: Research published in open-access journals is available immediately upon publication, without the delays associated with traditional subscription-based models. This timely access is particularly important for fast-moving fields where new discoveries can have immediate implications.
- Public Engagement: Open access allows the public to engage with scientific research, increasing understanding and awareness of important issues. This can lead to more informed public discussions and better decision-making at all levels of society.
Article Processing Charges (APCs)
- Commitment to Accessibility: The Animal Environment Journal does not charge authors any fees for submission, peer review, or publication. The journal is committed to ensuring that financial barriers do not prevent researchers from sharing their work. This no-APC policy supports equity in publishing and ensures that all researchers, regardless of their financial resources, can publish in the journal.
- Sustainable Business Model: The journal’s open-access policy is supported by a sustainable business model that does not rely on author fees. Instead, the journal is funded through a combination of institutional support, sponsorship, and partnerships with academic and research organizations. This model ensures that the journal can maintain its commitment to open access while covering the costs of publication.
- Transparency in Publishing: The journal is committed to transparency in its publishing practices, including the disclosure of its funding sources and the costs associated with publication. This transparency ensures that the journal operates in an ethical and responsible manner, with the interests of the academic community and the public in mind.
Long-Term Preservation and Access:
- Digital Archiving: The Animal Environment Journal is committed to the long-term preservation of its published content. The journal partners with digital archiving services and institutional repositories to ensure that all articles are preserved and remain accessible for future generations. This includes the use of platforms such as LOCKSS (Lots of Copies Keep Stuff Safe) and CLOCKSS (Controlled Lots of Copies Keep Stuff Safe) for digital preservation.
- Metadata and Indexing: The journal ensures that all published articles are indexed in major academic databases and search engines, making them easily discoverable by researchers and the public. This includes indexing in databases such as PubMed, Scopus, Web of Science, and Google Scholar. The journal also provides rich metadata for each article, including keywords, abstracts, and author information, to enhance discoverability.
- Interoperability and Open Standards: The journal adheres to open standards for publishing, ensuring that its content is compatible with various digital platforms and repositories. This includes the use of the Open Archives Initiative Protocol for Metadata Harvesting (OAI-PMH) and the Digital Object Identifier (DOI) system for persistent and unique identification of articles.
Engagement with the Open Access Community:
- Collaboration with Open Access Initiatives: The Animal Environment Journal actively participates in and supports global open access initiatives, including the Directory of Open Access Journals (DOAJ), the Open Access Scholarly Publishers Association (OASPA), and the Budapest Open Access Initiative (BOAI). The journal collaborates with these organizations to promote best practices in open access publishing and to advocate for the benefits of open access to the global academic community.
- Support for Open Science: The journal is committed to supporting the principles of open science, which include open access to research data, open peer review, and open collaboration. The journal encourages authors to share their research data and methodologies openly, in line with the principles of transparency, reproducibility, and collaboration.
- Advocacy for Open Access: The Animal Environment Journal advocates for open access within the academic community and beyond. This includes raising awareness about the benefits of open access, supporting policies that promote open access, and encouraging researchers, institutions, and funding bodies to embrace open access practices.
Future Directions for Open Access:
- Innovation in Open Access Publishing: The journal is committed to exploring new and innovative approaches to open access publishing. This includes experimenting with new models of peer review, such as open peer review, and exploring the potential of new technologies, such as blockchain, to enhance transparency and trust in the publishing process.
- Expansion of Open Access Partnerships: The journal seeks to expand its partnerships with academic institutions, research organizations, and other stakeholders to support its open-access mission. This includes building new collaborations to provide financial support for the journal and to promote open access more broadly.
- Continuous Improvement: The journal is dedicated to continuously improving its open-access policies and practices. This includes regularly reviewing and updating its policies to reflect the latest developments in open access and to ensure that the journal remains at the forefront of the open-access movement.
The Animal Environment Journal is committed to promoting open access as a means of advancing knowledge, fostering collaboration, and ensuring that research is accessible to all. By adhering to the principles of open access, the journal contributes to the democratization of knowledge and the acceleration of scientific discovery.