Open Access, Licensing, Copyright, and Archiving Policy

The Journal of Social Sciences and Educational Practices (JSSEP) is firmly committed to the principles of open science, ethical publishing, and global knowledge dissemination. The journal’s policies on open access, licensing, copyright, and archiving are designed to promote transparency, accessibility, and long-term scholarly impact while safeguarding authors’ intellectual rights.

1. Open Access Policy

JSSEP operates as a fully open-access journal, ensuring that all published content is freely and permanently accessible to readers worldwide immediately upon publication. The journal does not impose any subscription fees, access charges, or embargo periods for users or institutions.

Under this policy:

1. Readers may read, download, copy, distribute, print, search, or link to the full texts of published articles without restriction.
2. Articles may be used for research, teaching, policy development, and other lawful scholarly purposes without requiring prior permission from the publisher or authors.
3. Open access enhances the visibility, citation potential, and societal impact of research published in JSSEP, particularly for scholars, practitioners, and policymakers in low- and middle-income contexts.

2. Creative Commons Licensing

All articles published in JSSEP are distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (CC BY 4.0).

This license permits:

1. Sharing: Copying and redistributing the material in any medium or format
2. Adapting: Remixing, transforming, and building upon the material
3. Reuse for any purpose, including educational, research, and academic-commercial use

The only requirement is that users:

1. Give appropriate credit to the original author(s)
2. Provide a link to the CC BY 4.0 license
3. Clearly indicate whether changes were made to the original work

By adopting CC BY 4.0, JSSEP ensures maximum dissemination, reuse, and interdisciplinary exchange of published research while maintaining proper academic attribution and integrity.

3. Copyright Policy

JSSEP follows an author-retained copyright model. Authors publishing in the journal:

1. Retain full copyright ownership of their work
2. Are not required to transfer copyright to the journal or publisher
3. Incur no Article Processing Charges (APCs) or publication fees

By submitting and publishing with JSSEP, authors grant the journal a non-exclusive license to publish, distribute, and archive their work under the CC BY 4.0 framework. This arrangement:

1. Protects authors’ intellectual property rights
2. Enables broad global dissemination and lawful reuse
3. Allows authors to freely share and republish their work (with proper citation) in institutional repositories, personal websites, or future scholarly works

This policy reflects JSSEP’s commitment to ethical publishing, academic freedom, and researcher empowerment.

4. Archiving and Digital Preservation

The Journal of Social Sciences and Educational Practices (JSSEP) is committed to the long-term digital preservation and permanent accessibility of all published content.

To ensure sustainability and scholarly continuity:

1. Each published article will be assigned a unique Digital Object Identifier (DOI) to ensure persistent identification and reliable citation.
2. Articles are archived in trusted digital repositories and journal management systems, safeguarding against data loss or technological obsolescence.
3. Authors are encouraged to deposit the final published version of their articles in institutional repositories, research networks, and personal academic platforms, consistent with the journal’s open-access policy.

Through robust archiving and preservation practices, JSSEP ensures that scholarly contributions remain discoverable, citable, and accessible for future generations of researchers.