1. Overview of Open Access

Open access is a publishing model that makes peer-reviewed scholarly research freely available to the public without subscription fees or access barriers. The International Journal of Cardiology Sciences is committed to open access publishing to ensure that research findings reach healthcare practitioners, researchers, policymakers, and patients worldwide without financial or institutional restrictions.

The journal adheres to the principles established by the Budapest Open Access Initiative (BOAI), which defines open access as the free availability of literature on the public internet, permitting users to read, download, copy, distribute, print, search, or link to the full texts without financial, legal, or technical barriers. The journal also aligns with the Berlin Declaration on Open Access to Knowledge in the Sciences and Humanities, which emphasises the importance of disseminating knowledge freely for the advancement of science and society.

Open access in medical publishing ensures that life-saving research and clinical evidence are accessible to healthcare professionals in all settings, including those in resource-limited environments where subscription-based journals may be unaffordable.

2. Benefits of Open Access

2.1 For Authors and Researchers

Open access publishing significantly increases the visibility and citation potential of research articles. Studies have demonstrated that open access articles receive higher citation rates compared to those behind paywalls. Authors benefit from broader readership, as their work becomes accessible to practitioners, students, and researchers who may not have institutional subscriptions. Furthermore, many funding agencies, including the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and Wellcome Trust, mandate open access publication of funded research, making compliance easier for authors publishing in this journal.

2.2 For Readers and the Medical Community

Open access removes barriers to knowledge, allowing clinicians, medical students, and healthcare workers worldwide to access current research without cost. This is particularly beneficial for professionals in developing countries who may lack institutional access to subscription journals. Through initiatives such as Research4Life (HINARI), open access content reaches institutions in low- and middle-income countries, supporting evidence-based medical practice globally.

2.3 For Scientific Progress

Open access accelerates the pace of scientific discovery by enabling researchers to build upon published findings immediately. The removal of access barriers promotes collaboration across institutions and countries, strengthens the reproducibility of research, and ensures that publicly funded research benefits the public.

3. Types of Open Access

The International Journal of Cardiology Sciences operates as a Gold Open Access journal. This means that all accepted articles are published immediately in open access format upon publication, with no embargo period. Articles are freely and permanently accessible to everyone from the moment of publication.

Unlike subscription-based journals that may offer delayed open access (Green Open Access) after an embargo period, or hybrid journals that charge additional fees for individual articles to be made open access, our gold open access model ensures that all published content is immediately available to the global community.

4. Licensing and Copyright

All articles published in the journal are distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International (CC BY-NC-SA 4.0) licence. Under this licence:

Attribution (BY): Users must give appropriate credit to the original authors and the journal, provide a link to the licence, and indicate if changes were made.

NonCommercial (NC): Users may not use the material for commercial purposes without explicit permission from the copyright holder.

ShareAlike (SA): If users remix, transform, or build upon the material, they must distribute their contributions under the same licence as the original.

Authors retain copyright of their work while granting the journal the right of first publication. This arrangement allows authors to share and reuse their work freely while ensuring proper attribution to the original publication.

5. Article Processing Charges

To sustain open access publishing, the journal operates on an author-pays model through Article Processing Charges (APCs). These charges cover the costs of peer review management, copyediting, typesetting, digital preservation, and hosting. APCs are payable upon acceptance of a manuscript, prior to publication.

The journal is committed to ensuring that financial constraints do not prevent the publication of high-quality research. Waiver and discount programmes are available for authors from low-income countries and for researchers who lack institutional funding support. Requests for fee waivers are assessed on a case-by-case basis.

6. Archiving and Preservation

Long-term preservation of scholarly content is essential for the integrity of the scientific record. The journal employs multiple archiving strategies to ensure permanent accessibility of published articles.

Digital copies of all articles are maintained on secure, redundant servers with regular backups. The journal works with established digital preservation services to ensure that content remains accessible even in the event of technical failures or cessation of operations.

7. Self-Archiving Policy

Authors are permitted and encouraged to deposit copies of their published articles in institutional repositories, subject-specific databases, and personal websites. The journal supports immediate self-archiving of the published version (Version of Record) without any embargo period.

When self-archiving, authors should include a full citation to the original publication and a link to the published article on the journal website. This practice supports wider dissemination while maintaining the connection to the authoritative version.

8. Compliance with Funder Mandates

The journal's open access policy is designed to comply with the requirements of major research funding bodies. Authors publishing research funded by agencies that mandate open access publication can be confident that publication in this journal satisfies those requirements.

Upon request, the journal can provide documentation confirming compliance with specific funder policies.

9. Staying Informed: Alerts and Notifications

The journal offers several mechanisms for readers to stay informed about new publications and content of interest:

Email Alerts: Readers may subscribe to email notifications to receive alerts whenever new articles are published. Subscribers can customise their preferences to receive notifications for specific article types, subject areas, or keywords of interest. Email alerts include article titles, author names, and direct links to full-text content. Subscription management tools allow users to modify their preferences or unsubscribe at any time.

RSS Feeds: The journal offers RSS (Really Simple Syndication) feeds that enable readers to receive automatic updates through their preferred RSS reader or news aggregator. RSS feeds provide real-time notifications of new publications and can be integrated into institutional portals, research management systems, or personal reading applications.

Table of Contents (TOC) Alerts: Registered users may opt to receive table of contents alerts for each new issue. These notifications provide a comprehensive overview of all articles published in a given issue, allowing readers to quickly identify content relevant to their interests and clinical practice.

Social Media Updates: The journal maintains an active presence on social media platforms including Twitter/X, LinkedIn, and Facebook, where announcements of newly published articles, special issues, and editorial content are shared. Following the journal on these platforms provides an additional channel for staying informed about new publications and engaging with the broader research community.

Citation Alerts: Authors and readers can set up citation alerts through indexing services such as Google Scholar and Web of Science to receive notifications when published articles are cited by other researchers. This feature helps authors track the impact of their work and enables readers to follow the development of research in specific areas.

Contact Information

For enquiries regarding this open access policy, please contact the Editorial Office:

International Journal of Cardiology Sciences

Email: cardio.submit@gmail.com

Website: https://www.cardiologyjournals.net