Open Access Policy
Free Dissemination of Knowledge and Ensuring Global Accessibility
Purpose and Scope
This policy defines the Open Access framework of the International Interdisciplinary Scientific Journal “Expert” and the conditions under which published scholarly content is made immediately and freely available to readers.
It establishes the Journal’s Gold Open Access model, the principle of immediate access without embargo, the relationship between Article Processing Charges and editorial independence, the connection between Open Access and copyright licensing, and the means through which published articles are made accessible and disseminated.
This policy operates together with the Journal’s Copyright and Licensing, Editorial Policies, Publication Conditions, Publication Ethics, and other applicable publishing and preservation provisions.
1. Open Access Model
The International Interdisciplinary Scientific Journal “Expert” operates under a Gold Open Access model.
Articles are published openly and are made available to readers immediately upon online publication of the Version of Record.
The Journal does not operate a subscription or pay-per-view model for access to published scholarly articles.
Open Access is an integral part of the Journal’s publishing model and is intended to support the widest possible lawful dissemination, discovery, reading, and reuse of published scholarly work.
2. Immediate and Unrestricted Access
Published articles are made available immediately, freely, and permanently through the Journal’s official online publication environment.
The Journal does not impose an embargo period on access to the published Version of Record.
Readers are not required to pay subscription fees, purchase individual articles, or obtain institutional access in order to read the full text of published articles.
Access to the full text does not depend on mandatory reader registration.
Open Access begins when the Version of Record is published online.
The Journal applies no post-publication embargo before the article becomes openly accessible.
3. APCs and Editorial Independence
The Journal may charge Article Processing Charges (APCs) in accordance with its published fee information.
APCs support publishing activities and are separate from the Journal’s scholarly editorial evaluation and decision-making processes.
The amount, payment, waiver, discount, or other financial arrangement applicable to an author or manuscript does not determine:
- scholarly evaluation;
- reviewer selection;
- the peer-review process or its outcome;
- Final Editorial Acceptance;
- any other scholarly editorial decision.
Payment of an APC does not guarantee acceptance or publication.
Editorial decisions are governed by the Journal’s applicable editorial policies and remain independent of financial arrangements.
4. Copyright and Licensing
Authors retain copyright in their published articles.
Published articles are made available under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0) License.
Under CC BY 4.0, users may share, redistribute, adapt, transform, and reuse the licensed material, including for commercial purposes, subject to the conditions of the licence.
Appropriate attribution must be provided, the applicable licence should be identified, and changes must be indicated where required by the licence.
Publication under CC BY 4.0 does not transfer copyright ownership from the author(s) to the Journal, the Editorial Board, or the Publisher.
Detailed provisions governing copyright ownership, the non-exclusive publishing licence granted to ASPECT-PRO LTD, reuse, attribution, translations, repository distribution, and third-party material are established in the Journal’s Copyright and Licensing provisions.
5. Access to Published Articles
Published articles are made available through the Journal’s official website and its Archives.
The Journal seeks to maintain stable and continuous online access to the published scholarly record.
Bibliographic and publication metadata may also be disseminated through DOI infrastructure, scholarly databases, indexing services, repositories, discovery systems, and other appropriate channels.
Access through external services supplements, but does not replace, the Journal’s official publication record.
6. Open Access and Scholarly Dissemination
The Journal supports the broad principles of Open Access reflected in the Budapest Open Access Initiative.
The Journal’s Open Access model is intended to reduce barriers to access and support the lawful reading, sharing, discovery, citation, and reuse of published research.
Open dissemination is implemented together with transparent copyright and licensing terms so that readers and users can identify the conditions under which published material may be reused.
Open Access does not alter the Journal’s requirements for scholarly quality, peer review, publication ethics, editorial independence, or the integrity of the published scholarly record.
7. Relationship with Other Journal Policies
This Open Access Policy forms part of the Journal’s integrated publishing and editorial framework.
It should be read together with the Journal’s applicable provisions concerning:
- Copyright and Licensing — copyright ownership, publishing rights, CC BY 4.0, reuse, attribution, translations, repository distribution, and third-party material;
- Article Fees — applicable Article Processing Charges, fee arrangements, and related financial information;
- Editorial Policies — editorial authority, independence, decision-making, and conflicts of interest;
- Publication Conditions — manuscript and publication requirements, submission procedure, and post-acceptance publication conditions;
- Publication Ethics — research and publication integrity requirements;
- applicable archiving and preservation provisions concerning continued access to the scholarly record.
Where a matter is governed in greater detail by a dedicated Journal policy or procedure, that dedicated document provides the applicable detailed requirements.
8. Policy Governance and Review
The Open Access Policy is maintained by the Editorial Board of the International Interdisciplinary Scientific Journal “Expert”.
The policy is approved by the Editor-in-Chief and Editorial Board.
The Journal may review and update this policy where necessary to reflect changes in Open Access practice, licensing arrangements, publishing infrastructure, applicable requirements, or recognised scholarly publishing standards.
Substantive amendments are documented through the Journal’s applicable versioning and review process.
This policy is maintained in coordination with the Journal’s Copyright and Licensing provisions, Publication Conditions, Editorial Policies, Publication Ethics, and applicable archiving and preservation arrangements.