Archiving Policy

The Bangladesh Journal of Advanced Clinical Research (BJACR) recognizes that preserving the scholarly record is a fundamental responsibility of an academic publisher. To this end, BJACR has developed a robust, multi-tiered archiving strategy designed to guarantee the permanent preservation, accessibility, and integrity of all published content. This policy ensures that every article remains available to readers, researchers, and institutions worldwide, now and in the future.

 

  1. Digital Archiving
  • Institutional Repositories: Authors are strongly encouraged to deposit their accepted manuscripts or final published versions in their institutional repositories, thesis libraries, or personal academic websites. This practice, also known as green open access, promotes visibility and compliance with funder mandates. Deposited versions must include a full citation to the official publication and a DOI-linked reference to BJACR’s site.
  • Third-Party Repositories: To ensure redundancy and decentralization, BJACR partners with recognized archiving initiatives such as:
    • LOCKSS (Lots of Copies Keep Stuff Safe): A community-driven preservation system where multiple copies of content are maintained across independent libraries.
    • CLOCKSS (Controlled LOCKSS): A not-for-profit joint venture between publishers and libraries that provides long-term digital preservation with robust fail-safes.
    • Public Repositories: Content is indexed and preserved in trusted repositories like DOAJ, PubMed Central (where applicable), Google Scholar, and national digital libraries, ensuring maximum discoverability.

 

  1. Long-Term Digital Preservation
  • Secure Archival Systems: All BJACR articles are stored in secure digital servers with multiple redundant backups distributed across geographically diverse data centers. This reduces the risk of data loss due to system failures or disasters.
  • Format Sustainability: The journal uses sustainable and universally accepted formats (e.g., PDF/A) to ensure long-term accessibility. As digital technologies evolve, BJACR proactively migrates archived content into updated file formats to prevent obsolescence.
  • Metadata Preservation: Each article is assigned a Digital Object Identifier (DOI) and enriched with standardized metadata (title, authors, abstract, keywords, ORCID iDs, funder details) to guarantee discoverability and interoperability across indexing systems.
  • Version Control: BJACR maintains a clear version-of-record policy. If corrections, updates, or retractions occur, the archived record is updated accordingly with transparent annotations, ensuring accuracy and trustworthiness.

 

  1. Print Archiving
  • Print-on-Demand Service: To complement digital preservation, BJACR offers print-on-demand copies of journal issues. This physical layer of archiving provides an additional safeguard for libraries and institutions preferring tangible collections.
  • Library Deposits: Physical copies are deposited in national and international academic libraries recognized for long-term archiving. Deposits with national libraries, university archives, and medical college repositories guarantee traditional preservation alongside digital storage.

 

  1. Compliance with International Standards
  • BJACR aligns with global standards for digital preservation, including:
    • ISO 14721 (OAIS Reference Model): International framework for digital archive management.
    • OAI-PMH (Open Archives Initiative Protocol for Metadata Harvesting): For interoperability with global scholarly databases.
    • COPE Guidelines: Ethical transparency in archiving corrections, retractions, and expressions of concern.
  • Regular audits and monitoring are conducted to confirm archival integrity and compliance with evolving best practices.

 

  1. Access and Retrieval
  • Open Access Availability: All archived content is freely accessible under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial (CC BY-NC) License, ensuring unrestricted use for educational and non-commercial purposes.
  • Global Discoverability: Articles are indexed in major scholarly databases, search engines, and repositories to ensure maximum readership. Enhanced metadata and DOI assignment guarantee persistent access.
  • User Rights: Readers may download, print, cite, and share archived works freely, provided attribution is given to the authors and BJACR.

 

  1. Contingency Planning
  • Disaster Recovery Systems: BJACR maintains geographically distributed backup servers with continuous monitoring and real-time mirroring to prevent data loss.
  • Cybersecurity Safeguards: Strong security protocols, firewalls, and malware protection are in place to protect against hacking, ransomware, or data corruption.
  • Continuity of Access: In case of technical failure, natural disaster, or publisher dissolution, LOCKSS/CLOCKSS and third-party repositories guarantee uninterrupted access to all published content.

 

  1. Withdrawal, Retraction, and Corrections
  • Retraction Policy: Articles proven to involve serious ethical breaches (plagiarism, fabrication, falsification, or human/animal rights violations) are formally retracted following COPE guidelines. Retracted articles remain in the archive but are clearly watermarked and tagged with explanatory notices to maintain the integrity of the record.
  • Withdrawal Policy: Manuscripts may be withdrawn before publication if serious errors or ethical issues are detected. Withdrawn papers are not removed but marked transparently in the archive.
  • Corrections and Updates: Minor errors (typographical, formatting, data presentation) are corrected with updated versions linked to the original article. Correction notices are clearly labeled to maintain accountability.