Open Access Policy

The Wah Academia Journal of Social Sciences (WAJSS) is an open-access, peer-reviewed academic journal committed to the free and unrestricted dissemination of scholarly research.

The journal provides immediate open access to its published content on the principle that making research freely available to the public supports the global exchange of knowledge and promotes academic advancement.

Open Access Model

WAJSS operates under the Gold Open Access model, whereby all articles are made freely available online immediately upon publication, without embargo.

Readers may access, download, read, copy, distribute, print, search, and link to the full texts of articles without financial, legal, or technical barriers.

This policy aligns with the Budapest Open Access Initiative: https://www.budapestopenaccessinitiative.org/read

Licensing and Copyright

All articles published in WAJSS are licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY 4.0), unless otherwise stated.

Under this license, users are permitted to:

  • Share and redistribute the material
  • Adapt, remix, and build upon the work
  • Use the content for commercial and non-commercial purposes

Provided that appropriate credit is given to the original author(s) and the journal.

License details are available at: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0

Author Rights

Authors publishing in WAJSS retain copyright of their work and grant the journal the right of first publication.

Authors are permitted to:

  • Archive preprints and postprints
  • Deposit published versions in institutional repositories
  • Share articles on personal and academic platforms
  • Use their work for teaching and research

In accordance with SHERPA/RoMEO principles: https://v2.sherpa.ac.uk/romeo/

Article Processing Charges (APCs)

To support Open Access publishing, the Wah Academia Journal of Social Sciences charges Article Processing Charges (APCs) for articles published in the journal. The APCs cover the costs associated with peer review, editorial services, copyediting, typesetting, and online hosting of the article. The APCs are competitive and reflect the quality of the journal and the services provided to authors.

Waivers and Discounts:

Wah Academia Journal of Social Sciences recognizes that some authors may not be able to afford the APCs associated with Open Access publishing. To support authors from low- and middle-income countries, the journal provides waivers or discounts for APCs upon request. The journal also provides discounts to authors who are members of institutions that have an institutional membership agreement with the journal.

In conclusion, the Open Access policy of Wah Academia Journal of Social Sciences reflects its commitment to promoting Open Access publishing and making research findings freely available to the public. The benefits of Open Access publishing, such as increased visibility and readership, accelerated knowledge exchange, and public engagement, make it an essential publishing model for social sciences research. WAJSS is dedicated to supporting Open Access publishing and promoting the benefits of Open Access to the wider academic community.

Transparency follows DOAJ requirements: https://doaj.org/apply/guide/

Digital Archiving and Preservation

To ensure long-term accessibility, WAJSS participates in digital archiving and preservation systems, including:

  • Institutional repositories
  • Local and cloud-based backups
  • DOI-based permanent linking

The journal follows best practices for digital preservation recommended by

Indexing and Metadata

WAJSS provides high-quality metadata and persistent identifiers to enhance discoverability.

The journal supports:

  • Open metadata standards
  • Interoperability protocols

Metadata practices follow OpenAIRE guidelines: https://www.openaire.eu/guidelines-for-literature-repositories

Accessibility and Reuse

WAJSS supports equitable access to scholarly content and encourages lawful reuse in accordance with open science principles.

Ethical Open Access Publishing

WAJSS is committed to ethical open-access publishing and rejects predatory practices.

The journal follows:

Self-Archiving and Repository Policy

Authors may deposit their articles in:

  • Institutional repositories
  • Subject repositories
  • Personal websites
  • Academic networking platforms

Immediately after publication, without embargo.

Self-archiving follows Green OA principles: https://sparcopen.org/our-work/green-open-access/

Commitment to Open Scholarship

WAJSS supports open scholarship, research transparency, and public engagement with social science knowledge.

The journal encourages:

  • Open data (where appropriate)
  • Open methodologies
  • Reproducible research
  • Responsible knowledge sharing

In line with global open research standards.