Archiving, Digital Preservation and Repository Policy

1. Purpose and Scope

The African Journal for Empirical Research (AJERNET), published by AJER Publishing, is committed to preserving the integrity, authenticity, accessibility, and scholarly value of its published research.

The journal recognises that long-term digital preservation is an essential responsibility of scholarly publishing. Research publications constitute a permanent contribution to the academic record and should remain accessible to researchers, institutions, policymakers, and the public beyond the operational lifespan of individual websites or publishing technologies.

This policy establishes AJERNET's commitments and procedures concerning digital preservation, electronic backups, repository access, metadata harvesting, persistent identifiers, and continuity of scholarly access.

It applies to published articles, associated metadata, supplementary materials where applicable, and editorial notices, including corrections and retractions.

2. Digital Preservation Principles

AJERNET is guided by the following preservation principles:

2.1. Long-Term Accessibility

The journal is committed to maintaining access to published scholarly content for the long term, subject to applicable legal, technical, and ethical requirements.

2.2. Content Integrity

Published articles and associated records are maintained in a manner intended to protect their accuracy, completeness, and authenticity.

2.3. Preservation of the Scholarly Record

The journal maintains publication records, including article titles, authorship information, abstracts, publication dates, volume and issue details, DOI identifiers, and relevant post-publication notices.

2.4. Technological Sustainability

AJERNET supports the use of established digital publishing standards, interoperable metadata formats, and appropriate preservation technologies to reduce the risk of technological obsolescence.

2.5. Continuity and Recovery

The journal maintains procedures intended to support the recovery of publication records and digital content following technical failures, accidental data loss, cybersecurity incidents, or other disruptions.

3. Electronic Archiving and Backup

AJERNET uses Open Journal Systems (OJS) as its journal management and publishing platform.

The journal maintains electronic records of published articles and associated bibliographic metadata within its publishing infrastructure.

AJER Publishing's digital preservation arrangements include appropriate measures for:

  1. Maintaining copies of published articles and associated files.

  2. Backing up journal databases and publication records.

  3. Protecting published content against accidental deletion, corruption, and unauthorised modification.

  4. Maintaining publication metadata and persistent article identifiers.

  5. Supporting restoration of journal content following technical disruptions.

  6. Reviewing backup and recovery procedures periodically.

  7. Preserving relevant correction, retraction, and publication history records.

Backups are an important component of operational resilience. However, the journal recognises that routine website or server backups alone do not constitute independent long-term digital preservation.

4. PKP Preservation Network and Independent Archiving

AJERNET recognises the PKP Preservation Network (PKP PN) as an established preservation service designed to support the long-term preservation of scholarly content published through compatible Open Journal Systems installations.

The journal supports the use of PKP PN and other appropriate independent digital preservation arrangements to strengthen the long-term security and accessibility of its scholarly publications.

Participation in an independent preservation service is subject to the applicable technical requirements, eligibility conditions, registration procedures, and successful activation of the relevant preservation arrangements.

AJERNET does not treat the installation of OJS, the availability of a preservation plugin, or the existence of routine backups as evidence of active participation in an independent preservation network.

Where independent preservation arrangements are active, the journal identifies the relevant service and makes appropriate participation information available through its official website.

AJER Publishing periodically evaluates available preservation services to strengthen the journal's long-term archiving arrangements.

5. Repository Policy and Institutional Deposits

AJERNET supports the dissemination and preservation of published research through institutional repositories, university archives, academic repositories, and other appropriate non-commercial scholarly platforms.

Authors may deposit the final published versions of their articles in institutional repositories and other suitable scholarly archives without an embargo, subject to the applicable Creative Commons licence and any third-party copyright restrictions.

Deposited articles should:

  1. Identify AJERNET as the original publication source.

  2. Include complete bibliographic information.

  3. Provide the article DOI or permanent publication link where available.

  4. Preserve the applicable copyright and licensing information.

  5. Respect restrictions governing third-party copyrighted materials.

  6. Clearly distinguish any modified or adapted version from the official published version.

AJERNET encourages institutional and repository-based preservation as an additional mechanism for improving the accessibility and discoverability of scholarly research.

Repository deposits complement, but do not necessarily replace, formal independent preservation arrangements.

6. Metadata Harvesting and OAI-PMH Interoperability

AJERNET supports the dissemination and discoverability of scholarly metadata through the Open Archives Initiative Protocol for Metadata Harvesting (OAI-PMH).

The journal's OJS publishing infrastructure provides an OAI-PMH interface through which compatible scholarly databases, repositories, discovery services, and indexing systems may retrieve available publication metadata.

This interoperability supports the wider dissemination of information concerning published research.

AJERNET maintains appropriate bibliographic metadata, including article titles, authors, abstracts, publication dates, journal information, and identifiers where available.

The journal recognises that OAI-PMH facilitates metadata harvesting and discovery but does not, by itself, guarantee permanent preservation of full-text articles or inclusion in external indexing databases.

External repositories and indexing services independently determine whether and how journal content is harvested, indexed, displayed, or preserved.

7. Persistent Identifiers and Bibliographic Records

AJERNET supports the use of persistent identifiers, including Digital Object Identifiers (DOIs), to facilitate reliable citation, identification, and retrieval of published articles.

The journal maintains bibliographic records intended to support the continued identification of published works even where website structures or technical systems change.

Where an article has been assigned a DOI, AJERNET endeavours to maintain accurate associated metadata and functional links to the publication.

The journal also maintains relevant information concerning corrections, retractions, and other post-publication developments to preserve the integrity of the scholarly record.

8. Preservation of Corrections, Retractions, and Publication History

AJERNET recognises that responsible scholarly preservation requires maintaining an accurate historical record of published research.

Where articles are corrected, retracted, or subject to expressions of concern, the journal preserves appropriate bibliographic information and publishes relevant editorial notices.

Retraction does not ordinarily result in the complete disappearance of a publication from the scholarly record.

Where appropriate, retracted articles remain identifiable and are clearly marked to inform readers of their publication status.

Content may be removed or access restricted in exceptional circumstances involving legal requirements, serious privacy concerns, or other compelling ethical or safety considerations.

Such actions are undertaken in accordance with the journal's correction, retraction, and publication ethics policies.

9. Preservation Security and Disaster Recovery

AJERNET recognises the importance of safeguarding scholarly content against technological failures, cyber threats, accidental deletion, and other risks.

AJER Publishing maintains appropriate operational measures intended to support the security and recoverability of journal content.

These measures include controlled administrative access, secure storage practices, electronic backups, and procedures for restoring publication information following technical disruptions.

Preservation and recovery arrangements are reviewed periodically to identify potential weaknesses and opportunities for improvement.

10. Continuity of Access and Journal Sustainability

AJERNET is committed to supporting the continued accessibility of its scholarly publications, including during periods of technological change, platform migration, or operational restructuring.

Where publishing systems are upgraded or migrated, reasonable measures are taken to preserve article files, bibliographic metadata, identifiers, and publication records.

If the journal's publishing operations are discontinued or transferred, AJER Publishing will seek appropriate arrangements for maintaining access to published content, subject to available resources, legal obligations, and existing preservation agreements.

The journal recognises that sustainable preservation requires a combination of operational backups, interoperable metadata, repository dissemination, and independent preservation services.

11. Policy Implementation and Review

The Chief Editor, Editorial Board, and AJER Publishing are responsible for overseeing the implementation and periodic review of this policy.

The journal evaluates its digital preservation arrangements in light of technological developments, recognised scholarly publishing practices, and available preservation infrastructure.

AJERNET remains committed to strengthening its archiving systems and ensuring that published empirical research remains discoverable, identifiable, and accessible to future generations of scholars.

African Journal for Empirical Research (AJERNET)
AJER Publishing