Open Access Statement

The Clinical Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology (CJOG) is a fully open-access, peer-reviewed journal committed to the unrestricted dissemination of scientific knowledge in women’s health, reproductive medicine, obstetrics, gynecology, and allied fields. Our open-access model supports global equity by eliminating financial and geographical barriers to accessing scholarly literature. Every article published in CJOG is freely available online immediately upon publication.

Open Access Philosophy

CJOG believes that access to scientific research is a fundamental right—not a privilege determined by geography, institutional affiliation, or economic resources. The journal’s open-access philosophy is centered on:

• Removing paywalls and subscription barriers for readers.
• Enabling global access for clinicians, researchers, students, and policymakers.
• Increasing scientific impact and citation visibility without restrictions.
• Supporting authors by ensuring their work reaches the widest possible audience.

Licensing Policy (CC BY 4.0)

All CJOG articles are published under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (CC BY 4.0). This license permits:

• Sharing — copying and redistributing the material in any medium or format
• Adaptation — remixing, transforming, and building upon the material for any purpose, including commercial use

Under the following terms:

• Attribution — Users must provide appropriate credit, a link to the license, and indicate if changes were made.
• No additional restrictions — No legal or technological barriers may be applied that restrict others from doing anything the license permits.

Full license text: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

Benefits of CJOG’s Open Access Model

Open access publishing provides significant advantages for authors, institutions, and readers:

• Unlimited Access — Anyone with an internet connection can read, cite, and share CJOG articles.
• Global Reach — Clinicians and researchers in low-resource settings access research without subscription barriers.
• Higher Visibility — Open-access research consistently achieves broader readership and higher citation rates.
• Permanent Availability — Articles remain permanently archived in multiple repositories.
• Compliance — Satisfies global funder mandates (Plan S, NIH, Horizon Europe, and more).

Reader and Reuse Rights

Under the CC BY 4.0 license, readers may:

• Read, download, copy, print, and distribute any article without permission.
• Use content for academic, clinical, educational, or commercial purposes.
• Translate the content into any language with appropriate attribution.
• Integrate figures or tables into new works, following citation norms.

Author Rights

CJOG authors retain full copyright to their work. They may:

• Deposit any version of their article in repositories (preprint, accepted version, or published PDF).
• Share their work on institutional websites, research networks, or personal pages.
• Reuse their figures, tables, and content in future works with proper self-citation.
• License translations, derivative works, or collected editions built from their article.

Funding and Funder Compliance

CJOG supports compliance with:

• NIH Public Access Policy
• Horizon Europe and FP9 mandates
• Wellcome Trust Open Access Requirements
• UKRI / Research England mandates
• Plan S guidelines by cOAlition S

Authors with specific funder-mandated obligations may deposit accepted manuscripts in PubMed Central, Europe PMC, or other repositories as required.

Archiving & Preservation (Open Access Infrastructure)

CJOG ensures long-term preservation of all published content through:

• Distributed server backups by the publisher.
• Third-party archiving (LOCKSS, CLOCKSS, Portico-compatible environment).
• OAI-PMH harvesting by global repositories and library networks.
• Permanent DOI registration through Crossref.
• Metadata interoperability via Dublin Core, Crossref XML, Schema.org, and JATS-compatible formats.

Article Versions Allowed for Deposit

Repository Rights

Authors may deposit their work in:

• Institutional repositories (IRs)
• National medical libraries
• International open access repositories (e.g., Zenodo, Figshare)
• Disciplinary repositories (e.g., Reproductive Health Databanks)

Open Access and Ethical Publishing

Our open-access commitment includes ethical obligations regarding:

• Transparent peer review and decision-making.
• Compliance with COPE guidelines.
• Disclosure of conflicts of interest.
• Responsible data sharing and privacy protection.
• Accurate citation and acknowledgment practices.

Accessibility Standards

CJOG is committed to ensuring accessibility for all readers, including those with disabilities. Published articles:

• Use screen-reader compatible HTML formats.
• Include descriptive alt-text for figures.
• Follow WCAG 2.1 accessibility principles where feasible.

Machine-Readable Open Access

CJOG supports machine-readable dissemination to maximize global reach. Metadata is available in:

• OAI-PMH (XML)
• Dublin Core
• Schema.org (JSON-LD)
• Crossref standard metadata schema

This ensures compatibility with automated harvesters, AI systems, indexing platforms, and library catalogues.

Unauthorized Use & Misuse Policy

While CJOG encourages broad dissemination of published work, unauthorized activities such as misrepresentation, plagiarism, or republishing CJOG articles without attribution are prohibited under the CC BY 4.0 license.

Commitment to Global Knowledge Equity

CJOG’s open-access model ensures that maternal health researchers, clinicians, and trainees in low-income and resource-limited settings have equal access to the latest advancements in obstetrics and gynecology. We actively support:

• Reduced APCs for low-income authors (see Waiver Policy).
• Inclusive editorial practices with diverse global representation.
• Gender-equitable and regionally inclusive authorship initiatives.

Conclusion

CJOG remains committed to free, unrestricted, and equitable access to scientific knowledge. Our open-access framework ensures that every published article contributes to improving global women’s health, supporting medical practice, and advancing clinical, translational, and policy-oriented research.