Repository Policy

The Clinical Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology (CJOG) is committed to ensuring that research outputs remain openly accessible, discoverable, interoperable, and preserved permanently across global scholarly repositories. This Repository Policy outlines author rights for depositing various manuscript versions, funder compliance requirements, institutional archiving rules, metadata standards, and the technical interoperability framework supporting OAI-PMH harvesting and long-term digital preservation.

Purpose of the Repository Policy

The Repository Policy ensures:

• Long-term preservation of scholarly output
• Compliance with funder and institutional mandates
• Global discoverability through open repository systems
• Transparent and unrestricted archiving permissions
• Support for open science principles, FAIR data strategies, and global research equity

Versions Allowed for Repository Deposit

CJOG permits authors to archive all three major manuscript versions without embargo:

Preprint Server Policy

Authors may deposit their preprints with no restrictions on:

• medRxiv
• bioRxiv
• Research Square
• OSF Preprints
• Zenodo Preprints

Authors should update the preprint record with:

• Link to the published article
• DOI assigned by CJOG
• Any relevant corrections

Institutional and Subject Repository Archiving

CJOG supports archiving in:

• University repositories
• National archives (PubMed Central, Europe PMC)
• Subject repositories in medical and biomedical sciences
• Government-mandated repositories

No embargo period applies. Authors may deposit immediately after submission, acceptance, or publication.

Metadata Requirements for Repository Uploads

To ensure maximum discoverability and compliance with indexing and funder requirements, authors should include:

• Article title (as published)
• List of authors
• CJOG citation
• DOI
• Publication date
• License: CC BY 4.0
• Publisher: Heighten Science Publications Inc.
• Journal metadata and issue details

OAI-PMH Support for Repository Harvesting

CJOG fully supports OAI-PMH (Open Archives Initiative Protocol for Metadata Harvesting), allowing:

• Institutional repositories
• Aggregators (e.g., BASE, OpenAIRE, CORE)
• Search engines (Google Scholar)

to harvest article metadata programmatically. This ensures global interoperability and continuous indexing updates.

Supported Metadata Formats

• Dublin Core
• OAI_DC
• Crossref XML
• JATS XML (for advanced archiving)
• Schema.org (JSON-LD)

OAI-PMH Endpoint

The journal’s OAI-PMH base URL is provided on the OAI-PMH page (see menu item), enabling repository administrators to harvest:

• Records by identifier
• Records by date range
• Complete metadata sets

Funder Mandate Compliance

CJOG supports funder-specific repository deposit mandates including those from:

• NIH and PubMed Central
• Horizon Europe / OpenAIRE
• cOAlition S (Plan S)
• Wellcome Trust
• Gates Foundation
• UKRI

Compliance Features:

• Immediate deposit permissions (no embargo)
• Machine-readable license metadata
• DOI registration and linking across platforms
• Accepted manuscript deposit allowed in mandated repositories

Rights Retention Strategy (RRS)

CJOG respects author rights retention and supports authors who follow RRS strategies required by major funders.

Authors may retain the right to share their accepted manuscripts under a CC BY license immediately upon acceptance, ensuring compatibility with:

• Plan S
• UKRI 2022 OA policy
• NIH public access requirements

Publisher Archiving and Preservation

CJOG ensures robust long-term digital preservation through:

• Portico
• Institutional mirror servers
• LOCKSS/CLOCKSS-compatible systems
• Redundant data centers
• Automatic DOI metadata redundancy in Crossref

These redundant systems guarantee permanent availability of all published works.

Repository Restrictions and Limitations

CJOG allows broad reuse of published content but prohibits:

• Repository uploads that remove journal branding or citations
• Distorted modifications to published content
• Misrepresentation of versions (e.g., labeling preprint as published)
• Predatory rehosting for commercial exploitation

Examples of Permitted and Non-Permitted Repository Use

Machine-Readable Licensing for Repositories

To maintain global discoverability, CJOG embeds licensing metadata using:

• rel="license"
• JSON-LD Schema.org
• Dublin Core fields (dc.rights, dc.identifier, dc.publisher)
• Crossref DOI metadata

Repository Submission by Authors (Step-by-Step)

1. Prepare manuscript version (preprint, AM, or VOR).
2. Add required metadata (title, authors, citation, DOI, license).
3. Select appropriate repository (institutional, subject, national).
4. Upload the file in accessible PDF or XML format.
5. Verify indexing and public availability after deposit.
6. Notify co-authors (best practice).

FAQ: Repository Policy

Can authors deposit the accepted manuscript immediately?

Yes. No embargo applies.

Can the final PDF be placed in PubMed Central?

Yes. CJOG supports full compliance with PMC and Europe PMC requirements.

Does CJOG allow deposit on ResearchGate/Academia.edu?

Yes, provided citation and license metadata remain intact.

Can repositories harvest automatically via OAI-PMH?

Yes. CJOG maintains a fully functional OAI-PMH endpoint.

What if a repository requires custom metadata?

CJOG provides metadata in multiple formats including Crossref XML and JATS XML.

Conclusion

CJOG’s Repository Policy empowers authors, enhances global knowledge exchange, and ensures permanent preservation of scholarly works. By eliminating embargoes, supporting repository interoperability, and aligning with funder and institutional mandates, this policy reinforces the journal’s commitment to open science and long-term accessibility.