Publication policies

4. Publication policies

4.1 Fees and waivers

As of September 2023, BJ-BABS will institute an article processing charge (APC) to help offset the production costs associated with publishing manuscripts. Authors affiliated with institutions in Iraq will be charged an APC for accepted manuscripts. BJ-BABS offers a waiver policy for international authors outside of Iraq in order to facilitate collaboration and participation from diverse global perspectives worldwide. Authors affiliated with non-Iraqi institutions may request an APC waiver during the submission process.

Additional APC discounts and waivers may be available based on factors such as reviewer contributions, country income level, student status, and financial hardship. Authors are invited to inquire about APC assistance.

Invited articles such as editorials and perspectives are exempt from APCs. Waiver approvals are at the discretion of the Editor-in-Chief. Importantly, the ability to pay APCs does not influence editorial decisions, which are based solely on rigorous double-blind peer review evaluations.

4.2 Archiving policy

  • All articles published by BJ-BABS are digitally archived with Portico to ensure their long-term preservation and future accessibility. Portico is a not-for-profit digital preservation service for electronic journals, books, and other scholarly content. It provides sustainable archiving through a series of policies and activities that ensure the enduring usability, authenticity, discoverability, and accessibility of journal content. By archiving with Portico, BJ-BABS is taking necessary steps to preserve the scholarly record published in the journal over the very long term.
  • The BJ-BABS also has an electronic backup and preservation of access to its content via PKP Preservation Network (PKP PN). PKP has developed the PKP Preservation Network (PKP PN) to digitally preserve OJS journals. The PKP PN ensures that journals that are not part of any other digital preservation service (such as CLOCKSS or Portico) can be preserved for long-term access.
  • In addition, the works published by the BJ-BABS can also be accessed at any time via the Iraqi Academic Scientific Journals (IASJ) platform, which provides long-term archiving for works published by Iraqi Journals.

4.3 Early online publication

BJ-BABS offers an early online publication service for the final articles to be published online prior to their inclusion in a final journal issue which significantly reduces the lead-time between submission and publication. This means that the final corrected version of the paper will be published online ahead of its inclusion in a specific issue, enabling authors to share their research more quickly. The date it first became available online will be carried over to Crossref and other indexing services.

Benefits from early online publishing:

  • Accepted articles are published online faster.
  • Articles are given a Digital Object Identifier (DOI), which allows them to be cited and tracked before allocation to an issue.

Please note that until the article is assigned to an issue, it will not have the complete citation information.

4.4 Multiple, redundant, or concurrent publication

The BJ-BABS upholds the integrity of the academic record and requires that all submitted manuscripts are original and are not under consideration or accepted for publication elsewhere. Multiple, redundant, or concurrent publication, often referred to as 'duplicate publication', is unpermitted in BJ-BABS. This refers to the practice of an author submitting the same manuscript, in the same or different languages, simultaneously to more than one journal. This also includes the re-publication of a paper that has been published in whole or in part in another journal.

Authors should not submit the same manuscript, in the same or different languages, simultaneously to more than one journal. The rationale for this standard is the potential for disagreement when two (or more) journals claim the right to publish a manuscript that has been submitted simultaneously.

Manuscripts submitted to BJ-BABS must be original and must not have been published elsewhere in any format, including electronically, prior to submission. If related work has been published or submitted elsewhere, then copies of these should be submitted with the manuscript to BJ-BABS.

BJ-BABS considers the publication of an abstract in the proceedings of meetings or full manuscript in a preprint server does not constitute prior publication.

If authors choose to translate their research into another language after publication in BJ-BABS, they must seek permission and ensure accurate translation. Furthermore, it must be clearly stated on submission that the manuscript is a translation of previously published work, and the original work should be cited accordingly.

Any manuscript that has been found to have been published elsewhere, or to be under review elsewhere, will be considered a breach of our policy on duplicate publication. The manuscript will be rejected, and the author(s) may be forbidden from submitting further manuscripts to BJ-BABS.

4.5 Publication frequency

The BJ-BABS is published four times a year in March, June, September, and December. Each volume corresponds to a year and includes all issues published in that year. The pagination of each issue is continuous within the volume, with the first issue starting at page one and subsequent issues continuing the page numbers where the previous issue ended. In addition to regular issues, BJ-BABS may publish special issues on particular themes. The call for papers and the publication schedule for special issues will be announced on our website.
The journal also offers an early online publication for accepted articles, making them accessible to readers before their inclusion in a regular issue. Early online articles are complete and final, including full citation details. They will be added to the ongoing volume's pagination upon their inclusion in a regular issue.
The journal reserves the right to modify the publication frequency. Any changes will be communicated through our website and notifications to authors and readers.

4.6 Post-publication updates

The BJ-BABS is committed to maintaining the accuracy and integrity of the academic record. This policy is in line with the guidelines of the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE). We understand that corrections may be necessary after publication, and we have developed the following policy to address these situations.

Corrections are made to articles after publication to rectify significant errors or omissions that impact the understanding or reliability of the work. Corrections are published as a separate entity, but are linked to the original article. The online version of the original article will also be updated to include a note about the correction and a link to the correction article.

Retractions are considered in cases of serious scientific misconduct or error, if the main conclusion of the paper is clearly invalidated. Reasons for retraction include, but are not limited to, duplicate publication, plagiarism, fraudulent use of data, or major error. Retractions are published as a separate entity, but are linked to the original article. The online version of the original article will also be updated to include a note about the retraction and a link to the retraction notice.

Expressions of Concern are used to alert readers to serious allegations about an article. This may be used, for example, if the BJ-BABS is conducting an investigation or waiting for the outcome of an institution’s investigation. Expressions of Concern, like retractions and corrections, are published as a separate entity, but are linked to the original article.

Addenda are used to add information to an article. This could be in response to a reader’s request for clarification, or if the author has realised a significant omission. Addenda are published as a separate entity, but are linked to the original article.

All requests for corrections, retractions, expressions of concern or addenda should be sent to the Editor-in-Chief of BJ-BABS ([email protected]). The decision to amend the literature is made by the Editor-in-Chief in consultation with the authors and, where necessary, appropriate experts.