Archiving Policy

1. Purpose of Archiving: The archiving policy of the Pakistan Journal of Artificial Intelligence in Medical Research (PJAIMR) aims to ensure the long-term preservation and accessibility of published content. This is crucial for the academic and research community, ensuring that research findings in the fields of artificial intelligence, machine learning, and medical research remain available for future reference, and are preserved for use in both current and future studies.

2. Digital Preservation: PJAIMR is committed to preserving its content through digital archiving practices. All published articles, including research papers, reviews, case studies, and clinical trials, will be archived in multiple online repositories and systems. The following methods of digital archiving will be used:

  • Public Access Repositories: Articles will be deposited in public access digital repositories such as PubMed Central, arXiv, ResearchGate, or other relevant databases related to artificial intelligence and medical research.

  • Institutional Repository: A permanent institutional archive will be maintained within the journal's database to ensure that content remains accessible to all registered users and institutional subscribers.

  • DOI Registration: All articles published in PJAIMR will be assigned a Digital Object Identifier (DOI), facilitating long-term tracking and linking to the content, even as platforms and websites evolve over time.

3. Backup and Redundancy: To ensure the safety and preservation of all journal content, regular backups of the entire digital repository will be performed. These backups will be stored in multiple secure locations, including cloud storage services and offline physical storage devices.

4. Long-Term Access: PJAIMR is committed to maintaining free and open access to its content for the long term. Archived content will be made publicly available via the journal's website, without paywalls, for the benefit of researchers, practitioners, and students. The following access strategies will be implemented:

  • Open Access Policy: All articles published in PJAIMR will be freely accessible to the global research community, ensuring maximum visibility and impact.

  • Permanent URL: A permanent URL for each article will be provided through the DOI system. This ensures that articles can be reliably located and referenced.

5. Archival Format: All published materials will be archived in widely accepted and stable formats, such as PDF (Portable Document Format) for text-based content and relevant data formats for multimedia content (e.g., Excel, CSV, image files). These formats are selected for their longevity, accessibility, and preservation in digital archives.

6. Collaboration with External Archiving Services: PJAIMR collaborates with major archiving and preservation services to further ensure the durability and long-term accessibility of its published articles. The journal will participate in initiatives such as:

  • CLOCKSS (Controlled Lots of Copies Keep Stuff Safe): PJAIMR will ensure its content is archived in the CLOCKSS system, a global network of digital archives designed to preserve academic content.

  • Portico: Articles will also be archived with Portico, a trusted digital preservation service for scholarly literature.

7. Article Withdrawal and Retraction: If necessary, articles may be withdrawn or retracted from the journal. In such cases, the following process will be followed:

  • Retraction Notices: Any retracted articles will be clearly labeled as retracted, and a retraction notice will be published in the journal.

  • Permanent Archiving of Retractions: Despite the retraction, the retracted articles will remain in the archive with clear retraction notices attached to ensure transparency in the journal’s history.

8. Preservation of Editorial Content: Editorial content, such as editorials, opinions, and reviews, will also be preserved in line with the archiving policy of research articles. All editorial pieces will be archived digitally and made available for long-term access.

9. Archiving of Supplementary Materials: Supplementary materials such as datasets, code, and other supporting documents will be archived alongside the main articles. These will be stored in repositories like GitHub or Zenodo, where they are freely accessible to researchers and contribute to the transparency and reproducibility of research.

10. Updates and Changes to the Archiving Policy: PJAIMR reserves the right to update and modify this archiving policy as necessary, in response to changes in the academic publishing landscape, technological advancements, or regulatory requirements. Any updates to this policy will be clearly communicated to all authors and readers.