Long-term Digital Preservation
Long-term Digital Preservation
This page sets out the long-term digital preservation arrangements for Journal of Social Science and Human Research Studies (JSSHRS). Preservation is the cornerstone of scholarly communication: published research is meaningful only if it remains accessible to readers and citable in scholarly literature far into the future. JSSHRS therefore operates a multi-layered preservation strategy combining participation in distributed preservation networks, persistent identifier registration, publisher-side redundant backups, and author self-archiving rights.
These arrangements meet the Directory of Open Access Journals (DOAJ) Seal preservation requirements and align with the Keepers Registry standards for trusted preservation services.
Identifiers: e-ISSN 3051-3561 (electronic), 3051-3553 (print).
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1. Preservation commitment
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EP Journals Group is committed to ensuring that all articles published in JSSHRS remain permanently accessible to readers, researchers, and future scholars. This commitment applies regardless of:
— Future changes to the journal's domain or website infrastructure
— Future changes to the publisher's organisational structure
— Long-term changes in technology platforms
— The unlikely event of journal cessation
The publisher has committed sufficient operational, financial, and infrastructural resources to ensure that this preservation commitment can be honoured in perpetuity.
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2. LOCKSS — Lots of Copies Keep Stuff Safe
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JSSHRS participates in the LOCKSS distributed preservation network. LOCKSS is a peer-to-peer preservation system in which participating research libraries worldwide harvest and store copies of journal content in their local LOCKSS boxes. The network operates on the principle that having many independent copies geographically distributed is the most robust form of digital preservation.
Key features of LOCKSS preservation for JSSHRS:
— LOCKSS-participating libraries automatically harvest the journal's content via the LOCKSS Publisher Manifest
— Each participating library stores its own complete copy
— Copies are continuously verified for integrity using cryptographic checksums
— Damaged copies are repaired by polling other libraries' copies
— Content is made available to readers within the harvesting library's network
LOCKSS is included in the Keepers Registry, the international registry of trusted preservation services.
Publisher Manifest URL: https://jsshrs.ep-journals.org/index.php/jsshrs/gateway/lockss
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3. CLOCKSS — Controlled LOCKSS
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JSSHRS participates in the CLOCKSS preservation network. CLOCKSS is a community-governed dark archive — meaning preserved content is held safely but not made available to readers under normal circumstances — that releases preserved content to the open community in the event a publisher ceases operations or content otherwise becomes unavailable.
Key features of CLOCKSS preservation for JSSHRS:
— Geographically distributed archive nodes (currently 12+ nodes worldwide) hold complete copies of preserved content
— Cryptographic verification ensures content integrity over time
— Content is released to the open community under defined "trigger events," including publisher cessation, prolonged content unavailability, or other circumstances making content inaccessible from its primary source
— Released content is made available under open access licensing in perpetuity
CLOCKSS is included in the Keepers Registry. The CLOCKSS network is governed by an independent board including representatives from major research libraries and academic publishers.
Publisher Manifest URL: https://jsshrs.ep-journals.org/index.php/jsshrs/gateway/clockss
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4. Internet Archive
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JSSHRS content is harvested by the Internet Archive's scholarly preservation programme. The Internet Archive (archive.org) provides:
— Full-text article preservation
— Metadata preservation
— Wayback Machine snapshots of journal pages
— Public, free access to preserved content
The Internet Archive is one of the world's largest digital preservation initiatives, holding over 800 billion web pages and millions of scholarly documents. It is included in the Keepers Registry.
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5. Persistent identifiers — CrossRef DOI
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Every article published in JSSHRS is assigned a CrossRef Digital Object Identifier (DOI) at the time of publication. The DOI is registered in the CrossRef metadata system, which provides:
— A permanent, unique identifier for the article
— Resolution through the doi.org infrastructure (independent of the journal website)
— Authoritative metadata records (title, authors, abstract, references, dates)
— Citation tracking through CrossRef Cited-by
The DOI ensures that the article remains citable and locatable even if:
— The journal website moves to a different domain
— The journal undergoes any infrastructure change
— The publisher reorganises
The CrossRef metadata layer is itself preserved by CrossRef, which is a non-profit organisation supported by 18,000+ member publishers and operates as a critical scholarly infrastructure.
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6. Publisher-side backup systems
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EP Journals Group maintains redundant backups of all journal content and editorial records. These include:
— Live production database (the primary system that serves the journal website)
— Daily incremental backups to geographically distributed cloud storage
— Weekly full backups with 12-month retention
— Monthly archived snapshots stored in cold storage with 7-year retention
— Editorial system backups including manuscript files, reviewer reports, and editorial correspondence
Backups are encrypted at rest and in transit. Restore procedures are tested quarterly to verify that backups can be successfully restored if needed.
These publisher-side backups are operationally distinct from LOCKSS, CLOCKSS, and Internet Archive preservation, providing an additional independent layer of redundancy.
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7. Author self-archiving as additional preservation
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The journal's open access licensing (CC BY 4.0) and self-archiving policy permit authors to deposit their published articles in:
— Institutional repositories
— Subject-specific repositories (arXiv, bioRxiv, medRxiv, SSRN, RePEc, Zenodo, etc.)
— Funder-mandated repositories (Europe PMC, PubMed Central, NIH Manuscript Submission)
— Personal academic web pages
— Academic networking sites (ResearchGate, Academia.edu)
Author deposits constitute a further independent layer of preservation. Even in the unlikely event that all the above publisher-side, LOCKSS, CLOCKSS, and Internet Archive copies were to fail simultaneously, author-deposited copies would remain accessible.
Authors are explicitly encouraged to deposit their articles in at least one repository as a personal preservation measure.
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8. Continuous access guarantees
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Under normal operating conditions, JSSHRS guarantees:
— Continuous availability of all published articles through the journal website
— Resolution of all CrossRef DOIs through doi.org
— Free, unrestricted access without paywall, registration, or embargo
Brief planned maintenance windows (announced in advance) and rare unplanned outages are addressed by the publisher's operations team. Restoration of normal access is a top priority.
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9. Trigger events for released preservation copies
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In the unlikely event of journal cessation or other circumstances making content unavailable from its primary source, the following trigger procedures apply:
9.1 LOCKSS-preserved content. Each participating LOCKSS library can make preserved content available to readers within its institutional network.
9.2 CLOCKSS-preserved content. The CLOCKSS network releases content to the open community under its defined trigger procedures, including:
— Publisher cessation
— Prolonged content unavailability
— Loss of access by one or more institutions over an extended period
Released content is made openly accessible at no charge.
9.3 Internet Archive content. Already publicly accessible. Remains accessible regardless of publisher status.
9.4 Author-deposited copies. Already independently accessible through the repository or web page where the author deposited the work. Remain accessible regardless of publisher status.
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10. Cessation plan
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In the unlikely event that EP Journals Group decides to cease publishing JSSHRS, the publisher commits to:
— Publishing a formal announcement on the journal website at least 90 days before the cessation date
— Transferring the journal's ISSNs, DOIs, and editorial archive to a successor publisher (where one can be identified) or to a community-archive organisation
— Triggering CLOCKSS release procedures to ensure preserved content becomes openly accessible
— Maintaining the journal website in read-only mode for at least 24 months after cessation
The CC BY 4.0 licensing of all published articles ensures that copies in repositories, on author websites, and in citation databases remain freely accessible regardless of publisher status. Journal cessation does not affect the rights granted under CC BY 4.0 to readers and re-users.
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11. Preservation quality verification
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The publisher periodically verifies that preservation arrangements are functioning correctly:
— Annual review of LOCKSS Publisher Manifest harvesting status
— Annual review of CLOCKSS preservation status with the CLOCKSS administration
— Quarterly verification that DOI resolution is functioning correctly through doi.org
— Quarterly testing of publisher backup restore procedures
— Periodic spot-checks of Internet Archive harvesting completeness
Any discovered issues with preservation are addressed immediately and disclosed to the Editorial Board.
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12. Reporting preservation issues
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Readers, authors, librarians, or other parties who notice or suspect issues with preservation, content availability, or DOI resolution should report the issue to:
editor@ep-journals.org
Reports are addressed within 5 working days. The publisher commits to transparent communication about preservation issues and the steps being taken to resolve them.
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13. Contact and publisher information
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Publisher: EP Journals Group
Publisher website: https://www.ep-journals.org
Editorial contact: editor@ep-journals.org
Journal: Journal of Social Science and Human Research Studies (JSSHRS)
Identifiers: e-ISSN 3051-3561, p-ISSN 3051-3553
Last reviewed: 2026
Policy version: 1.0
