Open Access Policy

Preamble
The International Journal of Didactic Mathematics in Distance Education (IJDMDE) is published by Universitas Terbuka (Open University), Indonesia, in collaboration with the Indonesia Mathematics Educator Society (I-MES). IJDMDE is unequivocally committed to the principles of open scholarship and the democratisation of access to high-quality research in mathematics education. The journal holds that freely available, openly accessible research accelerates scientific discovery, reduces duplication of effort, improves the reproducibility and verifiability of findings, and supports more equitable global participation in academic discourse — particularly for researchers and educators in low- and middle-income countries who may not have institutional access to subscription-based publications.

This Open Access Policy applies to all content published in IJDMDE, including research articles, review articles, short communications, letters to the editor, and editorial commentary. It is binding on the journal's editorial board, publisher, all collaborating organisations, and all parties involved in the production and dissemination of journal content. This policy has been designed in full alignment with the requirements of the Scopus Content Selection and Advisory Board (CSAB), the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE), and the Principles of Transparency and Best Practice in Scholarly Publishing (4th edition, COPE/DOAJ/OASPA/WAME, 2022).

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1. Open Access Model and Compliance Standards
1.1 Diamond Open Access
IJDMDE operates exclusively as a Diamond Open Access journal. This model is characterised by the complete absence of financial barriers for both authors and readers:

• There are no Article Processing Charges (APCs) levied on authors at any stage — submission, review, acceptance, or publication.
• There are no subscription fees, access fees, or paywalls imposed on readers.
• There are no Article Submission Charges (ASCs) of any kind.
• All published content is freely and permanently accessible to anyone with an internet connection, without registration or login requirements.

All operational costs associated with peer review management, editorial workflow, journal production, online hosting, and long-term digital archiving are fully covered by Universitas Terbuka through institutional support, with no financial burden placed on authors, their institutions, or their funders. This model ensures complete independence of editorial decision-making from financial considerations: acceptance and rejection of manuscripts is determined solely on the basis of academic merit and peer review outcomes.

1.2 Compliance with International Open Access Standards
IJDMDE's open access model has been designed to meet or exceed the requirements of the following internationally recognised standards and best-practice frameworks:

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2. Immediate and Permanent Open Access
2.1 Immediacy of Access
All articles accepted for publication in IJDMDE are made freely available online immediately upon publication, with no embargo period of any kind. There is no delay between the date of publication and the date on which the full text becomes publicly accessible. Access is provided simultaneously in HTML and PDF formats on the journal's official website.

IJDMDE does not operate a tiered access model in which some content is open and other content is restricted. All published content — including the main article, supplementary materials, datasets, appendices, and research instruments — is subject to the same immediate and unconditional open-access requirement.

2.2 Permanence of Access
IJDMDE is committed to ensuring that all published articles remain permanently and continuously accessible online, irrespective of changes to the journal's hosting platform, institutional affiliation, or operational structure. The following measures collectively guarantee the permanence of access:

• All published articles are assigned a CrossRef Digital Object Identifier (DOI) providing a permanent, stable, and resolvable link to the article independent of URL structure.
• A continuously updated and complete archive of all published issues is maintained on the journal's official website at https://jurnal.ut.ac.id/index.php/ijdmde.
• All articles are simultaneously deposited in multiple independent long-term digital preservation systems (see Section 3).
• In the event of any change to the journal's hosting platform, publisher, or institutional affiliation, the Editorial Board commits to ensuring continuity of access without interruption and without loss of any published content.

2.3 Format and Accessibility Standards
IJDMDE publishes all articles in formats that maximise accessibility for the broadest possible range of users, including users with disabilities and users in low-bandwidth environments:

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3. Digital Preservation and Long-Term Archiving
Digital preservation — the active, ongoing effort to ensure that published scholarly content remains accessible, authentic, and usable over the long term — is a core and non-negotiable commitment of IJDMDE. The journal recognises that open access is meaningless without assured long-term availability, and has established a multi-layered digital preservation strategy accordingly.
3.1 Preservation Rationale
Without formal digital preservation arrangements, published articles are vulnerable to loss through server failure, domain expiry, institutional restructuring, funding cessation, or platform obsolescence. IJDMDE mitigates all such risks by ensuring that published content is preserved in multiple independent locations simultaneously, so that the loss of any single system cannot result in the loss of published scholarship.
3.2 Preservation Systems and Repositories
IJDMDE deposits all published content in the following digital preservation systems and repositories upon publication:

3.3 Preservation Standards and Formats
All content submitted to preservation systems conforms to the following technical standards to ensure long-term readability, authenticity, and usability:

• PDF/A (ISO 19005): the archival variant of PDF, designed specifically for long-term preservation of electronic documents.
• XML-JATS (Journal Article Tag Suite, NISO Z39.96): the international standard for structured, machine-readable representation of journal article content.
• Dublin Core and CrossRef metadata standards: for interoperable, machine-readable article-level metadata.
• Open, non-proprietary file formats for supplementary materials wherever possible (e.g., CSV over XLSX, TXT over DOCX, PNG/TIFF over PSD).

3.4 Preservation Audit and Verification
The Editorial Board, in collaboration with the journal's technical team at Universitas Terbuka, conducts an annual audit of all preservation arrangements to verify that:

• All published articles have been successfully deposited in each designated preservation system.
• Deposited content is complete, authentic, and retrievable.
• Preservation agreements with third-party systems (LOCKSS, CLOCKSS, Portico) remain current and active.
• Any gaps in the preservation record are identified and remediated promptly.

A summary of the journal's preservation status is published on the journal's website and updated annually.

3.5 Succession Planning
In the event that IJDMDE ceases publication for any reason, the Editorial Board commits to:

• Providing advance notice of at least 90 days to all preservation partners, indexing databases (including Scopus and DOAJ), and the journal's author community.
• Ensuring that all published content is transferred to a permanent, publicly accessible archive prior to cessation.
• Activating triggered-access provisions through CLOCKSS to ensure continued public availability of the complete archive.
• Ensuring that all DOIs assigned to published articles remain resolvable and correctly redirect to archived content.

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4. Persistent Identifier (DOI) Policy
4.1 DOI Assignment
A unique CrossRef DOI (prefix: 10.33830) is assigned to every article published in IJDMDE before or at the time of publication. DOI assignment applies to:

• All research articles, review articles, and other substantive content types.
• All Correction (Erratum), Retraction, and Expression of Concern notices, which receive independent DOIs cross-linked to the original article.
• Special issue content, including guest-edited volumes and themed collections.

The DOI is displayed prominently on the article landing page, in the article PDF, and in all article metadata records. Authors and users are required to use the DOI — formatted as a resolvable hyperlink (https://doi.org/[DOI]) — when citing or linking to articles.

4.2 DOI Maintenance and Resolution

IJDMDE maintains an active CrossRef membership and ensures that all assigned DOIs remain correctly configured and resolvable at all times:

• DOI metadata records are updated promptly whenever article information changes (e.g., correction of author name, updated page numbers, retraction notice).
• In the event of a change to the journal's hosting platform, DOI resolution records are updated within CrossRef to redirect to the new location without interruption.
• Retracted articles retain their DOIs permanently; the DOI resolves to the retraction notice and the original article record, clearly marked as retracted.
• DOIs are never deleted or deactivated, even for retracted articles, to preserve the integrity of the scholarly citation record.

4.3 Additional Persistent Identifiers

Identifier	Scope	Purpose
ORCID (Open Researcher & Contributor ID)	Author-level	Uniquely identifies authors; linked in all article metadata
ROR (Research Organization Registry)	Institution-level	Identifies author affiliations; supports funding compliance
ISSN (E-ISSN: 3047-9207)	Journal-level	Registered with the ISSN International Centre
CrossRef Funder Registry ID	Funding body-level	Identifies research funders; supports open access mandate compliance

Authors are strongly encouraged to include their ORCID iD in their manuscript submission. ORCID integration improves attribution accuracy, supports author disambiguation, and is increasingly required by funding bodies and indexing databases including Scopus.

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5. Article-Level Metadata Sharing and Interoperability
5.1 Metadata Content and Standards
IJDMDE provides complete and accurate article-level metadata for every published article. The minimum metadata record for each article includes:

Metadata Element	Standard / Format
Article title (English)	Dublin Core; JATS
Author name(s)	Dublin Core; JATS
Author ORCID iD(s)	ORCID schema; verified via ORCID API
Author affiliation(s)	ROR; JATS
Abstract (English, 200–250 words)	Dublin Core; JATS
Keywords (3–5 terms, English)	Dublin Core; JATS
Publication date (online)	ISO 8601 (YYYY-MM-DD)
Volume, issue, page range	JATS
DOI	CrossRef metadata schema
E-ISSN	ISSN International Centre
Licence (CC BY-SA 4.0)	SPDX identifier; embedded in CrossRef metadata
Funding information	CrossRef Funder Registry
Structured references with DOIs	CrossRef cited-by; JATS
Subject classification	Mathematics Education; distance learning taxonomy

5.2 Metadata Sharing Channels

Channel / Protocol	Purpose	Update Frequency
CrossRef (DOI registration)	DOI resolution; cited-by linking; metadata deposit	Upon publication of each article
OAI-PMH	Automated metadata harvesting by BASE, OpenDOAR, CORE	Real-time (OJS-integrated)
DOAJ API	Direct metadata deposit to Directory of Open Access Journals	Upon publication; monthly batch update
Scopus submission portal	Metadata and full-text submission for Scopus indexing	Per issue; upon request by Scopus
Google Scholar	Discovery via Google Scholar web crawl	Automated; within 2–4 weeks of publication
OpenAIRE	EOSC integration; Horizon Europe compliance	Automated via OAI-PMH
ORCID auto-update	Automated addition of articles to author ORCID profiles	Upon CrossRef DOI registration

5.3 Metadata Quality Assurance

• All author names, affiliations, and ORCID iDs are verified against author-submitted information prior to publication.

• All reference lists are checked for completeness and DOI accuracy before CrossRef metadata deposit.

• Metadata errors are corrected within five (5) business days of identification and updated records re-deposited across all channels.

• An annual metadata audit verifies completeness and accuracy across all indexing channels.

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6. Relationship to Indexing Databases

Database / Index	Status	Key Requirements Met
Scopus (Elsevier)	Under evaluation	Open access; DOI; CC licence; metadata; ethics; ISSN
DOAJ	Listed	Diamond OA; no APC; CC BY-SA; preservation; metadata
Google Scholar	Indexed	Public access; stable URLs; metadata tags; DOI
BASE	Indexed via OAI-PMH	OAI-PMH metadata; open access; DOAJ listing
CORE	Indexed via OAI-PMH	OAI-PMH metadata; CC licence; full-text
OpenAIRE	Indexed via OAI-PMH	CC licence; ORCID; funder metadata
ERIC	Under evaluation	Open access; education focus; structured metadata
Dimensions	Indexed	CrossRef DOI; open access metadata
Garuda (Kemdikbud)	Indexed	National indexing; open access
Scilit	Indexed	CrossRef DOI; open access

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7. Open Data and Research Transparency
7.1 Data Availability Statement
All manuscripts submitted to IJDMDE are required to include a Data Availability Statement, placed after the Conclusion and before the References section. Authors must clearly indicate one of the following:

• The data supporting the findings of this study are openly available at [repository name and DOI/URL].

• The data supporting the findings of this study are available upon reasonable request to the corresponding author.

• The study did not generate datasets requiring separate archiving (e.g., theoretical or purely conceptual studies).

• Data sharing is not applicable due to ethical restrictions (e.g., participant consent limitations, privacy obligations); the nature of the restriction must be briefly explained.

7.2 Recommended Open Data Repositories

Repository	Scope	Persistent ID
Zenodo (zenodo.org)	All disciplines; multidisciplinary; free	DOI (CrossRef)
OSF (Open Science Framework)	Social and behavioural sciences; education	DOI
Harvard Dataverse	All disciplines; strong data citation support	DOI
ERIC (eric.ed.gov)	Education datasets and grey literature	ERIC accession number
Figshare (figshare.com)	Figures, datasets, code, presentations	DOI
Institutional Repository (Universitas Terbuka)	UT-affiliated authors	Local persistent ID + OAI-PMH

7.3 Open Materials and Code
Where a study involves novel research instruments (questionnaires, rubrics, tests), software, scripts, or analysis code relevant to replication or reuse of the research, authors are encouraged to make these materials openly available via OSF, GitHub (with a Zenodo archival snapshot), or a disciplinary repository, and to reference the repository in the article with a persistent DOI or URL.

7.4 Preregistration
For empirical studies, IJDMDE encourages authors to preregister their research design, hypotheses, and analysis plan prior to data collection on a recognised platform such as OSF Registries, AsPredicted, or PROSPERO (for systematic reviews). Where preregistration has been undertaken, authors must include the preregistration DOI or URL in the manuscript.

8. Open Access and Research Impact
8.1 Article-Level Metrics
IJDMDE provides the following usage and impact metrics on each article's landing page:

• Full-text downloads (PDF and HTML) since publication.
  Abstract views since publication.
• Citations tracked through CrossRef Cited-By, Google Scholar, and Scopus (where indexed).
• Altmetric score (where available), reflecting online attention from social media, news outlets, and policy documents
• These metrics are updated regularly and made publicly available. In compliance with DORA and the Leiden Manifesto, article-level metrics are never used as criteria for editorial decisions.

8.2 Commitment to Equity of Access
The Diamond Open Access model is designed to promote equitable participation in global mathematics education scholarship. IJDMDE specifically affirms that:

• Researchers from institutions without commercial journal subscriptions have the same full access to IJDMDE content as those at well-resourced institutions.

• Authors from all countries and institution types — including independent researchers and those without institutional affiliation — are welcome to submit and publish at no cost.

• IJDMDE actively encourages submissions from researchers in underrepresented regions, including the Global South and Southeast Asia, through its editorial outreach activities and internationally diverse editorial board.

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9. Compliance with Funding Body Open Access Mandates

Funding Body / Mandate	Requirement	IJDMDE Compliance
Plan S / cOAlition S	Immediate OA; no embargo; CC BY or CC BY-SA	Fully compliant: immediate OA, no embargo, CC BY-SA 4.0
Horizon Europe (European Commission)	OA publication or repository deposit; CC BY preferred	Compliant: immediate OA; CC BY-SA 4.0; DOI; OpenAIRE metadata
Wellcome Trust	Immediate OA; CC BY licence	Substantially compliant: immediate OA; CC BY-SA (SA condition noted)
NIH (USA)	OA within 12 months; PubMed Central deposit	Compliant: immediate OA; authors may self-deposit in PMC
UKRI (UK Research and Innovation)	Immediate OA; CC BY; transparent reporting	Substantially compliant: immediate OA; CC BY-SA 4.0
LIPI / BRIN (Indonesia)	OA publication encouraged; national repository deposit	Fully compliant: OA; institutional repository deposit at UT

Authors required by their funding body to publish under a specific licence (e.g., CC BY rather than CC BY-SA) should contact the Editorial Board at the time of submission. The Editorial Board will consider reasonable requests on a case-by-case basis.

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10. Transparency and Best Practice Compliance

IJDMDE adheres to the Principles of Transparency and Best Practice in Scholarly Publishing (4th edition, 2022), issued jointly by COPE, DOAJ, OASPA, and WAME. The table below summarises compliance with all 16 criteria:

Criterion	IJDMDE Implementation
1. Website	Clear, professional journal website with complete policy information: jurnal.ut.ac.id/index.php/ijdmde
2. Name of journal	Unique, unambiguous journal name (IJDMDE); not confusable with established journals
3. Peer review process	Double-blind peer review by minimum 3 reviewers; full process described on journal website
4. Ownership and management	Published by Universitas Terbuka in collaboration with I-MES; editorial board composition published
5. Governing body	Editorial Board with named members, affiliations, Scopus IDs, and roles published on journal website
6. Editorial team / contact information	Editor-in-Chief, Managing Editors, Section Editors, and Reviewers identified with full affiliations
7. Copyright and licensing	Authors retain copyright; CC BY-SA 4.0 applied to all content; Copyright Policy published separately
8. Author fees	No APC; no submission fee; no charges of any kind; fee policy prominently displayed
9. Research misconduct	Full Research Misconduct Policy published; COPE flowcharts followed; allegation procedures defined
10. Publication ethics	Full Ethics Policy published; COPE Core Practices adopted; CSAB criteria explicitly referenced
11. Publishing schedule	Biannual publication (April and October); schedule published on website and consistently applied
12. Access	Full Diamond Open Access; no embargo; all content immediately and freely available
13. Archiving	Multi-system preservation: LOCKSS, CLOCKSS, Portico, PKP PN, Internet Archive, UT repository
14. Revenue sources	Institutional support from Universitas Terbuka; no APC revenue; no advertising revenue
15. Advertising	Journal does not carry advertising of any kind
16. Direct marketing	No unsolicited or misleading author solicitation; all submissions via OJS platform only

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11. Policy Review and Updates

This Open Access Policy will be reviewed by the Editorial Board at intervals not exceeding twelve (12) months, or sooner in response to:

• Changes in the international open-access landscape or funding body mandates.

• Updates to the Principles of Transparency and Best Practice in Scholarly Publishing.

• Revisions to Scopus content selection criteria.

• Changes in COPE guidelines or DOAJ membership requirements.

• Feedback from authors, readers, reviewers, or indexing bodies.

The effective date of the current version is published on the journal website. A version history is maintained for full transparency and accountability.

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For questions regarding this policy, contact the Editorial Office at ijdmdl@ecampus.ut.ac.id (subject line: OPEN ACCESS POLICY ENQUIRY).

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