Publication Fees and Open Access Policy

Open Access Commitment

JSKAR is a fully open-access journal. All published articles are freely available to readers worldwide without subscription or paywall barriers.

Published articles are distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0) license. This license allows others to read, share, distribute, and adapt the work, provided appropriate credit is given to the original authors.

JSKAR is committed to making scholarly research accessible while maintaining rigorous editorial and peer-review standards.

Article Processing Charge

JSKAR operates using an Article Processing Charge (APC) model to support the costs associated with publishing and maintaining an open-access scholarly journal.

Standard Article Processing Charge: CAD $500

The APC applies only to manuscripts accepted for publication. There is no fee to submit a manuscript for consideration.

Authors are not required to make any payment during submission or peer review. Payment information is requested only after a manuscript has received an editorial decision to accept it for publication.

Editorial Independence and Fees

Editorial decisions are completely independent of an author's ability to pay publication fees.

Editors and reviewers do not consider an author's financial circumstances, institutional funding, or eligibility for a fee waiver when evaluating a manuscript.

Requests for fee waivers or reductions are handled separately from the editorial and peer-review process. Financial considerations do not influence decisions regarding acceptance, revision, or rejection.

Fee Waivers and Reductions

JSKAR recognizes that publication fees may create barriers for researchers who do not have access to institutional or research funding. The journal therefore considers requests for full or partial APC waivers or reductions.

Waiver or reduction requests may be considered based on factors such as:

Limited or unavailable institutional research funding
Financial circumstances of the authors or research team
Institutional or regional funding constraints
Research conducted by students or early-career researchers with limited financial support
Other circumstances that create a significant barrier to publication

Researchers from low- and middle-income countries may also request consideration for APC support. JSKAR may use internationally recognized country-income classifications as one factor when assessing such requests.

Waiver requests are considered independently and are not guaranteed. Authors are encouraged to contact the Editorial Office as early as possible, preferably at the time of submission or before acceptance.

How to Request a Waiver

Authors who require financial assistance should contact the JSKAR Editorial Office and briefly explain their circumstances and available funding support.

Email: info@idealabresearch.org

Waiver requests are assessed confidentially and separately from the editorial decision-making process.

Inaugural and Special Publication Support

During the development of JSKAR, the journal may provide full or partial publication-fee support for selected articles, special initiatives, or invited contributions.

Any such support is determined independently of the scholarly evaluation of the manuscript and does not guarantee acceptance or publication.

What the APC Supports

Article processing charges contribute to the operational and publishing infrastructure required to maintain an open-access scholarly journal. Depending on the publication stage and service requirements, these costs may include:

Editorial and manuscript management infrastructure
Peer-review coordination and administrative support
Article preparation, copyediting, and typesetting
Digital publication and website hosting
Persistent identifiers and DOI services
Metadata registration and scholarly discoverability
Digital preservation and archiving
Journal platform maintenance and technical support
Publication administration and communication

The APC does not represent a payment for acceptance. Publication remains subject to the journal's editorial and peer-review requirements.

Author Rights and Licensing

Authors retain appropriate rights in their published work while granting JSKAR the necessary rights to publish and distribute the article.

Articles are published under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0) license.

Under CC BY 4.0, readers may share and adapt published work provided that appropriate credit is given, a link to the license is provided, and changes are indicated where applicable.

Authors should review the journal's Author Guidelines and Copyright and Licensing Policy for complete information.

Transparency About Publication Fees

JSKAR is committed to clearly communicating publication fees and waiver arrangements to authors.

The current standard APC is:

CAD $500 per accepted article

Any changes to the standard APC or waiver policy will be communicated publicly through the journal website. Authors will be informed of applicable fees before publication.

Important Information for Authors

Submission is free.
Peer review is not conditional on payment.
Authors are not charged before acceptance.
Fee-waiver requests do not affect editorial decisions.
Acceptance is based on scholarly and editorial criteria, not ability to pay.
All published articles are openly accessible.

Related Policies

For information about the journal's editorial evaluation and peer-review process, see Peer Review Process.

For information about manuscript preparation and submission, see Author Guidelines.

For information about copyright and licensing, see Copyright and Licensing Policy.

For questions about APCs, waivers, or publication fees, contact the JSKAR Editorial Office.