Open Access Options

Open Access Licensing and Policies

User Rights

All articles published under the gold open-access model are immediately and permanently accessible to all readers for free. Users can read, download, copy, and distribute the content without restrictions. Authors can choose from different licensing options that specify how their work can be reused. The available licenses for this journal include:

• Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY)

This license allows users to distribute, copy, and create adaptations, abstracts, or derivative works of the article, including translations. Articles can be included in collective works, such as anthologies, and used for text or data mining—even for commercial purposes. However, users must provide proper credit to the author(s) with a link to the original publication via its DOI, include a reference to the license, indicate any modifications made, and ensure that any adaptations do not misrepresent or harm the author's reputation.

• Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs (CC BY-NC-ND)
  This license permits users to distribute and copy the article, as well as include it in collective works, but only for non-commercial purposes. Users must provide appropriate credit to the author(s) with a DOI link, reference the license, and ensure the article remains unchanged.

If your funding body requires compliance with specific open-access policies, you may request a CC BY license upon acceptance of your manuscript.

Author Rights

For open-access publications, this journal operates under an exclusive licensing agreement where authors retain copyright and scholarly usage rights.

Green Open Access & Embargo Period

Authors publishing under the subscription model can self-archive their accepted manuscript immediately, allowing public access via their institution’s repository after an embargo period. The accepted manuscript includes any revisions made during submission, peer review, and editorial feedback.

However, the final published version of the article cannot be shared on platforms like ResearchGate or Academia.edu to maintain the integrity of peer-reviewed journal publishing.

Responsible Sharing & Author Support

• Authors can learn more about how to share their research responsibly in Elsevier journals.
• Additional resources and answers to frequently asked questions are available in the Journal Article Publishing Support Center.

For further details on open-access benefits, agreements, funding, licensing policies, and pricing, authors can explore Elsevier’s dedicated resources.