APC Waivers and Discounts Policy

Purpose

The Electronic Journal of Medical Research (EJMR) is committed to ensuring that Article Processing Charges (APCs) do not act as a barrier to the publication of high-quality research. This policy sets out who is eligible for a full or partial waiver, how to apply, and how such requests are assessed independently of the editorial and peer review process.

General Principle

Eligibility for an APC waiver or discount has no bearing on the editorial decision. All manuscripts undergo the same independent peer review described in EJMR's Peer Review Policy, and acceptance or rejection is based solely on the scholarly merit, originality, methodological quality, and relevance of the work. Waiver requests are assessed separately by the Editorial Office and are not visible to peer reviewers.

1. Waivers Based on Country Income Classification

  • 100% APC waiver: Available to contact authors with a primary institutional affiliation in a country classified by the World Bank as low-income economies, with a GDP of less than US$100 billion.
  • 50% APC discount: Available to contact authors with a primary institutional affiliation in a country classified by the World Bank as a lower-middle-income economy, with a GDP of less than US$200 billion.
  • Eligibility is determined by the World Bank's current income classification list at the time of manuscript acceptance. As this list is updated each July, there may be a short lag (typically until early August) before EJMR's records reflect the update; the classification in effect at the point of acceptance will apply.
  • Special discounts may also apply for invited articles, editorially commissioned work, or articles contributing to special issues.

Please note that changes made to the World Bank list of Low-Income Economies each July can take a short period of time to be reflected in our submission systems. You may find discrepancies until the beginning of August while the update work takes place.

2. Waiver for Authors in the Stanford/Elsevier World's Top 2% Scientists List

  • Corresponding authors who appear in the most recently published Stanford University / Elsevier "World's Top 2% Scientists" ranking (either the single-year or career-long citation impact list) are eligible for a 100% APC waiver, regardless of country of affiliation.
  • This waiver applies based on the corresponding author's standing; where the corresponding author is not listed but a co-author is, the request will be considered but is not automatically granted — please state this clearly in the request.
  • To claim this waiver, authors must provide a direct link or citation to their entry in the published database/ranking (e.g., the relevant Elsevier Data Repository / Mendeley Data record) at the time of manuscript submission or upon acceptance.

3. Other Discretionary Waivers

  • Special discounts may be considered for invited articles, editorially commissioned content, and articles submitted as part of a special issue, at the discretion of the Editorial Board.
  • Case-by-case hardship requests not covered by the categories above (e.g., independent researchers, early-career researchers without institutional funding) may be submitted with a brief justification and will be reviewed individually. Approval is subject to the availability of waiver funds and is not guaranteed.

4. Discounts and Waivers for the reviewers and editors

  • The EJMR also provides its reviewers with a 20% discount on the APCs and a full waiver to its editors and board members for one manuscript publication per year if it is submitted as a corresponding author.

How to Request a Waiver or Discount

  1. Waiver and discount requests must be submitted at the time of manuscript submission, or immediately upon notification of acceptance — requests made after an invoice has been issued may not be honored.
  2. Requests should be sent to the Editorial Office at editor.respublishers@gmail.com, quoting the manuscript's tracking number, with supporting evidence for the relevant category (e.g., institutional affiliation, or a link to the Top 2% Scientists database entry).
  3. The Editorial Office will confirm the outcome of the request in writing before an invoice is issued.

Verification and Decision

  • All waiver and discount requests are reviewed by the Editorial Office, independent of the handling editor and reviewers assigned to the manuscript.
  • EJMR reserves the right to request additional supporting documentation to confirm eligibility.
  • Approval of a waiver or discount is subject to the availability of funds allocated for this purpose and is not automatic even where an author meets the stated eligibility criteria.
  • The decision of the Editorial Office on waiver requests is final.

Review of This Policy

This policy is reviewed periodically alongside EJMR's APC Policy and may be updated to reflect changes in World Bank classifications, the Stanford/Elsevier ranking methodology, or the journal's operational capacity to offer waivers. The version in effect at the time of manuscript acceptance applies.