Digital University Foundation supports the development and responsible adoption of scholarly journal publishing models ranging from conventional peer-reviewed journals to emerging forms of research communication.

While DUF's Journal Management System (JMS) focuses on the technical and operational infrastructure required to manage a journal, the Journals programme focuses on publishing models, scholarly communication practices, and the ways research can be reviewed, published, updated, and discovered.

Publishing Models

• Conventional Journals — established scholarly journals publishing peer-reviewed research through issue-based or continuous-publication models.
• Living Articles — scholarly works designed to be updated transparently as evidence, data, or analysis develops.
• Overlay Journals — editorial and peer-review layers applied to research already available through suitable repositories or preprint platforms.
• Micro Publications — concise scholarly outputs communicating a focused finding, observation, dataset, method, or other discrete research contribution.

Editorial Independence

Regardless of publication model, editorial decisions should remain independent and be based on clearly published editorial and peer-review policies. DUF may provide infrastructure, workflow design, publishing support, and technical guidance, but such support should not predetermine manuscript acceptance or peer-review outcomes.

Developing Publishing Models

Living Articles, Overlay Journals, and Micro Publications represent developing areas within DUF's scholarly communication framework. DUF does not represent these models as substitutes for established scholarly standards, but as responsible ways of making research communication more timely, transparent, reusable, and accessible.