Journal policy
Privacy Statement
What personal data the journal collects from authors, reviewers and readers, why it is collected, who can see it, how long it is kept, and your rights over it.
The principle
The names, email addresses and institutional details entered on this site and sent to the editorial office are used for the stated purposes of this journal and for nothing else. They are not sold, not rented, not shared with advertisers, and not made available to any other party for any other purpose.
What is collected, and why
From authors. Name, qualification, designation, institution, email address, telephone number, ORCID identifier where supplied, and the content of the manuscript and its correspondence. This is collected to run the review process, to communicate decisions, to publish the article with correct attribution, and to keep the editorial record.
From reviewers. Name, qualification, institution, email address, areas of expertise, and the reports written. This is collected to assign manuscripts, to record who reviewed what, and to issue certificates of service.
From people who write to the editorial office. Name, email address and the content of the message, kept only for as long as needed to deal with the matter.
From readers. The website sets no advertising cookies, uses no tracking pixels and requires no account. The hosting provider keeps standard server logs, which may include an abbreviated internet address and the pages requested, for security and reliability. These logs are not used to build profiles of readers and are not linked to any individual.
What is published
An article, when published, carries the names of the authors, their qualifications, designations and institutions, the corresponding author’s email address, funding statements and conflict of interest statements. This is normal scholarly practice and is what makes attribution and correspondence possible. Nothing else from the submission is published: the declaration, the reviewer reports, the review scores and the internal correspondence stay in the editorial file.
Reviewer identities are never published and are never disclosed to authors, before or after publication. The annual acknowledgement of reviewers lists names only with the consent of each reviewer and never links a name to a manuscript.
Who can see your data
Manuscript files and correspondence are accessible to the Editor in Chief, the Managing Editor and the reviewers assigned to that manuscript, and to no one else. Reviewers receive the manuscript with identifying details removed. Editorial email is held on the journal’s own accounts.
How long it is kept
Editorial records for published articles are kept permanently, since they are the evidence that the article was reviewed. Records for rejected and withdrawn manuscripts are kept for five years and then deleted. Reviewer records are kept for as long as the reviewer remains on the panel and for three years after. Correspondence unrelated to a manuscript is kept for two years.
Your rights
You may ask the editorial office to tell you what personal data the journal holds about you, to correct anything inaccurate, to remove you from the reviewer panel, or to delete data that the journal has no continuing reason to hold. Requests are answered within thirty days. The journal cannot remove the author details from a published article, since doing so would falsify the scholarly record, but it will correct any error in them promptly.
Security
Manuscripts and correspondence are held in access controlled accounts. The website is served over an encrypted connection. The journal will notify affected authors and reviewers without delay if any breach affecting their data occurs, and will say plainly what happened.
Changes and contact
Material changes to this statement are announced on the announcements page and dated at the top of this page. Questions about privacy go to the editorial office at the address on the contact page.