Privacy Policy

Researchers Journal of Science and Technology
Faculty of Physical Sciences, Akwa Ibom State University, Nigeria

The Researchers Journal of Science and Technology respects the privacy of its authors, reviewers, editors, readers, and other users of the journal. We recognize that personal information shared during manuscript submission, peer review, publication, correspondence, and other journal-related activities should be handled responsibly, securely, and transparently.

This Privacy Policy explains the types of information we may collect, how such information is used, how it is protected, and the circumstances under which it may be disclosed.

  1. Information We Collect

In the course of managing and publishing scholarly research, the journal may collect information such as:

  1. names and professional affiliations;
  2. institutional and departmental details;
  • email addresses and other contact information provided voluntarily;
  1. information submitted during manuscript submission and peer review;
  2. ORCID iDs and other researcher identifiers, where provided;
  3. correspondence between authors, reviewers, editors, and the journal;
  • information required for editorial, publication, indexing, and administrative purposes.

Authors and reviewers are expected to provide accurate information when submitting manuscripts, registering with the journal, or communicating with the editorial office.

  1. How We Use Personal Information

Personal information collected by the journal is used only for legitimate editorial, scholarly, administrative, and publication-related purposes. These purposes may include:

  1. receiving and processing manuscript submissions;
  2. communicating with authors, reviewers, editors, and other journal contributors;
  • conducting and managing the peer-review process;
  1. assessing manuscripts for editorial decisions and publication;
  2. preparing accepted articles for publication;
  3. maintaining accurate publication and editorial records;
  • identifying authors and acknowledging scholarly contributions;
  • responding to enquiries and providing journal-related information;
  1. supporting indexing, archiving, research visibility, and scholarly communication.

The journal does not collect personal information for purposes unrelated to its scholarly and publishing activities.

  1. Confidentiality of Manuscripts and Peer Review

The journal is committed to protecting the confidentiality of unpublished manuscripts and the peer-review process. Manuscripts submitted for consideration are handled only by authorized editors, reviewers, and other individuals directly involved in the editorial process.

Reviewers are expected to treat manuscripts and all information obtained during peer review as confidential. Unpublished information, ideas, data, methods, or results contained in a manuscript must not be used for personal advantage or disclosed to others without appropriate authorization.

The journal may disclose manuscript-related information only where necessary for legitimate editorial, ethical, legal, or publishing purposes.

  1. Information Published with Articles

When a manuscript is accepted and published, certain information may become publicly available as part of the scholarly record. This may include:

  1. the names of authors;
  2. institutional affiliations;
  • article title, abstract, keywords, and other bibliographic information;
  1. ORCID iDs or other researcher identifiers where supplied;
  2. acknowledgements and other information included in the final article.

Authors should ensure that any personal information included in their manuscripts, acknowledgements, supplementary materials, or datasets is appropriate for public dissemination and that the necessary permissions have been obtained.

  1. Protection of Personal Information

The journal takes reasonable measures to protect personal information against unauthorized access, misuse, alteration, disclosure, or loss. Access to personal information is limited to individuals who require it for legitimate editorial, administrative, technical, or publishing purposes.

Although reasonable safeguards are applied, no electronic communication or digital storage system can be guaranteed to be completely secure. Users should therefore avoid sending sensitive personal information that is not necessary for the journal's editorial or publishing activities.

  1. Use of Cookies and Digital Technologies

Where the journal's online platform uses cookies or similar technologies, these may be used to support essential website functions, improve user experience, maintain security, and understand general patterns of website use.

The journal does not use cookies to collect unnecessary sensitive personal information. Users may be able to manage or disable cookies through their web-browser settings, although doing so may affect certain website functions.

  1. Sharing of Personal Information

The journal does not sell, rent, or trade personal information for commercial purposes.

Personal information may be shared only when reasonably necessary for legitimate journal-related activities, including:

  1. editorial and peer-review administration;
  2. publication, indexing, archiving, and scholarly dissemination;
  • technical or publishing services supporting the journal;
  1. compliance with applicable laws, regulations, court orders, or ethical requirements.

Where third-party services are used to support journal operations, reasonable steps should be taken to ensure that personal information is handled appropriately and only for authorized purposes.

  1. Research Ethics and Personal Data

Authors are responsible for ensuring that research submitted to the journal complies with applicable ethical standards and relevant institutional, national, and international requirements.

Where research involves human participants, authors should obtain the necessary ethical approval and informed consent where required. Personal identifiers should not be published unless there is a legitimate scholarly or legal basis and appropriate consent has been obtained.

Authors should take reasonable steps to anonymize or protect personal data contained in research materials, datasets, images, case reports, or supplementary files submitted to the journal.

  1. Data Retention

The journal may retain personal information for as long as reasonably necessary to fulfil legitimate editorial, publishing, legal, ethical, archival, and scholarly-record obligations.

Because the journal serves as a permanent record of scholarly communication, certain information associated with published articles may be retained indefinitely as part of the academic publication record.

  1. Access, Correction, and Privacy Enquiries

Individuals may contact the journal regarding personal information they have provided, including requests to correct inaccurate information or enquiries about how their information is being used.

Requests relating to personal information should be directed to the official editorial office of the Researchers Journal of Science and Technology.

Where a request conflicts with legitimate editorial, legal, ethical, archival, or scholarly-record obligations, the journal may be unable to remove or alter certain information.

  1. Changes to This Privacy Policy

This Privacy Policy may be updated from time to time to reflect changes in the journal's editorial practices, publishing systems, legal requirements, or privacy standards.

Any significant changes will be communicated through the journal's official communication channels or website where appropriate. The updated policy will take effect from the date of publication.

  1. Contact

For questions, concerns, or requests relating to this Privacy Policy or the handling of personal information, please contact:

The Editorial Office
Researchers Journal of Science and Technology
Faculty of Physical Sciences
Akwa Ibom State University
Akwa Ibom State, Nigeria

Email: rejost21@gmail.com
Website: rejost.com.ng

Last updated: 2021