International Journal of Social World

Disclaimer

IJSW Policies · Privacy

Privacy Statement

The International Journal of Social World (IJSW) respects the privacy of authors, reviewers, editors, research participants, and other users of the journal. This Privacy Statement explains how IJSW collects, uses, stores, and protects personal information in connection with its website, manuscript submission, peer review, editorial activities, and publication processes, particularly in the context of social science research, surveys, interviews, and research involving human participants.

1. Information We Collect

Depending on your interaction with IJSW, we may collect the following types of information:

Personal and Contact Information

  • Name
  • Email address
  • Telephone number, where required
  • Postal or correspondence address, where required

Professional and Academic Information

  • Institutional affiliation
  • Department or designation
  • Country
  • Academic or professional information relevant to the manuscript or editorial process
  • ORCID iD and other researcher identifiers, where provided
  • Research interests and relevant professional background, where submitted as part of the manuscript or editorial process

Account and Submission Information

  • Username and account details
  • Manuscript title, abstract, keywords, and manuscript files
  • Author and co-author information
  • Affiliations and corresponding author details
  • Cover letters, declarations, references, figures, tables, and supplementary files
  • Research instruments, questionnaires, survey forms, interview guides, and other supporting materials, where submitted
  • Other information submitted as part of the editorial process

Peer-Review and Editorial Information

  • Reviewer and editor details
  • Reviewer reports and recommendations
  • Editorial comments and decisions
  • Correspondence relating to manuscripts, peer review, and publication

Research Participant Information

Where relevant to a submitted manuscript, information concerning research participants may be included in the materials submitted to IJSW. Depending on the research design, this may include survey responses, interview transcripts, observation records, demographic information, or other data collected through social research.

Authors should take appropriate steps to protect participants' privacy and confidentiality before submitting research materials. Identifying information should not be included unless it is necessary for the legitimate research purpose and its collection, use, and disclosure are appropriately authorized. Authors should consider anonymization or pseudonymization wherever appropriate and should not submit unnecessary personal or sensitive information about research participants.

Publication and Payment Information

  • Information required for publication processing
  • Billing and invoicing details
  • Information relating to applicable publication charges or other journal-related payments

Technical Information

Where collected through the website or submission system, IJSW may process limited technical information such as IP address, browser type, device information, and access or server logs for website operation, security, and administration.

2. How We Use Personal Information

IJSW uses personal information for legitimate journal and publishing purposes, including to:

  • Create and manage user accounts
  • Receive and process manuscript submissions
  • Conduct editorial assessment and peer review
  • Communicate with authors, reviewers, editors, and other users
  • Process accepted manuscripts for publication
  • Manage applicable publication charges and related administration
  • Maintain accurate editorial and publication records
  • Support research integrity and the scholarly record
  • Operate, maintain, and secure the journal website and submission system
  • Assess research ethics declarations and statements concerning informed consent, confidentiality, and the protection of human participants, where relevant to a manuscript
  • Evaluate whether submitted research materials appropriately address participant privacy and the responsible handling of research data
IJSW handles personal information in accordance with the purposes for which it is provided and applicable requirements. The journal does not sell or rent personal information or use it for unrelated commercial marketing purposes.

3. Information Published with Articles

When an article is accepted and published, certain information becomes part of the public scholarly record. This may include the authors' names, institutional affiliations, country, ORCID iDs where provided, and corresponding author information.

Publication of this information supports proper attribution, authorship identification, discoverability, and scholarly communication.

For articles reporting surveys, interviews, fieldwork, or other research involving human participants, authors are responsible for ensuring that the published manuscript and its supplementary materials do not disclose participants' identities or confidential information without an appropriate basis and necessary authorization.

Participant quotations, case descriptions, photographs, and other potentially identifying materials should be presented with appropriate safeguards. Where consent or other authorization is required for publication of identifiable information, authors must ensure that the necessary requirements have been met.

IJSW may request clarification or appropriate revisions if submitted material raises concerns about participant confidentiality or the disclosure of personal information.

4. Confidentiality

Personal information obtained during manuscript submission, peer review, and editorial processing is handled with appropriate confidentiality.

Reviewer and editorial information is not publicly disclosed except where disclosure is consistent with the journal's policies, necessary for legitimate publishing activities, or required by applicable law.

Information about research participants contained in submitted manuscripts or supporting materials should also be handled with due care. Authors are responsible for protecting confidential research records and ensuring that participant identities are not unnecessarily disclosed during submission, review, or publication.

Where confidential information is shared with editors, reviewers, or service providers for legitimate journal purposes, it should be limited to what is reasonably necessary for the relevant activity. Access to such information should be restricted as appropriate to protect privacy and maintain the integrity of the editorial process.

5. Third-Party Services

IJSW may use appropriate third-party services to support journal operations, including manuscript submission and peer review, website and technical services, DOI and publication services, payment processing, communication, indexing or abstracting, and digital preservation.

Where personal information is shared with such service providers, only information necessary for the relevant service or legitimate journal purpose is intended to be provided, subject to applicable requirements and the arrangements governing those services.

Authors should avoid including unnecessary personal or confidential information about research participants in manuscript files, supplementary documents, or other materials submitted through the journal's systems.

The availability and use of particular third-party services depend on the journal's actual operational arrangements. This Privacy Statement does not imply that IJSW uses any specific external provider unless that service has been adopted by the journal.

6. Data Protection and Retention

IJSW takes reasonable technical and organizational measures to protect personal information against unauthorized access, disclosure, alteration, loss, or misuse.

Authors are responsible for handling research data appropriately before submission, including protecting confidential interview records, survey responses, recordings, field notes, and other materials that may identify research participants. Where appropriate, identifying information should be removed or separated from research data before submission or publication.

Personal information may be retained for as long as necessary to support editorial administration, publication activities, research integrity, legal or administrative requirements, and the maintenance of the scholarly record.

The retention of research participant information should be managed by the researchers or institutions responsible for the research in accordance with applicable ethical requirements, consent arrangements, institutional policies, and relevant law. Submission of a manuscript to IJSW does not, by itself, require authors to provide identifiable participant records when those records are not necessary for editorial assessment.

7. Correction of Personal Information

Authors, reviewers, editors, research participants whose information is handled by the journal, and other users may contact the IJSW Editorial Office if they believe that their personal information is inaccurate, incomplete, or requires updating.

Requests involving information already published as part of the scholarly record may require editorial assessment, particularly where a correction could affect authorship, research transparency, participant confidentiality, or the integrity of a published article.

Authors who identify an unintended disclosure of confidential or identifying participant information in a submission or published article should contact the IJSW Editorial Office promptly so that the concern can be assessed and appropriate action considered under the journal's applicable policies.

8. Updates and Contact

IJSW may update this Privacy Statement when necessary to reflect changes in journal operations, publishing practices, technology, or applicable requirements. The latest version published on the IJSW website will apply.

For questions regarding the collection, use, protection, or correction of personal information, including concerns about the handling of research participant information, please contact the IJSW Editorial Office through the contact details provided on the journal's official website.

This Privacy Statement should be read together with the Terms and Conditions and other relevant IJSW policies, including the journal's research ethics, publication ethics, and peer-review policies, where applicable.