Privacy Policy

The Electronic Journal of Medical Research is committed to protecting the privacy and confidentiality of all individuals involved in the editorial, peer-review, and publication processes, including authors, reviewers, editors, and website users. This Privacy Statement outlines how personal data is collected, used, stored, and protected in accordance with applicable data protection regulations such as the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR).

1. Data Collection

We collect personal data necessary for processing submissions and managing the peer review and publication workflow. The types of information collected include:

• Personal Information: Full name, email address, institutional affiliation, country, ORCID ID (if provided), and contact information.
• Manuscript Data: Title, abstract, keywords, author contributions, funding statements, manuscript files (text, tables, figures, supplementary materials).
• Editorial and Review Data: Reviewer recommendations, comments, editorial decisions, and communications exchanged during the editorial process.

2. Purpose and Use of Data

Personal data is used solely for journal-related purposes, including:

• Managing manuscript submission and review.
• Facilitating editorial and peer review workflows.
• Communicating with authors, reviewers, and editors.
• Publishing and indexing accepted manuscripts.
• Ensuring compliance with ethical and legal standards.
• Improving journal operations, website performance, and user experience.

We do not sell or rent personal data to third parties.

3. Data Sharing and Third-Party Access

Data may be shared only under the following conditions:

• Editorial Process: Personal data may be shared among editors and reviewers as necessary to complete the peer review process. Reviewers’ identities are typically kept confidential unless disclosure is mutually agreed upon (in double-blind or open peer review settings).
• Indexing and Abstracting: Author metadata (e.g., name, affiliation, ORCID, article title, DOI) will be shared with indexing databases (e.g., Scopus, PubMed, CrossRef) for citation and discoverability purposes.
• Third-Party Tools: Services such as plagiarism detection (e.g., iThenticate), DOI registration (e.g., CrossRef), and archiving (e.g., CLOCKSS, Portico) may have limited access to relevant data, under strict confidentiality obligations.
• Legal Compliance: Data may be disclosed when required by law, regulation, or legal request.

4. Data Security

We implement appropriate technical and organizational measures to protect personal data:

• Secure Transmission: All data exchanges through our submission system are encrypted via secure SSL protocols.
• Restricted Access: Only authorized personnel have access to editorial and personal data.
• Data Storage: Data is hosted on secure servers managed by trusted service providers and is regularly backed up.

5. Data Retention

We retain personal and publication-related data for as long as necessary to:

• Maintain a permanent scholarly record. • Fulfill legitimate operational and legal obligations. • Enable future reference, citation, and indexing of published work.

Reviewer and editorial correspondence is retained as part of the confidential editorial archive. When personal data is no longer required, it will be securely deleted or anonymized.

6. Rights of Data Subjects

Authors, reviewers, and editors have the right to:

• Access: Request a copy of the personal data held.
• Rectify: • Withdraw: Withdraw consent for certain data uses (where applicable).
• Erase: Request deletion of their personal data, unless retention is legally required or essential for publication integrity.

To exercise these rights, individuals should contact the editorial office through the contact details on the journal’s website.

7. Cookies and Website Tracking

Our website uses cookies and analytics tools to improve functionality and understand user engagement. Cookies are used to:

• Enhance user experience.
• Track aggregate usage data and traffic patterns.
• Enable session-based functionality for logged-in users.

Users can manage cookie settings via their web browser. Disabling cookies may affect some site features.

8. Changes to This Privacy Policy

We reserve the right to update or revise this privacy statement as necessary to reflect legal, technological, or journal policy changes. The most recent version will always be available on the journal’s website, with the effective date clearly stated.