Privacy Statement

Social Sciences Journal (SSJ)  |  e-ISSN 3047-7646

1. Scope and Responsibility

This statement applies to personal data processed through the SSJ website, OJS submission and review workflow, email correspondence, editorial records, publication metadata, journal administration, and related official services. Universitas Dehasen Bengkulu, acting through the authorized journal and publishing units, is responsible for determining the principal purposes of this processing.

This statement does not automatically govern independent websites, indexing platforms, researcher identifiers, payment providers, repositories, or external services linked from the journal website. Those services may process information under their own privacy notices.

2. Personal Data We May Collect

3. Purposes of Processing

Personal data may be processed to:

• register and manage user accounts and journal roles;
• receive submissions and administer editorial screening, peer review, revision, copyediting, production, and publication;
• communicate decisions, deadlines, policy information, publication notices, and service messages;
• verify authorship, contributor roles, affiliations, reviewer expertise, ethical approval, competing interests, and research-integrity information;
• register DOIs, disseminate article metadata, support citation and discovery, and preserve the scholarly record;
• screen for similarity, duplicate publication, manipulated content, compromised peer review, or other integrity concerns;
• process invoices, payment confirmations, waivers, refunds, and required financial records where applicable;
• respond to questions, complaints, appeals, corrections, retractions, privacy requests, and legal enquiries;
• maintain website operation, security, backups, audit trails, fraud prevention, and service quality; and
• comply with legal, regulatory, accreditation, contractual, and institutional obligations.

4. Grounds for Processing

Depending on the activity and applicable law, processing may be based on consent, a request to provide editorial or publishing services, performance of journal functions, compliance with a legal obligation, protection of legitimate scholarly-publishing and research-integrity interests, or another lawful basis.

5. Confidentiality in Peer Review and Editorial Work

SSJ applies a double-anonymous peer-review process. Author identities are concealed from reviewers where practicable, and reviewer identities are concealed from authors. Editors and authorized staff may access identity information when required to administer the process, manage conflicts, investigate misconduct, or fulfil legal obligations.

• Reviewers may access only the manuscript and information reasonably required for review.
• Manuscripts and review records must not be uploaded to public generative-AI systems or unapproved third-party services.
• Confidential reviewer comments are shared only with authorized editors unless disclosure is required under an established procedure.
• Editorial records are not used to disadvantage a person for submitting a complaint, appeal, or good-faith integrity concern.

6. Sharing and Disclosure

The journal limits disclosure to what is reasonably necessary for a stated purpose. Recipients may include:

Service providers should receive only the information necessary for their function and are expected to apply appropriate confidentiality, security, and data-protection safeguards.

7. Published Information and Scholarly Metadata

Publication requires certain information to remain openly available as part of the scholarly record. This may include author names, affiliations, ORCID iDs, correspondence details selected for publication, contributor roles, article title, abstract, keywords, references, funding, acknowledgements, conflict-of-interest statements, ethics declarations, licence, citation data, DOI, correction notices, expressions of concern, and retraction notices.

8. International Data Transfers

Scholarly publishing is international. Article metadata and limited personal data may be processed or made available outside Indonesia through DOI agencies, indexing services, repositories, preservation networks, hosting providers, email services, and international reviewers or editors. The journal will apply reasonable safeguards and limit transfers to data necessary for the relevant publishing purpose, subject to applicable law.

9. Data Retention

10. Cookies, Logs, and Website Analytics

OJS may use session cookies and similar technologies necessary for login, security, language preferences, navigation, and workflow operation. Server logs may record IP address, browser information, access time, requested pages, and security events. Essential cookies are required for core website functions.

If optional analytics or non-essential cookies are introduced, the journal should provide appropriate notice and consent controls where required. Users can control cookies through browser settings, but disabling essential cookies may prevent login or other OJS functions.

11. Rights of Data Subjects

Subject to verification, applicable law, and legitimate limitations connected with scholarly publishing, a person may request to:

• obtain information about whether and how their personal data are processed;
• access personal data held about them;
• correct inaccurate or incomplete account and profile information;
• withdraw consent where processing is based on consent;
• request deletion, restriction, suspension, or objection where legally applicable;
• request a copy or transfer of eligible data where applicable; and
• submit a complaint concerning the handling of personal data.

12. Data Security and Breach Response

The journal and publisher apply reasonable administrative, technical, and organizational measures appropriate to the nature of the data and foreseeable risks. Measures may include role-based access, account authentication, software updates, restricted administrative access, backups, secure communication, staff awareness, service-provider controls, and incident documentation.

No internet service can guarantee absolute security. Suspected unauthorized access, loss, alteration, or disclosure should be reported promptly. The publisher will assess the incident, contain and document it, take corrective action, and notify affected persons or competent authorities when required by applicable law.

13. Sensitive Data and Research-Participant Information

Authors must not submit unnecessary personally identifiable, sensitive, financial, health, biometric, genetic, child, criminal-record, or other specially protected data about research participants. Where such information is scientifically necessary, authors must have an appropriate ethical and lawful basis, apply data minimization, obtain consent or authorization where required, anonymize or de-identify data where practicable, and comply with the journal's research-ethics and data-sharing policies.

The journal website is intended for scholarly-publishing participants and is not designed as a general service for children. A parent, guardian, researcher, or institution who believes that children's data have been submitted improperly should contact the journal promptly.

14. Artificial Intelligence and Automated Decisions

The journal may use approved technical tools to support similarity screening, security, metadata processing, or administrative efficiency. Such tools do not replace accountable human editorial judgment. Manuscripts, peer-review reports, or confidential correspondence must not be uploaded to public generative-AI systems by editors or reviewers. SSJ does not make acceptance, rejection, retraction, or misconduct decisions solely through automated processing.

15. Email Communication and Marketing

The journal may send transactional messages required for registration, submission, review, production, publication, policy, security, and account administration. Optional announcements or calls for papers should be sent only when consistent with user preferences and applicable requirements. Email addresses will not be supplied to unrelated third parties for commercial marketing.

16. External Links and Services

The website may link to ORCID, Crossref, indexing databases, repositories, social media, payment services, or other third-party websites. SSJ is not responsible for the independent privacy practices of those services. Users should review the privacy notice of an external service before providing personal information.

17. Policy Updates

This statement may be revised to reflect changes in law, OJS functions, journal workflow, service providers, security practices, or publishing standards. Material changes will be dated and published on the journal website. Where appropriate, registered users may also be notified through OJS or their correspondence email.

18. Privacy Requests and Complaints

A privacy request should identify the requester, explain the data or processing concerned, and provide sufficient information for identity verification and response. Do not send passwords, card PINs, online-banking credentials, or unnecessary sensitive information. Requests and complaints should be submitted through the journal's official contact channel.