SHARING OF KNOWLEDGE, INSPIRING DISCOVERY

At Global Research & Publishing Database (GRPD), your privacy is our priority. We are committed to protecting the personal information of authors, reviewers, editors, researchers, readers, and other users who interact with our journal and publishing platform.

This Privacy Policy explains how GRPD collects, uses, stores, protects, and, where necessary, shares personal information when you access or use our website, journal platforms, manuscript submission systems, editorial services, and related publishing services.

By accessing or using the GRPD website and its services, you acknowledge that you have read and understood this Privacy Policy.

1. Information We Collect

Depending on how you interact with GRPD, we may collect different categories of information, including:

Personal and Account Information

• Full name
• Email address
• Institutional or organizational affiliation
• Academic or professional designation
• Country or region
• Phone number, where voluntarily provided
• Username and login credentials
• ORCID or other researcher identifiers, where provided
• Profile information submitted by authors, reviewers, or editors

Manuscript and Publishing Information

For users participating in the publication process, we may collect and process:

• Manuscript titles and abstracts
• Author and co-author information
• Manuscript files and supplementary materials
• Keywords and subject classifications
• Reviewer reports and comments
• Editorial correspondence and decisions
• Revision history and submission records
• Publication information and article metadata
• DOI-related and indexing information
• Author declarations and publication-related documentation

Payment Information

Where publication fees, article processing charges, submission fees, or other payments apply, payment-related information may be collected and processed through authorized payment providers.

GRPD does not unnecessarily retain complete payment card information when payment processing is handled by third-party payment providers. Payment information may be subject to the privacy policies and security practices of the applicable payment processor.

Technical and Usage Information

When you visit or use our website, certain technical information may automatically be collected, including:

• IP address
• Browser type and version
• Operating system
• Device type
• Approximate geographic information derived from technical data
• Pages visited
• Date and time of access
• Referring website or page
• Access logs
• Website interaction and usage information
• Error and performance information

This information helps us maintain website security, diagnose technical problems, understand usage patterns, and improve our services.

Communications

We may retain information contained in communications that you send to us, including emails, contact forms, support requests, editorial correspondence, and other communications relating to our services.

2. How We Use Your Information

GRPD uses collected information only for legitimate and necessary purposes associated with operating our publishing platform and providing scholarly services.

We may use your information to:

• Create and manage user accounts.
• Provide access to manuscript submission and editorial management services.
• Process and manage manuscript submissions.
• Facilitate peer review and editorial evaluation.
• Communicate with authors, reviewers, editors, and other users.
• Send submission confirmations, revision requests, editorial decisions, and publication notifications.
• Maintain accurate publication and academic records.
• Process applicable publication fees and payments.
• Publish articles and associated scholarly metadata.
• Maintain journal websites, archives, and article databases.
• Improve website functionality, usability, and performance.
• Detect, investigate, and prevent fraudulent, abusive, or unauthorized activities.
• Protect the security and integrity of our systems.
• Maintain the confidentiality and integrity of the peer-review process.
• Comply with applicable legal, regulatory, and publication-ethics requirements.
• Respond to inquiries, complaints, and support requests.
• Send relevant journal announcements and service-related communications.

We may also use aggregated or anonymized information for statistical analysis, research, website improvement, and reporting purposes where such information cannot reasonably be used to identify an individual.

3. Manuscript and Peer Review Confidentiality

GRPD recognizes the importance of confidentiality in scholarly publishing.

Information associated with unpublished manuscripts, reviewer evaluations, editorial correspondence, and editorial decisions is handled according to applicable journal policies and the requirements of the peer-review process.

For journals operating under a double-blind peer-review model, reasonable measures are taken to protect the identities of authors and reviewers during the review process.

Users should not attempt to disclose confidential reviewer identities or circulate confidential peer-review materials without appropriate authorization.

After publication, certain manuscript and author information may become publicly available as part of the scholarly record, including article title, author names, affiliations, abstract, keywords, DOI, publication date, and other article metadata.

4. How We Share Your Information

GRPD does not sell or rent users' personal information.

We may share or disclose information in limited circumstances where necessary to operate our services, fulfill legitimate publishing functions, or comply with applicable obligations.

Information may be shared with trusted service providers such as:

• Website hosting and infrastructure providers
• Cloud storage and backup providers
• Security and fraud-prevention services
• Payment processors
• Email and communication service providers
• Website analytics and performance services
• Technical and software service providers
• DOI registration and scholarly infrastructure services
• Indexing and abstracting services where applicable
• Archiving and preservation services

Service providers are expected to process information only for appropriate purposes and to maintain reasonable security safeguards.

We may also disclose information when required by applicable law, court order, legal process, regulatory authority, or when necessary to protect the rights, safety, security, and integrity of GRPD, its users, journals, authors, reviewers, editors, or the public.

5. Publicly Available Publication Information

Academic publishing requires certain information to become part of the public scholarly record.

When an article is published, information such as the following may be publicly displayed:

• Article title
• Author names
• Institutional affiliations
• Abstract
• Keywords
• Publication date
• DOI and article identifier
• Citation information
• Article PDF and supplementary materials where applicable
• Funding and conflict-of-interest declarations where applicable

Authors should therefore ensure that manuscripts and accompanying materials do not contain unnecessary personal or confidential information that they do not wish to become part of the published scholarly record.

6. Cookies and Similar Technologies

GRPD may use cookies and similar technologies to support website functionality, security, authentication, user preferences, and performance analysis.

Cookies may help us:

• Maintain user sessions.
• Remember selected preferences.
• Support secure authentication.
• Understand website usage.
• Improve website performance and usability.
• Detect suspicious or unauthorized activity.

Users may be able to control or disable cookies through their browser settings. However, disabling certain cookies may affect the functionality of some areas of the website.

7. Your Privacy Rights

Depending on your location and applicable privacy legislation, you may have certain rights concerning your personal information.

These rights may include the right to:

• Request access to personal information we hold about you.
• Request correction of inaccurate or incomplete information.
• Request deletion of personal information where legally applicable.
• Request restriction of certain processing activities.
• Object to certain forms of processing.
• Request information about how your personal information is collected and used.
• Withdraw consent where processing is based on consent.
• Opt out of non-essential promotional communications.
• Request a copy of certain personal information in a portable format where applicable.

Some information may need to be retained where necessary for legal compliance, publication ethics, academic integrity, dispute resolution, fraud prevention, or preservation of the permanent scholarly record.

To exercise an applicable privacy right, please contact GRPD using the contact information provided at the end of this policy.

8. Data Security

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

Security measures may include:

• Secure authentication mechanisms
• Role-based access controls
• Encryption where appropriate
• Secure hosting and server configurations
• Access monitoring and logging
• Backup and recovery procedures
• Security monitoring
• Protection against unauthorized system activity

Access to manuscript and editorial information is restricted according to user roles and operational requirements.

Although we take reasonable steps to protect information, no internet-based system can be guaranteed to be completely secure. Users should also take appropriate precautions, including maintaining strong passwords and protecting their account credentials.

9. Data Retention

GRPD retains personal information only for as long as reasonably necessary for the purposes described in this Privacy Policy.

Retention periods may depend on:

• The nature of the information.
• The user's relationship with GRPD.
• The manuscript and publication lifecycle.
• Legal and regulatory requirements.
• Publication-ethics requirements.
• Academic record-keeping requirements.
• Dispute resolution and fraud-prevention needs.

Published scholarly records may be retained for long-term academic and archival purposes. This is important because published research forms part of the permanent scholarly record and may need to remain accessible for citation, verification, research integrity, and historical purposes.

Where personal information is no longer required, it may be securely deleted, anonymized, or otherwise appropriately disposed of, subject to applicable retention obligations.

10. International Data Processing

GRPD operates in an international scholarly environment and may work with authors, reviewers, editors, institutions, service providers, and researchers located in different countries.

As a result, personal information may be processed or stored in jurisdictions outside the country in which the information was originally collected.

Where applicable, GRPD seeks to use reasonable safeguards for international data transfers and processing in accordance with relevant privacy and data-protection requirements.

11. Children's Privacy

GRPD's services are primarily intended for researchers, academics, professionals, students, authors, reviewers, editors, and other individuals participating in scholarly communication.

We do not knowingly seek to collect personal information from children where such collection is prohibited by applicable law.

If you believe that a child has provided personal information to GRPD without appropriate authorization, please contact us so that we can review the matter and take appropriate action.

12. Third-Party Websites and Services

The GRPD website may contain links to external websites, databases, indexing services, payment providers, institutional websites, or other third-party services.

GRPD is not responsible for the privacy practices, security, content, or policies of third-party websites.

Users are encouraged to review the privacy policies of external services before providing personal information through those platforms.

13. Changes to This Privacy Policy

GRPD may update this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect changes in:

• Applicable laws and regulations
• Technology and security practices
• Publishing policies
• Website functionality
• Journal and editorial processes
• Data-processing practices

When significant changes are made, GRPD may provide notice through the website or other appropriate communication channels.

The updated policy will become effective when published on this page unless otherwise stated.

14. Contact Us

If you have questions, concerns, requests, or complaints regarding this Privacy Policy or the handling of your personal information, please contact GRPD through the official contact information provided on our website.

Global Research & Publishing Database (GRPD)

Website: GRPD official website

Email: Please use the official GRPD contact/support email published on the website.

For privacy-related requests, please include sufficient information to allow us to understand and respond to your request appropriately.

Our Commitment to Privacy

At the Global Research & Publishing Database (GRPD), we are committed to maintaining a secure, transparent, ethical, and responsible scholarly publishing environment.

We recognize that authors, reviewers, editors, researchers, and readers entrust us with important personal, professional, and academic information. We therefore strive to protect that information while maintaining the transparency, accessibility, integrity, and permanence required for responsible academic publishing.

Our goal is to balance privacy protection with the legitimate needs of scholarly communication, research integrity, peer review, publication ethics, and preservation of the academic record.