Publication Ethics & Malpractice Statement

Privacy Statement

This Privacy Statement explains how the Caucasus Journal of Social Sciences (CJSS), published by the University of Georgia, collects, uses, stores, shares, and protects personal data through the journal website and its editorial management system.

The journal is committed to protecting the privacy and personal data of authors, reviewers, editors, Editorial Board members, readers, and other registered users. Personal data are processed only for legitimate academic, editorial, publishing, technical, and administrative purposes and in accordance with applicable data protection principles, including, where applicable, the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR).

1. Scope

This Privacy Statement applies to personal data processed through the CJSS website, the journal’s Open Journal Systems (OJS) platform, manuscript submission and peer review processes, editorial communications, and related publishing activities.

It applies to authors, co-authors, reviewers, editors, Editorial Board members, readers, registered users, website visitors, and other individuals who communicate or interact with the journal.

This policy concerns personal data processed by the journal. Research data underlying submitted or published studies are governed separately by the journal’s Research Data and Reproducibility Policy.

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2. Data Controller and Contact

The University of Georgia, Tbilisi, Georgia, acts as the data controller for personal data processed through the CJSS website and editorial management system.

Questions, requests, or concerns regarding privacy and personal data may be submitted to:

Email: cjss_editor@ug.edu.ge

Where applicable, requests may be handled in coordination with the University of Georgia’s designated data protection or administrative representative.

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3. Personal Data Collected

CJSS collects and processes personal data necessary for the operation of its editorial, peer review, publication, communication, and website services. Depending on the individual’s role and interaction with the journal, these data may include:

• Full name;
• Email address;
• Username and account information;
• Institutional affiliation;
• Department, academic position, or professional title;
• Country and institutional address;
• ORCID iD and other research identifiers;
• Academic qualifications and areas of expertise;
• Author and co-author information;
• Reviewer interests and reviewing history;
• Editorial correspondence and decisions;
• Manuscript, review, and submission records;
• Conflict-of-interest declarations;
• Funding and research ethics information;
• Technical information associated with use of the website; and
• Other professional information voluntarily supplied during registration, submission, review, or correspondence.

Authors are responsible for ensuring that any personal data relating to co-authors or other individuals are provided lawfully and accurately.

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4. Purposes of Data Processing

Personal data may be processed for the following purposes:

• Creating and managing user accounts;
• Receiving and administering manuscript submissions;
• Identifying authors and contributors;
• Selecting and inviting appropriate peer reviewers;
• Managing editorial screening and peer review;
• Communicating editorial decisions and revision requests;
• Managing corrections, retractions, complaints, and appeals;
• Preventing misconduct and protecting research integrity;
• Publishing accepted articles and associated metadata;
• Registering DOIs and other persistent identifiers;
• Submitting metadata to indexing and abstracting services;
• Preserving the permanent scholarly record;
• Administering the journal website and editorial platform;
• Maintaining website security and technical functionality; and
• Meeting legal, ethical, contractual, or institutional obligations.

Personal data are not processed for unrelated commercial purposes and are not sold to third parties.

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5. ORCID and Research Identifiers

CJSS supports the use of ORCID iDs to promote accurate author identification, attribution, and interoperability between scholarly communication systems.

Where an ORCID iD is provided:

• It is used for author identification and metadata purposes;
• Public ORCID information may be accessed in accordance with the individual’s ORCID privacy settings;
• It may be displayed with the author’s published article and biographical information;
• It may be included in article metadata submitted to DOI registration, indexing, abstracting, and preservation services; and
• It may be used to distinguish authors with similar names and improve the accuracy of the scholarly record.

Authors are required to provide an ORCID iD as part of the journal’s manuscript submission and publication requirements. Reviewers, editors, and other registered users may provide an ORCID iD where applicable.

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6. Legal Basis for Processing

Depending on the nature of the processing and the applicable legal framework, CJSS may process personal data on one or more of the following bases:

• The provision of editorial and publishing services requested by the user, including account registration, manuscript submission, peer review, and publication;
• The journal’s legitimate interests in managing editorial workflows, communicating with contributors, maintaining publication records, protecting research integrity, and administering its website;
• Compliance with applicable legal or institutional obligations;
• The performance of tasks connected with academic publishing and the maintenance of the scholarly record; and
• Consent, where consent is specifically requested for a particular processing activity and may lawfully be withdrawn.

Withdrawal of consent does not affect the lawfulness of processing carried out before consent was withdrawn. Some records may need to be retained notwithstanding a withdrawal request where necessary to preserve publication integrity, document editorial decisions, or comply with legal and ethical obligations.

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7. Sharing of Personal Data and Publication Metadata

CJSS does not sell personal data or disclose them to unauthorized third parties.

Limited personal data and publication metadata may be shared with trusted organizations and services where necessary for editorial management, publication, identification, indexing, dissemination, and preservation. These may include:

• DOI registration agencies, including Crossref;
• ORCID, where relevant;
• Indexing and abstracting databases;
• Library discovery and scholarly metadata services;
• Digital preservation and archiving services;
• Plagiarism-detection and research-integrity services;
• Website hosting and technical service providers;
• Editors, peer reviewers, and other authorized participants in the editorial process; and
• Public authorities or institutions where disclosure is required by law.

Only information reasonably necessary for the relevant service or purpose is shared. External services process information under their own privacy, security, and data protection policies.

Author names, affiliations, ORCID iDs, correspondence details where appropriate, funding information, contributor statements, and article metadata may form part of the public and permanent scholarly record.

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8. International Data Transfers

Scholarly publishing, DOI registration, indexing, plagiarism screening, metadata distribution, and digital preservation may involve service providers or systems located outside Georgia or outside the country in which an individual resides.

Where personal data are transferred internationally, CJSS seeks to limit the information transferred to what is necessary for legitimate publishing and scholarly communication purposes and to use reputable service providers with appropriate privacy and security practices.

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9. Data Retention

Personal data are retained only for as long as reasonably necessary for the purposes for which they were collected, subject to the need to preserve the integrity and continuity of the scholarly record.

Certain information may be retained permanently, including:

• Author names and affiliations;
• ORCID iDs;
• Authorship and contributor information;
• Published correspondence details where applicable;
• Article metadata;
• Editorial decisions and publication history;
• Corrections, retractions, and related notices; and
• Records necessary to establish the provenance of published work.

Other data, including inactive account details, reviewer records, unpublished submissions, and administrative correspondence, are retained only for as long as necessary for editorial, operational, ethical, dispute-resolution, or legal purposes.

Data may be corrected, restricted, anonymized, or deleted upon request where appropriate and where doing so does not compromise publication ethics, research integrity, the confidentiality of peer review, or the permanent scholarly record.

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10. Data Security

Personal data are managed through the journal’s Open Journal Systems (OJS) platform and related institutional systems.

CJSS and the University of Georgia apply reasonable technical and organizational measures intended to protect personal data against:

• Unauthorized access;
• Accidental or unlawful disclosure;
• Loss or destruction;
• Misuse;
• Alteration; and
• Unauthorized copying or distribution.

Access to non-public personal data is restricted to authorized editors, editorial staff, system administrators, and other individuals who require access for legitimate editorial, technical, or administrative purposes.

Although reasonable safeguards are used, no online system or method of electronic transmission can be guaranteed to be completely secure.

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11. Website Use and Technical Data

The CJSS website and its technical infrastructure may collect limited information necessary for system administration, security, statistical analysis, and improvement of website functionality.

This information may include:

• IP address;
• Browser type and version;
• Operating system;
• Device type;
• Date and time of access;
• Pages visited and navigation information;
• Referring website or source; and
• Technical error and security logs.

These data are used to maintain website performance, diagnose technical problems, prevent misuse, protect system security, and understand general patterns of website use. CJSS does not use these data for behavioural advertising or commercial user profiling.

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12. Cookies

What is a cookie?

A cookie is a small text file stored on a user’s computer, mobile device, or other device when a website is visited. Cookies may be used to support website functionality, retain user preferences, maintain login sessions, and improve the user experience.

Cookies used by the journal

The CJSS website may use cookies necessary for technical and functional purposes, including:

• Session cookies: temporary cookies used to maintain an active user session and support account login and website navigation;
• Language preference cookies: cookies used to remember the language selected by the user; and
• Security and functionality cookies: cookies necessary for the reliable and secure operation of the journal platform.

CJSS does not currently use third-party advertising cookies, targeted advertising cookies, or cookies for commercial behavioural profiling.

If third-party analytical or other non-essential cookies are introduced in the future, this policy will be updated to identify their purposes and the relevant service providers.

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13. Managing Cookies

Most internet browsers allow users to manage or disable cookies through their browser settings. Users may configure their browser to:

• Reject all or selected cookies;
• Notify them when a cookie is being stored;
• Delete cookies previously stored on their device; or
• Block cookies from particular websites.

Instructions are generally available in the browser’s help menu or official support documentation.

Disabling cookies that are essential to the operation of the OJS platform may affect account login, submission, navigation, language preferences, or other website functions.

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14. Confidentiality and Peer Review

CJSS operates a double-anonymized peer review process. The journal takes reasonable measures to protect the confidentiality of manuscripts, reviewer identities, review reports, editorial correspondence, and other non-public information.

In particular:

• Reviewer identities are not disclosed to authors as part of the standard review process;
• Author identities are not disclosed to reviewers where anonymization is maintained;
• Unpublished manuscripts and supporting materials are treated as confidential;
• Review reports and editorial correspondence are accessible only to authorized participants;
• Personal data are disclosed only where necessary for the editorial process; and
• Editors, reviewers, and editorial staff must not use confidential information for personal or professional advantage.

Confidential information may be disclosed where required to investigate suspected research or publication misconduct, respond to a legal obligation, or protect the integrity of the scholarly record.

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15. External Links

The journal website may contain links to external websites, databases, repositories, indexing services, social media platforms, or other third-party resources.

This Privacy Statement applies only to the CJSS website and its editorial management system. CJSS is not responsible for the privacy practices, security, availability, or content of external websites. Users are encouraged to review the privacy policies of third-party services before providing personal information.

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16. User Rights

Subject to applicable law and the need to protect the integrity of the scholarly record, individuals may have the right to:

• Request confirmation that their personal data are being processed;
• Request access to their personal data;
• Request correction of inaccurate or incomplete information;
• Request deletion of personal data where legally applicable;
• Request restriction of certain processing activities;
• Object to processing based on legitimate interests;
• Withdraw consent where consent is the legal basis for processing; and
• Request information about the recipients or categories of recipients with whom personal data have been shared.

These rights are not absolute. A request may be limited or declined where processing or retention is necessary to:

• Preserve the permanent scholarly record;
• Maintain the integrity and auditability of editorial decisions;
• Protect peer review confidentiality;
• Investigate or document publication misconduct;
• Exercise or defend legal claims; or
• Comply with applicable legal or institutional obligations.

Requests concerning personal data may be submitted to: cjss_editor@ug.edu.ge.

The journal may request reasonable information to verify the identity of the person making the request before disclosing, correcting, or deleting personal data.

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17. Privacy Policy Updates

CJSS may revise this Privacy Statement when necessary to reflect changes in legal requirements, journal practices, publishing services, or technical systems.

Any revised version will be published on this page and will take effect from the date of publication. Where changes are substantial, the journal may also provide additional notice through its website or editorial system.

Questions or suggestions concerning this Privacy Statement may be sent to: cjss_editor@ug.edu.ge.

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