Maintaining confidentiality throughout the editorial and peer review process is a fundamental aspect of ensuring the integrity and fairness of the Global Social Sciences Review (GSSR). These protocols safeguard the privacy of authors, reviewers, and the content of manuscripts during the evaluation process. Below are the confidentiality protocols that all participants—editors, reviewers, and staff—must follow to ensure that sensitive information is handled responsibly and securely.
Confidentiality of Manuscripts
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Editors: Manuscripts submitted to GSSR are considered confidential documents. Editors must ensure that the manuscript's content, including its research data, findings, and any accompanying supplementary material, is not shared or discussed with individuals outside of the editorial team and assigned reviewers. Editors should refrain from using or disclosing any unpublished information in submitted manuscripts for personal research or any other purpose.
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Reviewers: Reviewers are required to treat the manuscripts they receive for evaluation as strictly confidential. They must not share, discuss, or distribute the manuscript or its content to anyone else, including colleagues, unless prior permission is granted by the editorial team. Reviewers should ensure that manuscripts and supplementary data are not shared in any format, either electronically or in print.
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Staff: Journal staff involved in handling manuscripts must also adhere to confidentiality requirements. Staff are responsible for ensuring that only authorized personnel have access to the submission system and that all manuscript-related data is kept secure. Staff members must not access or disclose manuscript content without authorization from the editorial team.
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Double-Blind Review: GSSR employs a double-blind review process, meaning both the reviewers and authors remain anonymous to each other throughout the review. Editors must ensure that the identities of the authors and reviewers are concealed. Ensure that manuscripts are properly anonymized before they are sent to reviewers. Take care to remove identifying information, such as names, institutional affiliations, and acknowledgments, from the document.
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Reviewer Anonymity: The identity of the reviewers must not be revealed to the authors or to other reviewers. Editors are responsible for preserving the anonymity of reviewers, even after the completion of the review process. Avoid any correspondence or system issues that might accidentally reveal a reviewer's identity to authors. Reviewer details should not be included in any public or private discussion of the manuscript.
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Communication with Authors: All correspondence between the editorial team and authors, including decisions, feedback, and reviewer reports, must be treated confidentially. Editors should ensure that only authorized individuals within the journal have access to this communication. Correspondence related to manuscript decisions, reviews, and revisions should only be shared with the authors and the editorial team. Emails or documents must not be forwarded or shared without permission.
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Communication with Reviewers: Similarly, all correspondence with reviewers regarding a manuscript, including their reports, should remain confidential. Reviewer comments and evaluations must not be shared with anyone outside the editorial process. Editors must ensure that reviewers’ comments and feedback are only communicated to the authors in a way that maintains the anonymity and privacy of the reviewer.
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Submission System Security: GSSR uses an online submission and peer review system. Editors, staff, and reviewers are responsible for safeguarding their login credentials and ensuring that unauthorized individuals do not access the system. Ensure that passwords and access to the submission system are regularly updated and that only authorized personnel have access to manuscript data.
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Secure Document Handling: Any manuscripts, reviewer reports, or related correspondence that are downloaded or handled outside of the submission system must be kept secure. Editors and reviewers should not store or transfer documents in unsecured locations or share them with unauthorized individuals. Use password-protected or encrypted devices and files when working with manuscripts or reports. Avoid storing confidential documents in public or unprotected folders.
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Rejected Manuscripts: Manuscripts that are rejected by GSSR should remain confidential, and any content from those manuscripts must not be shared or used in any form by the editorial team, reviewers, or staff. Ensure that rejected manuscripts and reviewer reports are properly archived or deleted from personal storage systems. Editors must not use unpublished information from rejected submissions for their own research or any other purposes.
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Published Manuscripts: Once a manuscript is accepted and published, the content becomes publicly available. However, any information about the peer review process, including reviewer identities and confidential discussions, must still be kept private. Do not disclose information related to the peer review process, even after the manuscript is published. Only the content of the published manuscript may be made public.
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Addressing Violations: Any breach of confidentiality, whether intentional or accidental, must be taken seriously. Editors are responsible for investigating breaches and taking appropriate action to resolve the issue. If a breach of confidentiality occurs (e.g., the accidental sharing of reviewer identities or unauthorized access to manuscripts), the editor should take immediate steps to mitigate the damage, inform affected parties, and prevent further violations.
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Consequences of Breaches: Individuals who violate the confidentiality protocols—whether they are editors, reviewers, or staff—may face consequences such as removal from the reviewer pool, revocation of editorial privileges, or other appropriate disciplinary measures. Establish clear consequences for breaches of confidentiality, and communicate these policies to all parties involved in the editorial process.