The Preclinical Studies Journal (PCS) is committed to protecting the privacy, confidentiality, and security of the personal information entrusted to the journal during manuscript submission, peer review, editorial processing, publication, and related publishing activities.
This Privacy Statement explains how personal information is collected, processed, stored, protected, shared, and retained in connection with the journal's editorial and publishing operations.
By creating an account, submitting a manuscript, accepting a review invitation, serving as an editor, or otherwise using the journal's website and editorial management system, users acknowledge that they have read and understood this Privacy Statement and consent to the practices described herein.
1. Collection of Personal Information
PCS collects only the personal information necessary to operate the journal and support scholarly publishing activities.
Depending on the user's role, the information collected may include:
- Full name
- Institutional affiliation
- Email address
- Country and contact information
- ORCID iD (where provided)
- Username and account credentials
- Areas of expertise and reviewing interests (for reviewers)
- Other information voluntarily submitted through the journal's online system
2. Purpose of Data Processing
Personal information is processed exclusively for legitimate editorial, academic, and publishing purposes, including:
- Managing manuscript submission and peer review in accordance with our Author Guidelines.
- Editorial assessment and publication decisions.
- Communication among authors, reviewers, editors, and journal staff.
- Production, publication, indexing, dissemination, and long-term archiving of published articles and metadata as outlined in Manuscript Preparation.
- Maintaining accurate editorial and reviewer records.
- Improving journal administration, website functionality, and editorial services.
PCS does not sell, rent, or use personal information for unrelated commercial or marketing purposes.
3. Confidentiality
PCS treats submitted manuscripts, reviewer reports, editorial correspondence, supporting files, and personal information as confidential throughout the editorial process.
Access is restricted to individuals whose responsibilities require it, including:
- Authors, where appropriate.
- Assigned reviewers.
- Handling editors.
- Authorized editorial staff and system administrators.
Editors and reviewers must preserve the confidentiality of all unpublished materials, must not disclose manuscript content to unauthorized individuals, and must not use confidential information for personal, academic, or commercial advantage.
4. Data Security
PCS implements appropriate technical and organizational safeguards to protect personal information against unauthorized access, disclosure, alteration, loss, or misuse.
Access to personal information is limited to authorized personnel with legitimate editorial or administrative responsibilities.
Although reasonable security measures are maintained, no method of electronic storage or internet transmission can be guaranteed to be completely secure.
5. Data Sharing
Personal information is shared only when necessary to support legitimate scholarly publishing activities.
This may include:
- DOI registration agencies (e.g., Crossref).
- Abstracting and indexing services.
- Digital preservation and archiving services.
- ORCID integration, where authorized by the user.
- Competent legal or regulatory authorities when required by applicable law.
Only the minimum information necessary for these purposes is disclosed.
6. Published Information
Information contained in published articles forms part of the permanent scholarly record.
Depending on the publication, this may include:
- Author names.
- Institutional affiliations.
- Corresponding author contact information.
- ORCID iDs.
- Article metadata.
- Funding information and acknowledgements.
Published information may be indexed and disseminated through bibliographic databases, search engines, library catalogues, and scholarly discovery services as part of About the Journal practices.
7. Data Retention
Personal information is retained only for as long as necessary to support editorial operations, publication, indexing, archiving, and applicable legal obligations.
Editorial records relating to authors, reviewers, and editors may be retained to preserve the integrity and continuity of the scholarly record.
Where appropriate, personal information that is no longer required will be securely deleted or anonymized.
8. Ethical Handling of Personal Information
PCS does not intentionally collect sensitive personal information beyond what is necessary for scholarly publishing.
Authors are responsible for ensuring that manuscripts comply with applicable ethical standards relating to informed consent, participant privacy, anonymization of personal or clinical information, and institutional ethical approval, where required, as specified in Journal Policies.
9. User Rights
Subject to applicable laws and editorial requirements, users may have the right to:
- Access their personal information.
- Request correction of inaccurate or incomplete information.
- Update their account details.
- Request deletion of personal information where appropriate.
- Withdraw consent for optional data processing where applicable.
Requests affecting the published scholarly record may be subject to editorial and legal limitations.
10. Cookies and Website Usage
The PCS website may use cookies and similar technologies to support website functionality, user authentication, system security, and performance.
Limited website analytics may also be used to improve usability and monitor overall system performance.
These technologies are used solely to support the normal operation and improvement of the journal website.
11. Artificial Intelligence and Confidentiality
To protect the confidentiality of manuscripts and personal information, confidential editorial materials—including manuscripts, reviewer reports, editorial correspondence, and supporting files—must not be uploaded to generative Artificial Intelligence (AI) tools or external services unless expressly authorized by the Editorial Office.
Any permitted use of AI-assisted technologies must not compromise confidentiality, data security, editorial independence, or the integrity of the peer-review process.
12. Legal Compliance
PCS processes personal information in accordance with applicable data protection laws, internationally recognized privacy principles, and the journal's editorial and publication policies, including the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), where applicable, and core standards outlined in Journal Policies.
13. Changes to this Privacy Statement
PCS may revise this Privacy Statement periodically to reflect changes in legal requirements, editorial practices, technological developments, or journal operations.
The most recent version will always be published on the journal website and becomes effective upon publication unless otherwise stated.
Users are encouraged to review this page periodically to remain informed of any updates.
14. Contact Information
Questions regarding this Privacy Statement or the processing of personal information may be directed to the PCS Editorial Office.
Email: ais@aieg.us
