Privacy Policy

Guinness Press collects personal information only when it is necessary to provide our publishing and editorial services. The categories of information we collect include:

• Submission data: name, institutional affiliation, email address, ORCID identifier, manuscript title, author contributions, and co-author details provided during the manuscript submission process.
• Reviewer data: name, institutional affiliation, email address, subject expertise, and peer review reports submitted by external reviewers.
• Contact data: name, email address, organisation, and message content submitted through our contact form.
• Newsletter data: email address provided when subscribing to our research updates newsletter.
• Technical data: IP address, browser type, operating system, referring URL, pages visited, and session duration collected automatically when you access our website.

We use the personal information we collect solely for the purposes for which it was provided and for the legitimate operation of our academic publishing services:

• To process manuscript submissions, conduct peer review, and communicate editorial decisions.
• To contact authors and reviewers regarding their submissions, revision requests, and publication status.
• To assign CrossRef Digital Object Identifiers (DOIs) to published articles, which requires transmitting author names and article metadata to CrossRef.
• To send editorial newsletters to subscribers who have explicitly opted in.
• To operate, maintain, and improve the Guinness Press website.
• To comply with legal obligations and resolve disputes.

We do not sell, rent, or trade personal information to third parties for marketing or commercial purposes.

Guinness Press operates a double-blind peer review system. Author identities are not disclosed to reviewers, and reviewer identities are not disclosed to authors during the review process.

Reviewer reports are treated as confidential. They are shared only with the submitting authors (in anonymised form) and the relevant editorial board members. Reviewers may not share, publish, or use manuscript content for any purpose outside of the peer review process.

Submitted manuscripts under review are treated as confidential documents. Editorial board members and staff who have access to manuscripts are bound by confidentiality obligations.

We share personal data with a limited number of third-party service providers who assist us in operating our publishing services:

• CrossRef: Author names, institutional affiliations, article titles, and publication metadata are transmitted to CrossRef for DOI registration. CrossRef's privacy policy governs how CrossRef processes this data.
• IP Indexing: Journal and article metadata (titles, abstracts, author names, DOIs) is submitted to IP Indexing for academic indexing purposes.
• Email services: We use a third-party email delivery service to send transactional and editorial communications. Email addresses are processed by this provider solely to deliver communications on our behalf.
• Website analytics: Aggregated, anonymised usage data may be processed by an analytics provider to help us understand website performance.

All third-party providers are contractually required to process data only for the purposes specified and in compliance with applicable data protection law.

Our website uses cookies and similar technologies to ensure the website functions correctly and to understand how visitors interact with it. Please see our Cookie Policy for full details. You may adjust your browser settings to refuse non-essential cookies at any time.

We retain personal data for as long as necessary to fulfil the purposes for which it was collected and to comply with our legal obligations:

• Published article metadata (author names, affiliations, article titles) is retained indefinitely as part of the permanent scholarly record.
• Submission data for rejected or withdrawn manuscripts is retained for up to three years and then deleted.
• Reviewer records are retained for up to five years to maintain the integrity of the peer review record.
• Contact form enquiries are retained for up to two years.
• Newsletter subscriber data is retained until you unsubscribe.

Depending on your jurisdiction, you may have the following rights regarding your personal data:

• Right of access: You may request a copy of the personal data we hold about you.
• Right to rectification: You may request correction of inaccurate or incomplete personal data.
• Right to erasure: You may request deletion of your personal data, subject to our legal obligations and the requirements of the scholarly record.
• Right to restrict processing: You may request that we limit the processing of your data in certain circumstances.
• Right to data portability: You may request your data in a structured, machine-readable format.
• Right to object: You may object to the processing of your data on grounds relating to your particular situation.
• Right to withdraw consent: Where processing is based on your consent (e.g. newsletter subscription), you may withdraw consent at any time.

To exercise any of these rights, please contact us at editorial@guinnesspress.com. We will respond within 30 days.

We implement appropriate technical and organisational measures to protect personal data against unauthorised access, accidental loss, alteration, or disclosure. These measures include encrypted transmission of data, access controls, and regular security reviews.

While we take reasonable steps to protect your information, no method of data transmission over the internet is completely secure. We cannot guarantee absolute security of data transmitted to our website.

Our website and publishing services are intended for academic researchers, scholars, and professionals. We do not knowingly collect personal data from individuals under the age of 16. If you believe we have inadvertently collected such data, please contact us immediately and we will take steps to delete it.

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect changes in our practices or applicable law. The effective date at the top of this page indicates when the policy was last revised. Continued use of our website following a change constitutes acceptance of the updated policy.

For material changes that affect how we use your personal data, we will provide reasonable notice by posting a notice on our website.

For privacy-related enquiries, requests to exercise your data rights, or concerns about how we handle your personal data, please contact our editorial team:

• Email: editorial@guinnesspress.com
• Address: 14 West 23rd Street, Suite 400, New York, NY 10010, USA
• Phone: +1 (212) 555-0198