1. Our Commitment to Data Protection

Boston Research Journals is committed to upholding the highest standards of data protection and privacy for our authors, reviewers, editors, and readers worldwide. We recognize and respect the privacy rights of individuals and are dedicated to processing personal data in a fair, transparent, and secure manner, in compliance with the General Data Protection Regulation (EU) 2016/679 (GDPR).

This statement outlines our practices for collecting, using, storing, and protecting personal data for individuals within the European Union (EU) and European Economic Area (EEA).

2. Who We Are (Data Controller)

For the purposes of the GDPR, the Data Controller is:
Boston Research Journals
Contact for data protection inquiries: [email protected]

3. What Personal Data We Collect and Our Lawful Basis for Processing

We only collect personal data that is necessary for our legitimate purposes as an academic publisher. The lawful bases for our processing activities are primarily:

• Performance of a Contract: Processing your data is necessary to fulfill our agreement with you (e.g., to process and publish your manuscript).

• Legitimate Interest: We process your data for our legitimate interests, such as maintaining the integrity of the scholarly record and communicating with the academic community, provided these interests do not override your rights and freedoms.

• Consent: Where required, we will ask for your explicit consent before processing your data (e.g., for marketing communications).

• Legal Obligation: We may need to process your data to comply with a legal or regulatory obligation.

Here are the main categories of data we process:

4. Your Data Subject Rights under GDPR

If you are a resident of the EU/EEA, you have the following rights regarding your personal data:

• The Right to Be Informed: To be informed about how we collect and use your personal data. This policy serves that purpose.

• The Right of Access: To request a copy of the personal data we hold about you.

• The Right to Rectification: To request that we correct any inaccurate or incomplete personal data.

• The Right to Erasure (The “Right to be Forgotten”): To request that we delete your personal data. Please note that this right is not absolute and does not apply to data we are required to keep for the integrity of the scholarly record (e.g., your name and affiliation on a published article).

• The Right to Restrict Processing: To request that we limit the processing of your personal data in certain circumstances.

• The Right to Data Portability: To receive your personal data in a structured, commonly used, and machine-readable format.

• The Right to Object: To object to our processing of your personal data, particularly for direct marketing purposes.

• Rights in Relation to Automated Decision Making and Profiling: We do not use your data for automated decision-making that has a legal or similarly significant effect on you.

5. How to Exercise Your Rights

To exercise any of your rights, please submit a request to our data protection contact at:
[email protected]

We will respond to your request within one month, in accordance with GDPR requirements. We may need to request specific information from you to help us confirm your identity.

6. Data Security

We have implemented appropriate technical and organizational security measures to protect your personal data from accidental loss, unauthorized access, alteration, or disclosure. These measures include data encryption, access controls, and regular security assessments.

7. International Data Transfers

As an international publisher, we may transfer your personal data to individuals and service providers located outside the EU/EEA (e.g., to an editor or reviewer in another country). When we do so, we ensure that appropriate safeguards are in place to protect your data, such as using Standard Contractual Clauses (SCCs) approved by the European Commission.

8. Data Retention

We will only retain your personal data for as long as necessary to fulfill the purposes for which it was collected.

• Published Content: Data that is part of the permanent scholarly record (e.g., author and affiliation information on a published paper) will be retained indefinitely to maintain the integrity of that record.

• Account and Submission Data: Data related to your account or non-published submissions will be retained for as long as you have an active relationship with us or as required for our operational needs.

• Marketing Consents: If you have consented to receive marketing communications, we will retain your data until you unsubscribe.

9. Complaints

If you have a concern about our data processing practices, we hope you will contact us first at [email protected] so we can address it. However, you also have the right to lodge a complaint with your local data protection supervisory authority.