Privacy Policy

This Privacy Policy describes how the DOU Journal of Management Sciences ("DOUJMS", "we", "us", or "our"), published by the Faculty of Management Sciences, Dennis Osadebay University, Asaba, Delta State, Nigeria, collects, uses, and protects information about you when you use our website at doumanagementjournal.org (the "Platform").

By using the Platform, you agree to the practices described in this policy.

1. Information We Collect

1.1 Information you provide directly

• Account registration: First name, last name, and email address when you create an account.
• Author profile: Institutional affiliation, biography, ORCID identifier, and profile photo if you choose to provide them.
• Manuscript submissions: Uploaded PDF files, titles, abstracts, keywords, co-author information, and revision documents.
• Communications: Messages sent through our contact form or in-platform messaging between authors and editors.

1.2 Information collected automatically

• Usage data: Pages visited, articles viewed, download events, and session duration.
• Technical data: IP address, browser type, device type, and referring URL, collected via standard web server logs.

1.3 Information from third parties

• Google Sign-In: If you authenticate using Google, we receive your name and email address from Google as permitted by your Google account settings. We do not receive your Google password.

2. How We Use Your Information

• To create and manage your account and author profile.
• To process manuscript submissions and facilitate the peer-review workflow.
• To send transactional emails such as OTP verification codes, submission status updates, reviewer invitations, and editorial decisions.
• To display your published work and author profile on the Platform.
• To respond to enquiries submitted through the contact form.
• To monitor Platform performance, diagnose errors, and improve the service.
• To comply with applicable legal obligations.

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

3. How We Share Your Information

We share information only in the following limited circumstances:

• Editorial workflow: Assigned editors and peer reviewers may access manuscript content as part of the review process. Reviewer identities are kept confidential from authors under our double-blind review policy.
• Published author profiles: Your name, affiliation, and published articles are displayed publicly on the Platform as part of open-access publication.
• Service providers: We use Resend (email delivery) and Railway/AWS S3-compatible storage (file hosting). These providers process data on our behalf and are bound by data-processing terms.
• Legal compliance: We may disclose information if required by law or to protect the rights, property, or safety of the University, our users, or others.

4. Data Retention

We retain your account information for as long as your account is active. Published articles and associated author metadata are retained indefinitely as part of the permanent scholarly record. Unpublished or withdrawn manuscripts are retained for a reasonable period to support the editorial process, after which they may be deleted. You may request deletion of your account and personal data by contacting us (see Section 7).

5. Cookies and Tracking

The Platform uses session cookies to keep you logged in and CSRF cookies for security. We do not use advertising cookies or third-party tracking scripts. Standard web server logs may record your IP address and request details for security and diagnostic purposes.

6. Security

We implement industry-standard security measures including HTTPS encryption in transit, hashed password storage, CSRF protection, rate limiting on authentication endpoints, and access controls. No system is entirely secure, and we cannot guarantee absolute security of your data.

7. Your Rights

You have the right to:

• Access the personal information we hold about you.
• Correct inaccurate information via your account profile settings.
• Request deletion of your account and personal data, subject to our obligations to maintain the scholarly record.
• Export a copy of your data via Dashboard → Account → Export My Data.

To exercise these rights, contact us at our contact page or email info@doumanagementjournal.org.

8. Children's Privacy

The Platform is intended for use by researchers, academics, and students of tertiary level. We do not knowingly collect personal information from children under the age of 13. If you believe a child has provided us with personal information, please contact us and we will delete it promptly.

9. Changes to This Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. Material changes will be communicated by updating the "Last updated" date at the top of this page. Your continued use of the Platform after changes are posted constitutes your acceptance of the updated policy.

10. Contact Us

If you have any questions about this Privacy Policy or how we handle your data, please contact us: