Privacy Statement

  1. Introduction

Jurnal BIOS LOGOS, published by the Department of Biology, Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Sciences, Sam Ratulangi University, is committed to protecting the privacy and personal information of authors, reviewers, editors, readers, and other users of its online journal platform.

This Privacy Statement explains how Jurnal BIOS LOGOS collects, uses, processes, stores, shares, and protects personal information obtained through the journal website and its Open Journal Systems (OJS) platform.

Jurnal BIOS LOGOS seeks to handle personal information responsibly, transparently, and in accordance with applicable data protection laws and recognized principles of privacy protection.

By using the Jurnal BIOS LOGOS website, creating an account, submitting a manuscript, participating in peer review, or communicating with the editorial office, users acknowledge the processing of personal information as described in this Privacy Statement.

  1. Information We Collect

Jurnal BIOS LOGOS may collect personal information necessary to support the scholarly publishing process.

Information provided directly by users

For authors, this may include:

  • name;
  • email address;
  • institutional affiliation;
  • postal address, where required;
  • telephone number, where provided;
  • ORCID iD;
  • biographical information, where provided;
  • manuscript metadata;
  • authorship information;
  • conflict-of-interest declarations;
  • funding information; and
  • other information submitted as part of the manuscript and publication process.

For reviewers, this may include:

  • name;
  • email address;
  • institutional affiliation;
  • areas of expertise;
  • ORCID iD, where provided;
  • review history; and
  • the content of peer-review reports.

For editors and editorial staff, the journal may process information necessary to administer editorial responsibilities.

For readers and registered users, information may include:

  • name;
  • username;
  • email address;
  • affiliation; and
  • communication preferences.

If users contact the editorial office directly, Jurnal BIOS LOGOS may retain contact details and the content of the correspondence.

Information collected automatically

The OJS platform and supporting server infrastructure may automatically collect technical information such as:

  • IP address;
  • browser type;
  • operating system;
  • referring webpage;
  • pages visited;
  • date and time of access;
  • device-related information;
  • server logs; and
  • cookie-related information.

Such information may be used for website operation, security, technical troubleshooting, and aggregated usage analysis.

  1. How We Use Personal Information

Jurnal BIOS LOGOS processes personal information for purposes related to scholarly publishing and journal administration, including:

  • managing manuscript submissions;
  • conducting editorial screening;
  • administering peer review;
  • communicating editorial decisions;
  • processing manuscript revisions;
  • copyediting, production, and publication;
  • communicating with authors, reviewers, and editors;
  • managing OJS user accounts;
  • registering and maintaining article metadata;
  • supporting DOI registration and indexing;
  • maintaining the integrity of the scholarly record;
  • preventing fraud, misuse, and publication misconduct;
  • ensuring website and system security;
  • generating aggregated or anonymized journal statistics; and
  • complying with legal, ethical, institutional, or regulatory obligations.

Personal information will not be used for unrelated purposes without an appropriate legal or operational basis.

  1. Legal Basis for Processing Personal Information

Jurnal BIOS LOGOS may process personal information on one or more of the following bases:

  • Consent, where users voluntarily provide information or opt in to certain communications;
  • Performance of scholarly publishing services, including manuscript submission, peer review, editorial processing, and publication;
  • Legitimate interests, including managing the journal, maintaining editorial integrity, ensuring system security, preserving the scholarly record, and communicating with users;
  • Compliance with legal or institutional obligations; and
  • Public interest in the integrity and dissemination of scholarly communication, where applicable.

Where processing is based on consent, users may withdraw their consent subject to legal, contractual, editorial, and scholarly-record requirements.

  1. Data Sharing and Disclosure

Jurnal BIOS LOGOS does not sell, rent, or lease personal information to third parties for commercial marketing purposes.

Personal information may be shared only where necessary for legitimate journal operations.

Published articles

The following information may be publicly displayed as part of the scholarly record:

  • author names;
  • institutional affiliations;
  • corresponding author contact information where applicable;
  • ORCID iDs;
  • article metadata;
  • funding information; and
  • other information necessary for scholarly attribution and discoverability.

Peer review

Jurnal BIOS LOGOS applies a double-blind peer-review process. The identities of authors and reviewers are concealed from each other during the review process.

Reviewer identities will not normally be disclosed to authors without appropriate authorization. Reviewer reports are treated as confidential editorial records unless otherwise stated by the journal's peer-review policy.

Service providers and scholarly infrastructure

Necessary information may be processed through third-party or institutional services supporting journal operations, such as:

  • web hosting and OJS infrastructure;
  • similarity-detection services such as Turnitin;
  • DOI registration services;
  • indexing and abstracting databases;
  • email and technical support systems;
  • digital preservation services; and
  • other scholarly publishing infrastructure.

Only information necessary for the relevant service should be shared.

Indexing and discovery

Metadata of published articles may be shared with indexing, abstracting, discovery, bibliographic, preservation, and research information services to improve the visibility and accessibility of published research.

Legal or ethical requirements

Jurnal BIOS LOGOS may disclose information where required by law, institutional policy, court order, regulatory requirement, or a legitimate publication-ethics investigation.

  1. Confidentiality of Manuscripts and Peer Review

Unpublished manuscripts, reviewer reports, editorial correspondence, and related submission materials are treated as confidential.

Editors, reviewers, and editorial staff must not use confidential manuscript information for personal advantage or disclose it to unauthorized parties.

Information may be disclosed where necessary to investigate:

  • plagiarism;
  • duplicate publication;
  • authorship disputes;
  • data fabrication or falsification;
  • research ethics concerns;
  • copyright infringement; or
  • other suspected publication misconduct.

Such investigations should be handled in accordance with the journal's publication ethics policies and applicable ethical guidance.

  1. Data Security

Jurnal BIOS LOGOS takes reasonable technical and organizational measures to protect personal information against:

  • unauthorized access;
  • misuse;
  • alteration;
  • accidental loss;
  • unauthorized disclosure; and
  • destruction.

Access to sensitive editorial and personal information is restricted to authorized users according to their roles within the OJS system and journal workflow.

However, no internet-based transmission or electronic storage system can be guaranteed to be completely secure. Jurnal BIOS LOGOS therefore cannot guarantee absolute security of information transmitted electronically.

  1. Data Retention

Personal information is retained only for as long as reasonably necessary for journal administration, legal compliance, publication ethics, and preservation of the scholarly record.

Information associated with published articles may be retained indefinitely because it forms part of the permanent scholarly record.

Editorial information relating to manuscript submissions, peer review, revisions, and decisions may also be retained where necessary to document the publication process and protect the integrity of the scholarly record.

Information associated with rejected or withdrawn manuscripts may be retained for an appropriate period for editorial, ethical, security, and record-keeping purposes.

Inactive user-account information may be managed in accordance with OJS functionality, institutional requirements, and applicable data-protection obligations.

  1. User Rights

Depending on applicable law and the nature of the data concerned, users may have rights regarding their personal information, including the right to:

  • request access to personal information held about them;
  • request correction of inaccurate or incomplete information;
  • request deletion of personal information in certain circumstances;
  • request restriction of processing;
  • object to certain types of processing;
  • withdraw consent where processing is based on consent; and
  • request information about how their personal data are being used.

These rights may be limited where information must be retained as part of the permanent scholarly record, for publication-ethics purposes, or to comply with legal or institutional obligations.

Users wishing to exercise their rights should contact the Editorial Office of Jurnal BIOS LOGOS.

  1. Use of Cookies

The Jurnal BIOS LOGOS website, operated through OJS, may use cookies and similar technologies necessary for the proper functioning of the platform.

Cookies may be used for purposes such as:

  • maintaining login sessions;
  • remembering language or interface preferences;
  • supporting security functions;
  • maintaining user-session information; and
  • collecting aggregated technical or usage information where such functionality is enabled.

Users may configure their browser to refuse or delete cookies. However, disabling essential cookies may prevent certain OJS features from functioning correctly.

  1. Links to External Websites

The Jurnal BIOS LOGOS website may contain links to external websites, services, databases, or scholarly resources that are not operated by the journal.

Jurnal BIOS LOGOS is not responsible for the privacy practices, content, security, or policies of third-party websites.

Users are encouraged to review the privacy policies of external services before providing personal information.

  1. Research Participant Data

Authors are responsible for ensuring that manuscripts do not contain personal or identifiable information about research participants unless its publication is ethically justified, legally permitted, and supported by appropriate informed consent where required.

Authors should anonymize or de-identify participant information whenever appropriate.

Sensitive personal information, including photographs, medical information, personal identifiers, or other potentially identifiable data, should not be published without appropriate ethical approval and consent.

Responsibility for obtaining necessary approvals and permissions remains with the authors.

  1. Children and Minors

Jurnal BIOS LOGOS does not intentionally collect personal information from children or minors except where such information is legitimately included in research conducted in accordance with applicable ethical standards and consent requirements.

Authors conducting research involving minors are responsible for obtaining all required ethical approvals and appropriate parental, guardian, and participant consent or assent.

  1. Changes to This Privacy Statement

Jurnal BIOS LOGOS may revise this Privacy Statement periodically to reflect changes in:

  • journal procedures;
  • OJS functionality;
  • institutional requirements;
  • applicable laws;
  • scholarly publishing practices; or
  • privacy and security standards.

The current version of the Privacy Statement will be published on the journal website.

Users are encouraged to review the policy periodically.

  1. Contact

Questions, requests, or concerns regarding this Privacy Statement or the processing of personal information by Jurnal BIOS LOGOS may be directed to:

Editorial Office
Jurnal BIOS LOGOS
Department of Biology
Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Sciences
Sam Ratulangi University
Manado, North Sulawesi, Indonesia

Email: jbioslogos@unsrat.ac.id