Submissions

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Author Guidelines

Authors are invited to make a submission to this journal. All submissions will be assessed by an editor to determine whether they meet the aims and scope of this journal. Those considered to be a good fit will be sent for peer review before determining whether they will be accepted or rejected.

Before making a submission, authors are responsible for obtaining permission to publish any material included with the submission, such as photos, documents and datasets. All authors identified on the submission must consent to be identified as an author. Where appropriate, research should be approved by an appropriate ethics committee in accordance with the legal requirements of the study's country.

An editor may desk reject a submission if it does not meet minimum standards of quality. Before submitting, please ensure that the study design and research argument are structured and articulated properly. The title should be concise and the abstract should be able to stand on its own. This will increase the likelihood of reviewers agreeing to review the paper. When you're satisfied that your submission meets this standard, please follow the checklist below to prepare your submission.

Submission Preparation Checklist

All submissions must meet the following requirements.

  • This submission meets the requirements outlined in the Author Guidelines.
  • This submission has not been previously published, nor is it before another journal for consideration.
  • All references have been checked for accuracy and completeness.
  • All tables and figures have been numbered and labeled.
  • Permission has been obtained to publish all photos, datasets and other material provided with this submission.

Articles

Section default policy

Copyright Notice

Copyright Notice — HGU Research Journal (CC BY 4.0)

Authors retain copyright in their work.

By submitting to the HGU Research Journal, the author(s):

  1. License to publish
    Grant the Journal a non-exclusive, worldwide, perpetual license to publish the work in any medium or format, to archive it, and to distribute it for indexing, discovery, and preservation.

  2. Open access license
    Agree that, upon publication, the work will be made available under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0) license. This permits anyone to share and adapt the work for any purpose, provided appropriate credit is given, a link to the license is provided, and any changes are indicated.
    License text: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

  3. Author warranties
    Confirm that the submission is original; does not infringe any copyright, privacy, or other rights; is not under consideration elsewhere; and that all co-authors (if any) have approved the submission and its publication.

  4. Third-party material
    Confirm that any third-party content (e.g., images, figures, datasets) included in the work is either your own, in the public domain, used under a compatible license, or used with written permission that allows publication and reuse under CC BY 4.0. Any required acknowledgements must be included in the manuscript.

  5. Attribution and citation
    Agree that users must attribute the work to the author(s) and the Journal, including citation of the version of record and a link to the published article.

  6. Self-archiving
    May deposit preprints and the accepted (peer-reviewed) manuscript version in institutional or subject repositories at any time. Upon publication, please add a citation and link to the version of record on the Journal website.

  7. Data and materials
    Where ethically and legally possible, authors are encouraged to make underlying data, code, and materials openly available and to state access conditions in the manuscript.

  8. Ethics and competing interests
    Confirm that the work complies with relevant research ethics standards and that any competing interests have been disclosed.

By completing a submission, you indicate that you have read and agree to this Copyright Notice and the Journal’s policies.

For questions, contact: editor@hguresearch.net.

Privacy Statement

Privacy Statement
Effective date: 16 August 2025
Last updated: 16 August 2025

Who we are
The HGU Research Journal (“the Journal”) is published by Highstone Global University and hosted at https://hguresearch.net using the Open Journal Systems (OJS) platform.
Contact: editor@hguresearch.net
Postal address: (add your postal address)

Scope
This statement explains how we collect, use, share, and protect personal data of readers, authors, reviewers, editors, and visitors who interact with the Journal.

Data we collect

  • Account/profile data: name, email address, affiliation, country/region, roles (author, reviewer, editor), optional identifiers (e.g., ORCID iD).

  • Submission & publication data: authors and affiliations, abstracts, references, funding info, acknowledgements, conflicts of interest, submission files and revisions, editorial decisions, timestamps.

  • Peer-review records: invitations, responses, recommendations, reports, confidential notes.

  • Usage/technical data: IP address, device/browser information, pages viewed, referrer URL, timestamps; limited security/error logs.

  • Communications: emails and OJS notifications related to accounts, submissions, and editorial processes.

How we use your data (purposes)

  • Register and administer user accounts and roles.

  • Operate the editorial and peer-review workflow.

  • Publish accepted content and disseminate metadata (e.g., via OAI-PMH; DOI registration if enabled).

  • Provide site features (search, alerts, web feeds) and reader services.

  • Generate aggregated, non-identifying usage statistics to improve services.

  • Maintain site security, prevent abuse, and comply with legal obligations.

Legal bases (where applicable)

  • Contract / pre-contractual steps: processing submissions and peer review at your request.

  • Legitimate interests: quality assurance, research integrity, discovery and indexing, long-term preservation, site security.

  • Consent: optional features such as connecting an ORCID iD, analytics cookies (if enabled), or receiving announcements where opt-in is required.

  • Legal obligation: responding to lawful requests and maintaining required records.

What becomes public
For published articles, the scholarly record is public: article metadata (titles, abstracts, keywords), author names and affiliations, funding information, references, and article files. ORCID iDs are shown if supplied. Email addresses are not displayed by default.

Cookies

  • Essential cookies: OJS uses session and security cookies (e.g., a session ID and CSRF tokens). A persistent cookie may be set if you choose “remember me.”

  • Analytics cookies (optional): If the Journal enables analytics, additional cookies may be set. You can control cookies in your browser settings.

Third-party services / processors

  • Web hosting & storage: DreamHost (servers, databases, secure private file storage for submissions).

  • Email delivery: DreamHost SMTP for transactional messages.

  • Identifiers & indexing (if enabled): Crossref/DataCite for DOIs; OAI-PMH harvesting by scholarly services (e.g., Google Scholar); PKP Preservation Network for long-term archiving.
    These providers may process data on our behalf under appropriate safeguards. We do not sell personal data.

International transfers
Data are primarily stored in the United States and may be accessed by editors or reviewers in other countries for peer review and editorial management. We apply reasonable safeguards for cross-border processing.

Sharing and disclosure

  • Within the Journal: editorial staff and assigned reviewers receive only the data needed to perform their roles.

  • Indexing & discovery: published metadata are shared via OAI-PMH and other scholarly channels.

  • Legal: we may disclose information when required by law or to protect rights, safety, and integrity.

Data retention

  • Accounts: retained while active; deactivated or deleted upon request where feasible, subject to required record-keeping.

  • Editorial & peer-review records: retained as part of the scholarly and administrative record.

  • Published content and metadata: retained indefinitely to preserve the scholarly record.

  • Server logs and backups: retained for limited periods consistent with operations and security.

Security
We use HTTPS, access controls, least-privilege permissions, updates, and routine maintenance. No method is 100% secure, but we take reasonable steps to reduce risks.

Your rights
Depending on your jurisdiction, you may have rights to access, correct, delete, or export your data, and to object to or restrict certain processing. To exercise these rights, contact editor@hguresearch.net. We typically respond within 30 days.

Children’s privacy
This site is intended for adults engaged in scholarly communication. We do not knowingly collect data from children under 16.

Changes to this policy
We may update this notice from time to time. The latest version will be posted here with the effective date.

Contact & complaints
Questions or requests: editor@hguresearch.net.
If you are in the EU/UK and believe your rights are infringed, you may also contact your local data protection authority.

This statement is provided for general information and does not constitute legal advice. If you must comply with specific regulations (e.g., GDPR, CPRA), consult legal counsel to adapt this text to your circumstances.