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As part of the submission process, authors are required to check off their submission's compliance with all of the following items, and submissions may be returned to authors that do not adhere to these guidelines.

  • The submission must be in English. Except for common foreign words and phrases, the use of foreign words and phrases should be avoided.
  • The submitted manuscript (including tables, figures, etc.) is a single PDF file. Supplementary material, if any, are in a separate PDF. A ZIP archive of the LaTeX files is also submitted.
  • The abstract has no more than 300 words.
  • The text and references adhere to the stylistic and bibliographic requirements outlined in the Author Guidelines.
  • The submission has not been previously published in a peer-reviewed publication, nor is it before another journal for consideration (see clarifications elsewhere in the guidelines).
  • The author(s) represent that the manuscript is their original work, that they own the copyright to the work being submitted or are authorized by the copyright owner or owners to submit the article, and that permissions for reproducing any content have been obtained.
  • Each author is aware of the contents of the entire article and its submission status, and each author materially contributed to the creation of the paper.
  • Comments to the editor: Please provide a brief 1-2 sentence description of why the article is appropriate for this Journal. If the submission is to a special issue, please mention this in the comments box.

Fees

The Journal does not charge fees or charges for manuscript processing and/or publishing materials. We rely on authors complying strictly with the guidelines below to facilitate copy-editing and ensuring high-quality publications.

Files

  • In addition to the manuscript (in PDF format), authors should also submit as soon as possible, but no later than when submitting any revisions, a complete LaTeX archive (see below for styling), as a ZIP file.
  • Alternatively, authors can share a Git repository or an Overleaf document with the Managing Editor, and make a note of the URL in the "Comments to the Editor".

Formatting

  • While LaTex is the strongly preferred source format, Microsoft Word files will be accepted as well (functionality, such as hyperlinks, will be lost when using Word).
  • For LaTeX, use the jpc.cls class, which will enforce the rules below. The jpc.cls can be downloaded from https://github.com/journalprivacyconfidentiality/jpc-style/releases or as a template on Overleaf.com.
  • The text should
    • be single-spaced;
    • use the same 11pt serif font (e.g. Computer Modern for LaTeX documents, Times New Roman for Word) throughout;
    • use a single column layout with both left and right margins justified;
    • have letter page size (8.5 x 11 inches);
    • have 1.5 inch top margin, 1.25 inch left and right margins, and 1 inch bottom margin
  • Use the following document structure:
    • Title page, including Authors, Keywords, Abstract
    • Introduction
    • Subsequent sections and subsections that include tables, figures, and footnotes referenced in the text.
    • References
    • Supplementary material (Appendices) see below
  • Abstracts should include a brief summary of the main research findings. Avoid generic statements such as “an example is presented”. Instead, minimal details about examples should be included, as in, “we illustrate the benefit of our approach by analyzing data on employment from the UK Office of National Statistics”.
  • Limit abstracts to no more than 300 words, avoid hyperlinks, references, and if possible, LaTeX code.
  • Citations can be formatted as you like, provided
    • the formatting is consistent
    • each citation begins with the last name of the first author
    • where available, the entry in the references should list DOI and/or URL
  • Please consider splitting papers into two distinct parts: a main manuscript and supplementary material.
    • The main manuscript should be as succinct and readable as possible. 20 pages is a good length.
    • The supplementary material can be any length (and in some cases may be unnecessary). The supplementary material may contain additional figures and tables, details about data, mathematical derivations, further explanations, or additional simulations or other supporting studies. The supplementary material should be formatted using the same stylesheet, and uploaded separately.
  • The Journal strongly encourages transparency. Supplementary material, such as data sets, programming code and log files, should be available in an openly accessible repository. Authors should consult the Journal’s Code and Data Availability Policy.
  • Figures should be used to help with exposition. Where possible, one or more figures should provide illustrations of main results. These figures may be split into multiple parts. The legend on these figures should have enough detail that someone can get an impression of what is being displayed just by looking at the figure.
  • Case studies should make sure to highlight both the main results for privacy and confidentiality from a practical perspective as well as the key methodological contributions in a form accessible to researchers coming to the topic from disciplines other than your own.
  • Concluding summaries should be provided only in the context of giving additional perspective on the work.

ADDITIONAL CONSIDERATIONS

  • We welcome submission of manuscripts from peer-reviewed conferences, which may have already appeared in proceedings, as long as the following conditions are met:
    • the submitted manuscript should be an extension of the conference proceedings version; a typical extended paper has at least 25% new content
    • the conference publication's copyright agreement signed by the authors allows for submissions to a journal
    • the author provides a detailed description of how the submitted manuscript meets the above conditions in the "Comments to the Editor," a copy of the conference proceedings version or its digital object identifier (DOI), and an affirmation that the submission to the JPC does not conflict with the terms of inclusion in the conference proceedings.
  • Submissions of manuscripts that have been placed in online preprint repositories like arxiv.org and SSRN are allowed provided that they meet the other conditions in these guidelines.
  • Authors are the initial owners of the copyrights to their works (an exception in the non-academic world to this might exist if the authors have, as a condition of employment, agreed to transfer copyright to their employer).
  • Submissions will be reviewed according to our Reviewer Guidelines.
  • Please provide the ORCID ID for each author in the submission metadata.
  • Please provide any funding IDs in the submission metadata, in addition to the acknowledgements in the paper.