Last Updated: Sunday 19 July 2026 22:17:42 PM

Terms of Service

Effective Date

These Terms of Service become effective upon publication on the Datamine Publishing and Consulting Centre website and apply to all users who access or use our website, publishing platform, journals, consultancy services, educational programmes, and other related services.

1. Acceptance of these Terms

Welcome to Datamine Publishing and Consulting Centre ("DPCC", "we", "our", or "us").

These Terms of Service govern your access to and use of our website, online manuscript submission systems, scholarly journals, publishing services, consultancy services, conferences, workshops, training programmes, and any other services provided by DPCC.

By accessing or using our website or services, you acknowledge that you have read, understood, and agree to be bound by these Terms of Service together with our:

  • -Privacy Policy;
  • -Cookies Policy;
  • -Publication Ethics and Malpractice Statement;
  • -Authorship and Contributorship Policy;
  • -Artificial Intelligence Policy;
  • -Copyright and Licensing Policy; and
  • -other applicable publisher policies.

If you do not agree with these Terms, you should not use our website or services.

2. About Datamine Publishing and Consulting Centre

Datamine Publishing and Consulting Centre is an independent scholarly publishing and research support organisation dedicated to advancing research, innovation, academic excellence, and evidence-based decision-making through:

  • -scholarly publishing;
  • -peer-reviewed journals;
  • -research consultancy;
  • -capacity building;
  • -conferences;
  • -editorial services;
  • -academic training; and
  • -knowledge dissemination.

3. Eligibility to Use Our Services

Our services are intended primarily for:

  • -researchers;
  • -academics;
  • -students;
  • -professionals;
  • -institutions;
  • -policy makers;
  • -consultants;
  • -reviewers;
  • -editors;
  • -librarians; and
  • -other members of the scholarly community.

By using our services, you confirm that you have the legal capacity to enter into this agreement.

4. User Accounts

Certain services require registration.

Users are responsible for:

  • -providing accurate information;
  • -maintaining the confidentiality of login credentials;
  • -protecting account security;
  • -updating account information when necessary; and
  • -notifying DPCC of any unauthorised use of their account.

Users remain responsible for all activities conducted through their accounts.

5. Acceptable Use

Users agree to use DPCC services lawfully, ethically, and responsibly.

Users shall not:

  • -submit false information;
  • -impersonate another person;
  • -attempt unauthorised access to systems;
  • -interfere with website operations;
  • -upload malicious software;
  • -engage in fraudulent activities;
  • -violate intellectual property rights;
  • -submit plagiarised work;
  • -manipulate peer review;
  • -misuse artificial intelligence contrary to publisher policies;
  • -harass other users; or
  • -engage in any activity that compromises the integrity of scholarly publishing.

DPCC reserves the right to suspend or terminate access where misuse is identified.

6. Manuscript Submission

Authors submitting manuscripts agree that:

  • -submitted work is original;
  • -all authors approve the submission;
  • -the manuscript is not under consideration elsewhere unless explicitly disclosed;
  • -ethical approval has been obtained where required;
  • -conflicts of interest have been disclosed;
  • -funding sources have been declared;
  • -submitted information is accurate; and
  • -publication ethics have been observed.

Submission does not guarantee acceptance for publication.

All manuscripts undergo editorial assessment and peer review in accordance with publisher policies.

7. Peer Review

Peer review is conducted to ensure the quality, validity, originality, and integrity of published research.

Authors, reviewers, and editors agree to comply with DPCC's Peer Review Policy.

Reviewers are expected to:

  • -maintain confidentiality;
  • -declare conflicts of interest;
  • -provide objective evaluations;
  • -complete reviews within agreed timelines; and
  • -avoid misuse of confidential information.

Editorial decisions are made independently and cannot be influenced by financial considerations.

8. Editorial Decisions

Editorial decisions are based solely on scholarly merit, originality, methodological quality, ethical compliance, and relevance to the journal's scope.

Possible decisions include:

  • -Accept;
  • -Minor Revision;
  • -Major Revision;
  • -Reject with Invitation to Resubmit; or
  • -Reject.

The Editor-in-Chief has final responsibility for publication decisions, subject to applicable appeals procedures.

9. Article Processing Charges

Where applicable, Article Processing Charges (APCs) become payable only after a manuscript has been accepted for publication.

Payment of APCs does not guarantee publication.

Editorial decisions remain completely independent of financial considerations.

Waivers and discounts are administered according to the DPCC APC Waiver and Discount Policy.

10. Intellectual Property

Authors retain copyright in their published work unless otherwise agreed.

By accepting publication, authors grant DPCC a non-exclusive licence to publish, distribute, archive, and promote the work in accordance with the applicable licensing agreement.

Users may not reproduce, distribute, or modify website content except as permitted by applicable copyright licences or with prior written permission.

11. Open Access

DPCC supports immediate and unrestricted access to scholarly research through its Open Access publishing model.

Reuse of published articles is governed by the applicable Creative Commons licence assigned to each publication.

Users must provide appropriate attribution when reusing published content.

12. Website Availability

We strive to maintain continuous availability of our website and online services.

However, we do not guarantee uninterrupted access.

Services may occasionally be unavailable due to:

  • -scheduled maintenance;
  • -software updates;
  • -technical failures;
  • -security incidents;
  • -internet disruptions; or
  • -circumstances beyond our reasonable control.

DPCC shall not be liable for temporary service interruptions.

13. Third-Party Services

Our website may integrate or link to third-party services including:

  • -Crossref;
  • -ORCID;
  • -indexing databases;
  • -manuscript management platforms;
  • -payment service providers;
  • -cloud hosting services; and
  • -external websites.

Use of third-party services is governed by the terms and policies of the respective providers.

DPCC is not responsible for the content, availability, or practices of third-party services.

14. Disclaimer

The opinions, interpretations, conclusions, and recommendations expressed in published articles are those of the respective authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of Datamine Publishing and Consulting Centre, its editors, editorial boards, reviewers, employees, or affiliated institutions.

Publication of an article does not constitute endorsement of its findings.

15. Limitation of Liability

To the fullest extent permitted by law, DPCC shall not be liable for any direct, indirect, incidental, consequential, or special damages arising from:

  • -use of the website;
  • -inability to access services;
  • -reliance on published information;
  • -technical failures;
  • -cyber incidents;
  • -third-party services; or
  • -loss of data beyond our reasonable control.

Nothing in these Terms excludes liability that cannot lawfully be excluded.

16. Suspension and Termination

DPCC reserves the right to suspend or terminate access to its services where users:

  • -violate these Terms;
  • -engage in research misconduct;
  • -commit publication misconduct;
  • -compromise system security;
  • -misuse editorial processes; or
  • -engage in unlawful activities.

Termination does not affect obligations arising before termination, including publication ethics investigations where applicable.

17. Amendments

DPCC may revise these Terms of Service from time to time.

Updated Terms become effective upon publication on our website.

Continued use of our services after publication of revised Terms constitutes acceptance of the updated Terms.

18. Governing Law

These Terms of Service shall be governed by and interpreted in accordance with the laws of the Republic of Uganda.

Where services are provided internationally, DPCC also seeks to observe internationally recognised principles of scholarly publishing, intellectual property protection, and digital information governance.

19. Dispute Resolution

DPCC encourages the amicable resolution of disputes through dialogue and good-faith negotiation.

Where disputes cannot be resolved informally, they shall be addressed in accordance with applicable laws and the competent courts of Uganda, unless otherwise agreed by the parties.

Nothing in this section limits the operation of the publisher's Appeals and Complaints Policy for editorial or publication-related matters.

20. Contact Information

Questions regarding these Terms of Service or the use of DPCC services may be directed to the Editorial Office through the contact information provided on the DPCC website.

21. Severability

If any provision of these Terms of Service is found to be invalid, unlawful, or unenforceable by a court of competent jurisdiction, the remaining provisions shall remain in full force and effect. Any invalid provision shall be interpreted, to the extent possible, in a manner that most closely reflects its original intent while preserving the overall purpose of these Terms.

22. Entire Agreement

These Terms of Service, together with the policies and legal documents expressly incorporated by reference, constitute the entire agreement between Datamine Publishing and Consulting Centre and users regarding access to and use of our website and services. They supersede any prior understandings or communications relating to the same subject matter.

23. Commitment to Responsible Scholarly Publishing

Datamine Publishing and Consulting Centre is committed to fostering an open, ethical, transparent, and inclusive scholarly publishing environment. By using our services, authors, reviewers, editors, readers, institutions, and other users contribute to a shared commitment to research integrity, academic excellence, respect for intellectual property, and the responsible dissemination of knowledge for the advancement of society.