1. Agreement and scope
By accessing or using ResearchBridge Africa, you agree to these Terms and the linked Privacy and Copyright notices. If you use the platform for an institution, you must have authority to do so. Some services may have additional notices, quotations or publication conditions; those apply together with these Terms.
2. Accounts and roles
You must provide accurate information, use your own authorised account and protect access to it. Roles—including Student, Lecturer, Peer Reviewer, Editorial, Institutional Administrator and Platform Owner—carry different permissions. You must not attempt to obtain, use or expose permissions not assigned to you.
3. Academic integrity
You remain responsible for the originality, accuracy, ethics, permissions and lawful use of material you submit. You must not submit plagiarism, fabricated or falsified data, undisclosed impersonation, malicious files, unlawful content or work that materially misrepresents authorship. Research assistance must support learning and legitimate improvement, not contract cheating.
4. Topics, manuscripts and peer review
Automated topic suggestions and learning materials are guidance, not guarantees of academic approval. Editorial screening, review and revision do not guarantee acceptance or publication. Reviewers must protect confidential material, disclose relevant conflicts, give independent assessments and avoid using unpublished ideas for personal advantage.
5. Repository and publication records
Accepted records may receive a persistent identifier and public page. Authors retain rights except for the licences they expressly grant. ResearchBridge Africa may correct metadata, restrict file access, hide a record or display a withdrawal notice where integrity, privacy, legal or policy concerns require it. Persistent records may be retained to preserve the scholarly history.
6. Support services and payments
Paid support begins only under an accepted quotation or clearly stated arrangement. Prices, scope, milestones, currency and payment terms should appear in that record. Gateway providers process card and Mobile Money credentials; ResearchBridge Africa does not ask users to provide PINs, full card details or one-time passcodes. Except where law requires otherwise, completed customised services are not automatically refundable; any refund depends on the work completed, the agreed scope and the circumstances.
7. Acceptable use
You may not interfere with the platform, probe security, bypass access controls, scrape protected data, harass users, manipulate reviews, send spam, upload malware, infringe rights or use the service for fraud. We may restrict or suspend access while investigating a credible risk and may terminate access for serious or repeated breach.
8. Availability and responsibility
We work to provide a reliable service, but uninterrupted availability is not guaranteed. The platform does not replace a supervisor, ethics committee, institution, professional adviser or journal. To the extent permitted by applicable law, ResearchBridge Africa is not responsible for indirect losses or decisions made solely from automated suggestions or user-supplied content.
9. Changes and governing principles
These Terms may be updated as the service develops. Material changes will be communicated through the website or account notices. These Terms are intended to operate under applicable laws of Ghana, without removing mandatory rights a user may have under another applicable law.
10. Questions
Use the Help Center and, when signed in, Support Services for questions or concerns about these Terms.