Consent Form and general Terms of Service for ScienceAtHome user accounts.
Thank you for using our products and services (“Services”). The Services are provided by ScienceAtHome.
Aarhus University
Ny Munkegade 120.
8000 Århus C,
Denmark
Director: Jacob Sherson - director@scienceathome.org
Data Science Director: Mads Kock - datascience@scienceathome.org
www.scienceathome.org
While you are using our services we will collect some data on you for which we need your consent. Please take the time you consider necessary to read the following consent form that details the use and management of your data. In case you have any questions, you can contact the director of the center or the data science team. Additional terms will be available with the relevant Services and those additional terms become part of your agreement with us if you use those Services.
ScienceAtHome is an interdisciplinary team of scientists, game developers, designers and visual artists based at Aarhus University, Denmark. We create fun scientific games, with the aim of revolutionizing scientific research and teaching by game-play.
By using the ScienceAtHome tools and games you are helping building knowledge in different types of sciences. Research in natural sciences within our Citizen Science group help us develop a quantum computer and optimization algorithms as well as improving tools for teaching in high-schools and universities. Research in social science helps us understand reasoning and problem solving from the perspective of psychology and behavioral economics. Additionally, we will develop and give you a player profile based on your performance on the ScienceAtHome games and tools.
Your ScienceAtHome account
As a user, we will require you to supply some of your personal information. Such as your name, email, date of birth, country of residence, and nationality. All of this will be part of your personal ScienceAtHome profile.
When using our Services we collect data related to your performance (e.g., the time it takes you to solve a problem, how efficient you are at solving problems, how much do you use a certain application, etc.). You will receive a detailed consent form for each of the specific projects. You can refuse that we store and record your data; however, refusing to store the data will not allow you to make use of the Services and its features.
Personal identifiable and personal sensitive data (such as name, gender, age, or nationality) will be stored and used only for academic purposes and will not be shared with or sold to any third parties. The data will be stored and used under the EU General Data Protection Regulation act 2016/679 (GDPR), the Guidelines for Research Ethics in the Social Sciences, Law, and Humanities, and the EU Code of Ethics for Socio-Economic Research.
Use and processing of your data
The data collected will be used only for scientific purposes as part of ScienceAtHome’s research and outreach activities. Your account will be used to link the data collected from our different projects together, such that we can perform cross-correlation studies of demographic effects upon in-game behavior. Your personally identifiable data; email, name, address will only be used to verify that you are a real person, enable you to access your account and its accompanying information, enable you to make queries about the data you have generated in the game and to allow us to communicate with you.
Statistical procedures including the pseudonymization of data will be followed at all times during data processing. In the case where personally identifiable data is required (for example, for creating your personal gaming profile) exception can be made under the guidelines of ScienceAtHomes’s ethical committee. We guarantee that identifiers will not be released during or after the research study to anyone except the direct research team. Your participation in the study is strictly confidential.
Your identity will be kept confidential. If the results of this study are written in a scientific journal or presented at a scientific meeting, your name will not be used.
In connection with your use of the Services, we may send you service announcements, administrative messages, and other information. The research team at ScienceAtHome might use this contact information for asking questions about our games and tools in order to improve your experience. It is not mandatory to reply to these emails and you may opt out of some or all of those communications. Please do not regard these communications as spam.
Your confidentiality will be kept to the degree permitted by the technology being used. No guarantee can be made regarding the interception of data sent via the Internet by any third parties. In case of a data breach involving your data, we will inform you as soon as possible.
Your personally identifiable information will as a stored for two years since your last activity on our services. If our system discovers that your account has been inactive for more than two years, you will be contacted and given a notice before your account will be deleted, and the data will be anonymized. The study has been notified to the Danish Data Protection Agency under the project title “ScienceAtHome”, which started in 1st of January, 2013.
Age of participation
The EU GDPR 2016/679 only allow us to gather and store information from people below the age of 16 years with the explicit consent of their parents; therefore, people below 16 years old are not allowed to sign up in our ScienceAtHome platform or any of the games or tools. If you are below 16 years old and want to participate in our studies or use our tools, you can ask your parents to contact us and ask us about how to participate.
Confidentiality and Social Networks
The ScienceAtHome Services allow you to link your account to external services such as Facebook. The link, use, and distribution of this information is your responsibility. You can decide to unlink a linked profile at any time. The information you willingly share via Facebook or connected accounts is not the responsibility of the research team or research center.
Queries and retraction of consent
In case you have any doubts about the way we are using your data, you can contact us to inquire more about it or to request the anonymization of your entries in the database. Please do so by emailing: datamanager@scienceathome.org
However, you should take into account that if you require your data to be anonymized, all your game profiles and progress in games will be lost; and your user account will be revoked.
By checking the boxes below, you agree with the following statements:
- I confirm that I have read and understood the information presented to me in this document.
- I have had the opportunity to consider the information, ask questions and have had these answered satisfactorily.
- I understand that my participation is voluntary and that I am free to withdraw at any time without giving any reason.
- I understand that personal identifiers and sensitive data will be collected by ScienceAtHome and will be used for research purposes under the current laws and ethics of the European Union.
- I give permission to the research team to use my data for scientific purposes.
- I am in control of any kind of linking or data sharing from my ScienceAtHome account to any social networks. This responsibility is not linked to the research team or the research center.
- I am 16 years old or older.
