Consent Form for ScienceAtHome user accounts.
We, researchers from ScienceAtHome, Aarhus University, Ny Munkegade 120, 8000 Århus C, Denmark are inviting you to participate in our research by using ScienceAtHome tools and games. By using the ScienceAtHome tools and games you are participating in the global movement to break down the barriers between researchers and the general public and in the pursuit of a world in which every citizen is given equal opportunity to thrive in an increasingly digitized world. Research in natural sciences within ScienceAtHome will help researchers address large outstanding challenges like the development of a quantum computer and the understanding of the processes underlying turbulent flows as well as improving tools for teaching in high-schools and universities. Research in social sciences 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 account will be saved in a database and 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.
Contact Details
ScienceAtHome is an interdisciplinary team of scientists, game developers, designers and visual artists employed at Aarhus University, Department of Physics and Astronomy, Ny Munkegade 120, 8000 Århus C, Denmark. We create fun scientific games, with the aim of revolutionizing scientific research and teaching by game-play.
For further information about the research or if you have concerns/questions, please contact
Director: Jacob Sherson, director@scienceathome.org
Head of Data Science: Mads Kock, datascience@scienceathome.org
Confidentiality
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 personally identifiable information will be stored for two years from 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 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.
Use and processing of your personal data
We will store your personal data (email, name, gender, date of birth, nationality, city and country of residence, educational level, field of employment/study, ip-address, and user-generated data) for the purpose of developing a quantum computer and optimisation algorithms as well as improving tools for teaching in high schools and universities, as well as validating cognitive models. User-generated data will only be recorded from your actions within the application.
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. In case of a need for sharing your personal data with a third party or processing your data for other research purposes, we will contact you regarding a new consent form.
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 to 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.
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.
Consent
1. 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.
2. I understand that my participation is voluntary and that I am free to withdraw my consent at any time without giving any reason.
3. 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.
4. I am 16 years old or older
By accepting this consent form, I confirm that I have read and agree to the terms and conditions and that ScienceAtHome may process my personal data from the following games:
• Alien Code: Discover the pattern behind the Alien Code and help us learn about human problem-solving.
• Crystal Crop Fever: Collaboratively explore the landscapes and help us study the power of teamwork.
• Diff Tool: A tool that helps you conceptualize the principles of differentiation.
• Inequality Game: Evaluate and distribute the resources and help us understand the strategies in socioeconomic models.
• Netty: A game to explore human solutions to NP-hard problems in computer science.
• Skill Lab: Science Detective: Find out your cognitive profile by playing a collection of mini-games.
• Potential Penguin: Explore the connections between potential and kinetic energy, in a fun educational game.
• Quantum Carnival: Go to the carnival and learn how to control the atoms.
• Quantum Dreams: Glide through the worlds of classical computers chasing the dream of quantum computing.
• Quantum Moves: Help us build a quantum computer by transporting atoms and contribute to cutting-edge physics.
• Quantum Minds: Transport the atoms and help us understand the how to build a quantum intuition.
• Quantum Shooter: Defend yourself against the enemies, load your weapons with atoms
• Stat World: Explore the power of statistics in a playful environment.
• Tower Builder: Build the tower and learn something about your own skills.
• Turbulence: Find the largest air pockets and join our quest unlock the mysteries of the “most important unsolved problem in classical physics”.
And for the purposes of:
