PRIVACY POLICY

Website Privacy Policy

 

Research Matters is committed to protecting the privacy of individuals who visit www.researchmattersllc.com. By using or accessing www.researchmattersllc.com and its directly associated domains, you accept the practices described in this Privacy Policy.

 

During the process of delivering this website to you, we do not collect any personally identifiable information about you such as name, address, phone number, or e-mail address. We do collect Internet Protocol (IP) address from all users. We do not use this information to personally identify users and do not disclose this information to others. On occasion, the IP addresses of users may be aggregated to produce a report on website usage.

 

In some cases, you may voluntarily provide personal information by filling out the contact form on the Contact page of our website. When this occurs, Research Matters will store this information in a database. This information is used by Research Matters only and is not forwarded to any advertisers or affiliates. On occasion, this information may be aggregated to produce a report on website usage.

 

This Privacy Policy relates to the information collected as you interact with our website (www.researchmattersllc.com) and its directly associated domains. For information on privacy of data collected for research purposes through the Platform for Evaluation, Assessment, and Research (PEAR) system, please refer to our Privacy Policy for Participation in Research.

 

If you have any questions about our Website Privacy Policy, please contact us at privacy@researchmattersllc.com

 

Privacy Policy for Participation in Research

 

Research Matters is committed to protecting the privacy of individuals who register to participate in our projects and the privacy of study participants. This policy relates to the privacy of data collected for research purposes, primarily, but not exclusively, through the Platform for Evaluation, Assessment, and Research (PEAR) system. For information on privacy of information collected as you interact with our website (www.researchmattersllc.com) and its directly associated domains, please refer to our Website Privacy Policy.

 

All of our research projects are voluntary. To register and participate in our projects, you must create an account in the PEAR system. Creating an account requires creating a login and password and supplying personal information including but not limited to name, address, e-mail address, and telephone number. If you do not want Research Matters to collect data about you, do not fill out any forms or enter any personal information into the PEAR system.

 

By creating an account, you accept the practices described in this Privacy Policy for Participation in Research and consent to the collection, processing, and use of your data by Research Matters. Research Matters discloses information only when necessary and only to those of its employees, contractors, and affiliated organizations that (1) need to know that information in order to process it on Research Matters’ behalf or to provide services available on Research Matters’ website, and (2) have agreed not to disclose it to others. By creating an account, you consent to the transfer of information to these parties for these purposes.

 

Research Matters will not rent or sell the names or contact information of account holders. Other than to its employees, contractors, and affiliated organizations, as described above, Research Matters discloses personally-identifying or potentially personally-identifying information only when required to do so by law, or when Research Matters believes in good faith that disclosure is necessary to conform to the edicts of the law, comply with legal processes, or protect the property or rights of Research Matters, third parties, or the public at large. Research Matters publicly reports and shares data in aggregate (e.g., there were ten study participants from Louisiana) or stripped of personally identifying information (e.g., Participant 42 instead of Jane Doe).

 

When you complete your registration, you will become part of Research Matters’ mailing list and you may be notified about current and/or future research opportunities or other updates about Research Matters. You may withdraw your name from our mailing list at any time by contacting us at privacy@researchmattersllc.com.

 

You are solely responsible for the activity that occurs through or in connection with your account and you agree to make all reasonable efforts to keep your account password secure. You agree not to share your password with other individuals or otherwise allow other individuals to access your account. You agree to notify Research Matters immediately of any breach of security or unauthorized use of your account.

 

The PEAR system uses cookies. A cookie is a small text file sent to your browser. PEAR uses cookies to keep track of your movement from page to page so you don’t get asked for the same information you’ve already entered. The cookies are stored only while you are in your current session and are not retained after you close your browser. No personally identifiable information is stored.

 

Because most of our educational research involves the participation of students under the age of 18, Research Matters has set up special procedures to protect the privacy of children who complete questionnaires, assessments, and other data collection instruments through our PEAR system. Research Matters voluntarily complies with the provisions of the Federal Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA), as described below.

 

  •  To use the PEAR system, children under the age of 18 are instructed to create login names that do not personally identify them or contain information that could link to their identities (such as their full name or email address). For example, a suggested student login is first name and last initial (e.g. Jane D. or Mike S.)

 

  •  In most cases, we do not collect full names, physical addresses, phone numbers, or contact information from children. One exception is that we might collect electronic mail addresses or contact information with the express purpose of obtaining parental consent and informing parents of their children’s involvement in one of our projects. In these cases, we do not share this information with third parties without parental notification.

 

  •  Our surveys often include questions about children’s thoughts, opinions, interests, and demographics. We publicly report and share this data only in aggregate (e.g., 50% of students preferred taking tests online) or stripped of personally identifying information (e.g., Student 94 or a female 5th grader instead of Jane D.).

 

  • Our research often involves asking students to complete assessments of subject matter they are learning in school (e.g. math, science). We often report individual student test results to the students’ teachers so they can use it to inform instruction. We publicly report and share assessment data only in aggregate (e.g. 30% of participating 6th graders hold a mathematics misconception) or stripped of personally identifying information (e.g. Student 94 or a female 5th grader instead of Jane D.)

 

  • We will never ask or require a child to disclose more information than is reasonable necessary to participate in our studies.

 

  • At any time, a parent can request to review any identifying information about his/her child by contacting us at privacy@researchmattersllc.com. A parent can also request that we delete his/her child’s account in the PEAR system.

 

  • We do not publish online postings, work, or photographs of children under 18 without parental and child consent.

Research Matters takes appropriate precautions to protect account holder information and data collected for research purposes. When you enter sensitive information (such as your password), we encrypt that information using secure socket layer technology (SSL). We protect data collected through PEAR by adherence to the Open Web Application Security Project secure coding best practices.

 

Research Matters may terminate a user’s account at its sole discretion at any time.

 

If you have any questions about our Privacy Policy for Participation in Research, please contact us at privacy@researchmattersllc.com