Researchers
who use StudyResponse obtain a license for one-time access to a
subset of the StudyResponse panel in exchange for a licensing
fee. The licensing fee provides funding for participant
incentives, staffing of the StudyResponse project, and
overhead according to the conditions described below.
Terms
and Conditions of the StudyResponse Licensing Agreement
(Subject to change: Last amended February 3, 2014)
By
submitting a registration form and/or licensing fee to StudyResponse for use of the StudyResponse Project (hereafter referred to as StudyResponse), the
licensee (hereafter referred to as the "Researcher"
agrees to the following terms and conditions:
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The
researcher must be a faculty or staff member, or a student
under the direct supervision of a faculty or staff member of
an organization possessing a Federally Approved Assurance
from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and
also possessing a
federally registered Institutional Review Board. Faculty
and students from research institutions in Australia,
Canada, New Zealand, and the United Kingdom and other international
locations may also be
eligible to use StudyResponse when following the
conventional research ethics review procedures established
in those countries.
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The
study to which the StudyResponse panelists will respond must
have a current approval on file with the researcher's
Institutional Review Board, dated within the past calendar
year at the time of the final distribution of study recruitment
messages. The IRB application on file must specify the use
of Internet-based recruitment, must specify protections for
participant anonymity, and should explicitly mention the
collection of any identifiable information such as IP
(Internet Protocol) addresses.
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The
researcher must serve as or provide a participant
point-of-contact (PPOC) for the study, and that PPOC must
agree to have his or her email address and telephone number
publicized in the recruitment message sent to participants.
The PPOC must agree to keep any and all contacts from research
participants confidential and to not use any email addresses or
other contact information obtained from participants for any purpose
other than the conduct of the study conducted under the licensing
agreement. The PPOC will strive to answer any communication from
participants concerning their research. Moreover, PPOC will provide
the contact of StudyResponse helpdesk to any communications from
participants concerning participation in the StudyResponse project
in general.
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The
researcher must provide, in electronic form and in advance of the
conduct of his or her study, a representation, in URL and/or PDF format, of the
researcher's data collection instrument. These files must be complete such that they visually represent,
with high fidelity, the participant's full experience in viewing
and interacting with the instrument.
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The
researcher may specify a variety of optional features and
characteristics of the licensed panel, but StudyResponse
reserves the right to substitute panelists with
characteristics that differ from those requested by the researcher. StudyResponse will make reasonable efforts to
distribute recruiting messages at time intervals specified
by the researcher, but will not provide refunds of
licensing fees or any other considerations in the case of
distribution delays.
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StudyResponse
reserves the right to terminate a study at any time and
return the unused portion of the licensing fee (e.g., the
portion allocated for reminders or subsequent waves of data
collection).
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Researchers
must disburse their licensing fee to StudyResponse
prior to initiation of participant recruitment. StudyResponse uses the licensing fees provided by researchers/licensees according to a variable formula that includes a proportion for participant payments, a proportion for overhead, and a proportion for operation of the project and maintenance of the panel. Studies registered after February 6, 2009 provide a specified payment to each participant who completes the study according to the criteria specified by the researcher's institutional review board. Due to U.S. tax laws we cannot award any single participant more than $399.99 in a given year. StudyResponse staff members will make reasonable efforts to contact all participants designated to receive an incentive. Unawarded incentive payments will be returned to the researcher when three conditions are met: 1) when StudyResponse has ceased recruiting participants for the study; 2) when StudyResponse has not successfully awarded at least 90% of the requested number of participant incentives; and 3) when the total dollar value of unawarded incentives exceeds $100. StudyResponse reserves the right to reallocate unused and/or unclaimed incentive funds for alternative purposes related to operation of the project. Note that the portion of the registration fee reserved for management of the project is not refundable.
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Upon
receipt of the researcher's licensing fee and sampling
specifications, StudyResponse will provide an electronic
copy of a database (in MS-Access, MS-Excel, or SPSS formats)
containing participant ID numbers and demographic
information such as age and race of participants. No
identifying information will appear in this database and the
database is provided for analytical purposes only. The
license grants the researcher the non-exclusive right to use
the information in the database for academic research
purposes for a period of two years following receipt of the
licensing fee. StudyResponse retains ownership and copyright
of these participant data. StudyResponse also retains
ownership and copyright over data pertaining to the
performance of research panelists including, but not limited
to data concerning timing of responses, response rates,
response quality, effects of reminders on responses, effects
of differing incentive plans on responses, effects of
instrument length on responses, and effects of instrument
appearance on responses. Researchers who wish to use such
data in public reports of their studies must first obtain
permission from the StudyResponse project director.
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For
studies that require reminders or subsequent waves of data
collection, the researcher must provide StudyResponse with a
list of participant IDs (in MS-Access, MS-Excel, or SPSS
formats) of individuals who have completed the data
collection instrument in order to tailor the reminder or
subsequent-wave message to the appropriate subgroup.
StudyResponse will not send blanket reminders to individuals
who may have already completed the instrument. Some
attrition of the panel is inevitable over time and
StudyResponse reserves the right to eliminate any
participant from a reminder list.
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StudyResponse
provides no warranties, whether expressed or implied, with
respect to the amount, accuracy, timeliness, or quality of the data,
responses, or information received from StudyResponse or
StudyResponse panelists. The researcher accepts all risks
with respect to contact and interactions with StudyResponse panelists. StudyResponse
will not
accept any liability for outcomes associated with the research
conducted with StudyResponse panelists. This license is a business
contract made from Utica, New York, U.S.A. The terms
constituting this contract are set forth in writing on this
Web site. Whether or not you choose to print this contract,
containing the terms and conditions as described herein, you
agree that this contract constitutes a “writing.” This
contract shall be governed by and construed in accordance
with the laws of the State of New York, without regard to
its conflict of laws rules. Any legal action arising out of
this contract shall be litigated and enforced under the laws
of the State of New York. In addition, you agree to submit
to the jurisdiction of the courts of the State of New York,
and that any legal action pursued by you shall be within the
exclusive jurisdiction of the courts of the State of New
York in the city of Utica, New York, U.S.A. In the County
of Oneida, USA. All remedies are limited to the United
States.
This document Copyright 2011 StudyResponse
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