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Cookies Policy
ScienceNearMe.org is a collection of opportunities including projects, events and programs developed or operated by researchers, developers, practitioners and others in support of public engagement in science. ScienceNearMe organizes information about these opportunities and shares them with the public, organizations, and media partners to reach millions of people where they are. ScienceNearMe also organizes and anonymizes information about participants’ use of the website and web app. Data about the opportunities on ScienceNearMe are used to help researchers at several universities study the landscape of opportunities (including gaps). Data about participation use of the site and web app are used to study community building, interface design, learning outcomes, and other topics.
View the detailed version of our “Terms of Use” and “Privacy Policy”.
This page provides an overview of cookies, what participant data we collect, how we use it and how we protect it.
What you agree to if you use ScienceNearMe
In some cases, ScienceNearMe may host data collection forms on behalf of opportunity providers. That data may or may not include personally identifiable information about participants. If a user name or email is collected, participants are notified. Observational data submitted to projects (such as a picture and location of a butterfly) and any data you share with ScienceNearMe (except data about you, of course, which we cover in the Privacy Policy) can be used and reused by ScienceNearMe, partners, and researchers. You grant us, our partners, and the researchers non-exclusive permission which means that you still own your data contribution. You may use, distribute or modify your individual contributions and data as you see fit.
In the vast majority of participant interaction on ScienceNearMe, you will leave our site to learn more about the opportunity on the hosts’ websites. ScienceNearMe is not responsible for the cookies or privacy/terms of use practices of the sites we direct users to. We encourage you to read the terms of use and privacy policies of each website that hosts an opportunity. Our policies may be different than theirs.
Please do not contribute data to ScienceNearMe that you do not own or have rights to share with use, including images, videos, or other data.
Let’s get into the details. When you contribute data to ScienceNearMe, you grant us a perpetual, royalty-free, non-exclusive, sub-licensable license to: use, reproduce, modify, adapt, publish, translate, create derivative works from, distribute, and exercise all copyright and publicity rights with respect to your contribution worldwide and/or to incorporate your contribution in other works in any media. Our attorneys feel this is a good time to cut to the chase to say, “you can’t use the site if you don’t grant us these rights.” By using ScienceNearMe, you agree to only share data you have the right to share, taking into account the items above, and indemnify us against all legal fees, damages and other expenses that may be incurred by us as a result of your breach of the above warranty.
Privacy
We also collect additional data about you to advance research on the field of Public Engagement in Science and to make ScienceNearMe better and more responsive to your needs.
We respect your privacy and we operate in accordance with the General Data Protection Regulation and the Freedom of Information Act 2000 and each researcher we share data with operates in accordance with the United States regulations to protect human subjects in research.
Data we collect
Identifying information: If you create a ScienceNearMe account, you provide your name and email address and an optional username. Your e-mail address is not visible to other users except, and only with your permission. People will see your name on ScienceNearMe although you can opt to make your profile private.
Usage information: We analyze how people use ScienceNearMe and aggregate data about users and engagement patterns by recording:
Where you arrived from (which site referred you)
When you signed up or logged in
Pages you visit and the time spent on those pages
Opportunities you’ve viewed, saved or clicked to join
Participation in projects through SciStarter or, if the projects use SciStarter’s Affiliate Tools (see SciStarter.org/API for details), contributions to projects on other sites.
Ratings and reviews you add to projects
If you are signed in with your ScienceNearMe or SciStarter account, your name is associated with these events or we use your IP address if you’re not logged in or do not have an account. We also use Google Analytics to learn more such as browsers and devices used.
Why do we collect this data?
We want to reach you to share updates, let you know about new projects near you, connect you to researchers in need of your help, invite you to participate in our own research about the platform, alert you to updates and changes, invite you to events or to participate in media interviews, send you a newsletter (if you opt in for that), and more.
You can "opt out" of our emails and newsletters anytime by clicking “unsubscribe” or “remove me from this list” at the bottom of our emails.
What we share with others.
Rest assured that we do not send your e-mail address to third parties unless you explicitly give us permission to do so. We never share data we collect about your use of the site unless (a) it cannot be associated with you or your username, and (b) it is necessary to accomplish our or our partners’ research goals. We do share your anonymized data with scholarly researchers and practitioners who aim to improve the practice of citizen science.
Your public name used to create your account is available to visitors of the site and to the organizers of the opportunities you join. Otherwise, information is stored in our secured database. Passwords are hashed for added security.
About those cookies
A cookie is a small file placed on your computer's hard drive. Cookies help us understand what pages are used so we can improve the site based on your personal preferences. We do not use this information for advertising. We do use this to information on our site and, for affiliate projects that use affiliate tools (see SciStarter.org/API as an example), we use cookies to help you earn credit for your participation in opportunities on other websites.
You can choose to accept or decline cookies in your browser’s settings. If you opt to decline cookies from ScienceNearMe, we may not be able to provide services and features (log-in, tallying your participation, saving your bookmarked projects, etc).
If you continue to access our website without adjusting your browser settings, it is assumed that you accept cookies.
Removing your data
We can remove your personal data from our systems however we cannot remove your data from projects you’ve joined through ScienceNearMe. If you have specific concerns, please contact us:
More information
At any time, please contact us for copy of the information we archive about you and your use of
the site:
Darlene Cavalier
ScienceNearMe
306 Delancey Street
Philadelphia, PA 19106