Research Participant

Thank you for coming to Science Near Me! We would like to share some general information about this website and the important research it supports. 

 

Purpose: Science Near me is supported by a grant from the National Science Foundation (Award Abstract # 1906998) titled: The Circuit: A Platform for Increasing Access to, Deepening and Researching Patterns of Family and Adult Participation in Informal Science. Partner organizations like SciStarter, Oregon State University's STEM Research Center, COSI's Center for Research and Evaluation, the Association of Science and Technology Centers, the Science Festival Alliance, The Connectory, and Discover Magazine, and The Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) are building Science Near Me, a web-based platform that aggregates STEM opportunities across the U.S. in order to better understand how people participate in these experiences across a variety of domains including museums, festivals, citizen science, maker, out-of-school time programs, and more. Science Near Me is creating reliable digital tools that make visible how people participate in a wide variety of STEM opportunities, and catalyzing future research on STEM engagement using anonymized data about how people use Science Near Me and characteristics about STEM opportunities that are shared by partner organizations like museums and science festivals. Researchers from universities and informal learning organizations will be able to submit requests to perform studies using de-identified data to understand how people use the site, patterns of behavior, engagement, and other types of studies.This is exciting and innovative research that has never been possible to this extent before Science Near Me.

 

Your Information: As you move through the website, some anonymous information will be automatically captured such as: which website you visited before Science Near Me; pages you visit on Science Near Me; opportunities you’ve saved, joined, or participated in through Science Near Me or Science Near Me Affiliate Tools; participation in opportunities at host organizations; ratings and reviews you add to opportunity pages on Science Near Me; and Google Analytics statistics related to browser and device usage to access Science Near Me. See our Terms of Service and Cookies Policyfor more detailed information about data that are collected through use of the site. If you create an account on Science Near Me, you will be required to provide your email address, password, and zip code, with the options to add more information like display name, phone number, first and last name, gender, birth year, race/ethnicity, family income, and education level. This information is used to help match you with ideal STEM opportunities in your area. Any reports based on your online activities are shared in aggregate and data are not linked to any personally identifiable information. If you are an account-holder on SciStarter, you will also have the option to link that account with Science Near Me to authenticate into this website, which in doing so you grant express approval to share your SciStarter account information with Science Near Me.

 

For any request from partner research organizations to conduct research using anonymized data collected through Science Near Me, these researchers will be required to obtain separate IRB approval to conduct their research, along with separate consent forms for participation. If researchers wish to recruit Science Near Me account-holders to participate in these studies, you may be asked to give permission to share your name and/or email address. 

 

Confidentiality: All of the information we obtain will be kept as confidential as possible in accordance with applicable laws. There is still a risk however, that unauthorized individuals may gain access to the information. For more on how we store your data, please see our Privacy Policy.

 

Voluntary Participation: Participation in research associated with Science Near Me is voluntary with no direct benefit to you. You can choose not to take part or stop taking part at any time by simply exiting the site.

 

Questions: If you have questions about the information gathered or problems with the website, please contact info@sciencenearme.org. If you have questions about your rights as a research participant or related concerns, you may contact E&I toll free at 1-800-472-3241.