Terms of Use

1. Acceptance of Terms

By accessing and using talkingpoliticsresearch.net (the "Site"), you agree to be bound by these Terms of Use and all applicable laws and regulations. If you do not agree with any of these terms, you are prohibited from using or accessing this site.

2. Eligibility

The Site is currently available to researchers holding a valid academic (.edu or equivalent institutional) email address, on a free-tier basis. We may verify institutional affiliation at our discretion and may suspend or decline accounts where affiliation cannot be confirmed.

Talking Politics Research may introduce additional paid subscription tiers, features, or account types in the future. Any such change will be described in an update to these Terms and communicated to registered users prior to taking effect; it will not be applied retroactively to alter the terms of your existing account without notice.

Use of the Site is subject to usage limits, including caps on the number of participants or study entries that may be processed within a given time period. These limits may vary by account tier and may be adjusted by us at any time to maintain platform stability and fairness across researchers. We do not guarantee a specific participant throughput or completion timeline for any study.

3. Researcher Responsibilities & Ethical Compliance

Researchers using the Site are solely responsible for the content of their surveys and the conduct of their studies. By using the Site, researchers warrant that:

• They have obtained all necessary Institutional Review Board (IRB) or Ethics Committee approvals.
• They will provide accurate Informed Consent to all participants.
• They will comply with all applicable data protection laws, including but not limited to GDPR and CCPA, where applicable to their study.
• They will not collect highly sensitive information (e.g., Social Security numbers, email addresses, or protected health information) through the platform.

4. Participant Protections

The Site acts as a service provider and platform host. We do not guarantee the validity of the research or the actions of the researchers. Participants agree that their participation is strictly voluntary and that any disputes regarding the research must be directed to the lead researcher or their sponsoring institution.

5. Intellectual Property & Data Ownership

All software, logos, and interface designs are the property of Talking Politics Research. This includes the "SPTE" and "DPTE" methodology names and associated terminology as used on the Site. Regarding research data:

• Researcher Content: Researchers retain ownership of surveys they design, content they upload, and the data collected. You grant the Site a license to host, store, and transmit this data solely to provide the service.
• Anonymity: Researchers agree not to attempt to re-identify participants who have been promised anonymity through the platform.

6. User Conduct

As a condition of use, you warrant that you will not use the Site for any purpose that is unlawful. Prohibited activities include:

• Harassing, abusing, or harming other users or participants.
• Uploading viruses, malicious code, or using automated scripts to "scrape" data.
• Deceiving participants in a way that violates ethical research guidelines.
• Attempting to gain unauthorized access to the Site's systems or other users' data.

7. User Accounts

If you create an account, you are responsible for maintaining the confidentiality of your credentials. You agree to provide accurate information and accept responsibility for all activities under your account. We reserve the right to terminate accounts at our sole discretion.

8. Data Retention & Account Closure

When you close your account or request deletion, we will process the deletion of your account information and associated study data within a reasonable timeframe as described in our Privacy Policy. You are responsible for exporting or retaining any research data you wish to keep prior to closing your account, as we cannot guarantee recovery of deleted data.

9. Service Continuity

We will make reasonable efforts to provide advance notice before any planned discontinuation of the Site. In the event the Site is discontinued, we will provide registered researchers a reasonable opportunity to export their study data prior to shutdown, where practicable.

10. International Use

The Site is hosted and operated in the United States. If you access or use the Site from outside the United States, including from the European Economic Area or United Kingdom, you understand that your information, and any research or participant data you upload, will be transferred to and processed in the United States. It is your responsibility as a researcher to ensure that use of the Site is consistent with your institution's data protection obligations for your study.

11. Third-Party Links

Our Site may contain links to third-party websites. We assume no responsibility for the content, privacy policies, or practices of any third-party sites.

12. Disclaimer of Warranties

This Site is provided on an "AS IS" and "AS AVAILABLE" basis. Talking Politics Research makes no warranties regarding the accuracy of research data, reliability of the platform, or its availability during specific data collection windows. We do not guarantee uninterrupted or error-free operation, and we are not responsible for interruptions that occur during an active study or recruitment window. Researchers are responsible for building reasonable buffer time into their study scheduling. We may, at our discretion, throttle, queue, or delay processing of study traffic during periods of high platform-wide demand in order to maintain service stability for all users. Where practicable, we will make reasonable efforts to notify researchers in advance if we anticipate a scheduled study may be affected by anticipated high demand. Your use of the Site is at your sole risk.

Without limiting the foregoing:

• Data Processing Delay: Interaction and event data collected during a study is processed asynchronously and may not appear in your dashboard or exports in real time. Processed or aggregated data may lag behind the underlying collection by a period of time before it is fully available.
• Third-Party Dependencies: We are not liable for outages, errors, or delays caused by third-party services the Site relies on or that you choose to integrate with, including cloud hosting infrastructure, payment processors, or participant recruitment platforms, where such causes are outside our reasonable control.
• Beta or In-Development Features: We may make new or experimental features available to some or all researchers before they are fully finalized. Such features are provided on an as-is basis without the reliability expectations applicable to established, generally available features, and may be modified, limited, or withdrawn at any time.
• Force Majeure: We are not liable for any failure or delay in performance resulting from causes beyond our reasonable control, including but not limited to natural disasters, acts of government, internet or telecommunications failures, or widespread outages of infrastructure providers we depend on.

13. Limitation of Liability

In no event shall Talking Politics Research or its affiliates be liable for any damages (including loss of research data, loss of profit, or institutional non-compliance) arising out of the use or inability to use the Site. Our total liability is limited to $100.

14. Indemnification

You agree to indemnify and hold harmless Talking Politics Research, its operator(s), and affiliates from any claims, damages, losses, or expenses (including reasonable attorneys' fees) arising out of or related to: (a) your violation of these Terms; (b) your failure to obtain or maintain required IRB or ethics approval for a study; (c) your violation of any applicable data protection law in connection with your use of the Site; or (d) content or data you upload to the Site.

15. Governing Law

These terms are governed by the laws of Calloway County, KY. You irrevocably submit to the exclusive jurisdiction of the courts in that location.

16. General Provisions

• Severability: If any provision of these Terms is found to be unenforceable, the remaining provisions will remain in full force and effect.
• Entire Agreement: These Terms, together with our Privacy Policy, constitute the entire agreement between you and Talking Politics Research regarding use of the Site.
• No Waiver: Our failure to enforce any right or provision of these Terms will not be considered a waiver of those rights.
• Assignment: We may assign or transfer these Terms, in whole or in part, without restriction. You may not assign your rights or obligations under these Terms without our prior written consent.

17. Changes to Terms

We reserve the right to modify these terms at any time. By continuing to use the Site after changes are posted, you agree to the revised terms.

18. Contact Information

If you have any questions about these Terms, please contact us at: talkingpoliticsresearch@gmail.com.