Privacy Policy

We collect no information about you, other than information automatically collected and stored (see below) when you visit our website, unless you choose to provide that information to us.

Information Automatically Collected and Stored

When you browse through any website, certain personal information about you can be collected. We automatically collect and store the following information about your visit:

  • The IP address of the computer you used to access our website (for example, 141.211.92.1). This IP address is often translated into a domain name such as aol.com, if you are using an America Online account, or stanford.edu, if you are connnecting from Stanford University's domain.
  • The date and time of your visit
  • The pages you visited
  • The address of the website you came from when you visited our site
  • The operating system of your computer
  • The version and type of Web browser you use when you visit our website

We use this information for statistical purposes and to help us make our site more useful to visitors. Unless it is specifically stated otherwise, no additional information will be collected about you.

Personally Provided Information

Unless you choose to download data files from this website, you will not be asked to provide us with additional identifying information.

In the event that you choose to download data files, you will be asked to create a MyData account, which entails filling out a brief form that requests the following information:

  • Email address
  • MyData password (you create this)
  • Name
  • Academic status (student, faculty, staff, etc.)
  • Department, discipline, or academic unit
  • Whether or not we can share your name, email address, and download information with your institution's appointed ICPSR representative

After filling out the form, you will be asked your email address and MyData password for subsequent downloads, but will not be asked to fill out the form again. Your MyData account will be used to track which data files you have downloaded from our website. This is done so that we can provide aggregated usage statistics to various agencies to justify continued funding.

We may contact you via email and ask you to verify/update the information in your MyData account on an annual or biannual basis. We may also contact you infrequently to notify you of changes in access or privacy policies. In rare cases we may contact you with information related to a specific dataset you have downloaded (i.e., if there was a problem with a file that you downloaded).

If you choose to provide us with additional information about yourself through an e-mail message, form, survey, etc., we will maintain the information securely to the extent allowable by law and take every precaution to protect it.

Disclosure

We do not disclose, give, sell, or transfer any personal information about our visitors, unless required for law enforcement or by statute, or upon mutual agreement between you and ICPSR.

Please note that some studies distributed by this institution contain sensitive data, or are acquired with specific contractual obligations, that require us to share identifying usage information with funding agencies and/or the principal investigators. If you wish to acquire those data, you will be asked to provide additional information.

Intrusion Detection

For site security purposes and to ensure that this service remains available to all users, we employ software programs to monitor traffic and to identify unauthorized attempts to upload or change information or to otherwise cause damage. In the event of authorized law enforcement investigations, and pursuant to any required legal process, information from these sources may be used to help identify an individual.