Privacy Policy

This Policy was last reviewed on 19 June 2008.

What is this policy and what does it cover?

The UK Data Archive adheres to the privacy policy of the University of Essex, under the Data Protection Act 1998 and has a legal duty to protect any information it collects from users. The privacy policy relates to personal data collected in the course of registration for access to services and during user consultations and more general information collected when browsing the site.

By using the UK Data Archive site you have consented to the terms and conditions of this privacy policy.

The UK Data Archive may use the general information collected while browsing the site to conduct analysis of web usage to support systems and performance monitoring and to help improve the site and service.

Information collected:

• full name
• contact address
• email address
• fax and telephone numbers
• institution and department
• your Internet Protocol (IP) address
• details about your web browser
• details about files requested
• date and time of requests
• for each file requested, the referencing page, if any from which you may have followed a hyperlink
• search terms and search results
• the domain from which your request originated
• your username, if you have authenticated with the web server

How personal information is used and shared

Personal information is not passed to third parties but the UK Data Archive reserves the right to allow third party contractors to analyse web logs and statistics on its behalf.

The UK Data Archive may disclose personal, business or trading details should it need to pursue action against a user who violates its terms and conditions, copyrights, intellectual property rights or other property rights. The UK Data Archive may also disclose such information to any government, law enforcement or regulatory agency that properly requests it.

Information collected is used for the following purposes:

• for authentication
• to include contact information and details in a database accessible by stakeholders including the ESRC and/or agents acting on our behalf
• to undertake general trend analysis on the usage of this site and service
• to send communications such as service announcements, including details of any changes to the service
• to assist contributors to UKDA-store to administer their projects

Acceptable content and use policy

The Service may not be used nor the content submitted in any way that:

• infringes any copyright, patent, trademark, trade secret, other propriety rights, or rights of publicity or privacy in any way
• is illegal or otherwise unlawful
• is in breach of the terms and conditions of the privacy policy
• is libellous, abusive, menacing or offensive or that may harass or cause distress or inconvenience to any person
• is obscene, vulgar, pornographic or is otherwise against public policy facilitates the transmission of any virus or other materials that could potentially damage the site and any computers or internet services that are connected to it

The UK Data Archive and the University of Essex has no obligation to monitor or censor any information that users store within the site or transmit through it, and is not responsible for any injury, damage or offence that results from such storage and transmission of information.

The UK Data Archive and the University of Essex reserve the right to suspend or remove a user from the service or remove any content if it is considered that there is or is likely to be a breach of security or, if it is believed that use of the site is contrary to the terms and conditions or for any other reason at our sole discretion. The UK Data Archive will try to discuss any incident with appropriate users before taking action in these respects but cannot guarantee to do so.

What about cookies?

Cookies are small files that are stored on your computer by your browser at the request of a web site to store personal preferences. They relate to a specific site and can be used to enhance that site’s functionality and your interaction with it; they may also be used for business and/or site analytical purposes.

Cookies can be controlled by adjusting web browser preferences to:

• allow
• block
• allow from selected sites
• allow certain types of cookies

Restricting cookies may affect or interfere with functionality of sites.

Policy Changes

This Privacy Policy will be modified when changes in practice occur. Any changes will be notified by posting the modified Privacy Policy on the web site and including a date on which it was last updated. Continued use of the site after modification constitutes the continuing agreement to be bound by the terms and conditions of the latest version.