Prolific Academic Researcher Terms of Service,1.Introduction,The website www.prolific.co (the “Website”) is owned and operated by Prolific Academic Ltd,(“we”,“us”, “our”)registeredinEnglandandWalesundercompanynumber08991598,havingour registeredofficeatTheWheelhouse,AngelCourtFirstFloor,81St.Clements,Street,Oxford, OX4 1AW, UK.,TheserviceweofferviatheWebsite(the“Service”)consistsoftheprovisionofaplatform,for an academic or commercial researcher (“Researcher”, “you”, “your”) to launch an,online research study, pre-designed by thatResearcher using the Service (“Study”) in,whichpre-screenedparticipants (each a“Participant”) may participate by making a,submission to the Researcher in response to the Study (“Submission”) in accordance with,the Participation Terms and certain additional terms and conditions agreed between the,Researcher and Participants specific to that Study, including any Study listing (“Study,Terms”), in return for a reward specified in the Study Terms (“Reward”).
Studies are listed,on our Website, but Submissions may be made and Studies completed on whatever third-,party platform you have chosen to host the Study.
,In addition to the Participation Terms and the Study Terms, these terms and conditions,(“Terms of Service”) together with our Website Terms of Use and Privacy Notice and,Cookies Policy set out the entire agreement between the Researcher using the Service (the,“Researcher”or“you”asthecontextrequires)andusrelatingtotheServiceandyouruse,of theService.,YourapplicationforregistrationtousetheServiceasaResearcherisanofferbyyouto,enter into a binding contract with us under these Terms of Service which we are free to,accept or decline at our absolute discretion.
If your registration is accepted you will be legally,bound by these Terms of Service.
Please ensure that you have read and understood them,and have printed off a copy for your furtherreference.,WemayamendanytermorconditionoftheseTermsofServiceanytimeatoursole,discretion and will notify our registered users of any such amendments.
Such amendments,will not affect Studies that you had already initiated before we notified you of the,amendments.
Your continued use of the Service for new Studies following such notice will,constitute acceptance by you of suchamendments.,2.Our Role,As a Researcher, you hereby authorise us to act as your commercial agent to negotiate,and/or conclude contracts for the Study Terms and the Participation Terms with each,Participant on your’s participation in behalf for each Study offered by you and to,negotiate..
The contract between you and each Participant will be on the Participation,Terms together with the Study Terms, and we will not be party to that contract.
In this,limited capacity, we are not a party to the Study Terms or the Participation Terms.
We,pay Rewards to Participants from the amount paid to us by you for each Study (“Study,Costs”), which are inclusive of the fee charged by us to the Researcher for providing,our Service (“Platform Service Fee”) and any other additional fees and service,charges.
We do not charge any fees to Participants.
,Rewards are only payable via the Service.
Once you have paid the Study Costs to us,,your obligation to pay the amount of Rewards covered by those Study Costs is,discharged.
It is then our responsibility to pay the actual Rewards to each Participant on,your behalf in respect of the relevant Study whose Submission you approve (subject to,the provisions of Clause 5 of these Terms of Service).
Please note that the Participation,1,Terms prohibit the Participants from claiming Rewards from us or you outside the,Service.
,We are not an agent, intermediary or representative of any kind (including a fiduciary or,trustee) of the Participants.
,Participants deal with, and supply Submissions to, us and you as independent,contractors in their own right, and not as an employee, agent, principal or partner of you,or us.
,Except as otherwise expressly provided in these Terms of Service, we are not your,agent, intermediary, trustee, fiduciary or other representative of any kind.
,Nothing in these Terms of Service is intended to confer any benefit or entitlement on,any person who is not a party to them, and no such other person shall have any right,under the Contracts (Rights of Third Parties) Act 1999 to enforce any terms of this,Agreement.
,Subject to clause 6 below, you and each Participant deal with each other at your and,their own risk.
You must resolve any disputes directly with each of your Participants.,3.Registration,To register to use the Service and post studies as a Researcher you must enter your first and,second name, email address, and choose a password.,By registering to use the Service you agree:,that you are at least 18 yearsold;,that you have authority to enter into legally binding contracts and that you agree to be,bound by all terms and conditions of these Terms ofService;,that all the information provided to us for the purpose of registering for the Service is,true, accurate, current and complete in allrespects;,if you are conducting research for an academic institution, that you are employed or a,student at that institution;,thatyouauthorisetheelectronictransferoffundstousandfromusinaccordance,with the ‘Payments’ section of these Terms ofService;,to notify us immediately of any changes to the information provided on registration or,to your personal information;and,that you authorise us to transmit your name, address and other personal information,suppliedbyyou(includingupdatedinformation)toobtaininformationfromthird,parties aboutyou,including,butnotlimitedto,creditreportssothatwemay,authenticateyour identity.,Once this process is complete, we may open a secure data account specifically for you in our ,systems (“Researcher Account”), but we reserve the right not to do so for any reason or no ,reason.
If we have reason to believe that any information provided to us is false then we ,reserve the right to suspend or terminate your Researcher Account with immediate effect.,Any personal data provided by you to us will be processed by us in accordance with our ,Privacy Notice and Cookie Policy (https://prolific.co/privacy).,You must only use the Service using your own username, email and/or and password, and,are responsible for all actions taken under your chosen username, email and password.
You,may not transfer or sell your username, email address or password to anyone, nor permit,,eitherdirectlyorindirectly,anyoneotherthanyoutousethem.Youmustmakeeveryeffort,2,to keep your password safe and not to disclose your password to anyone.
We have the right,to disable any password, whether chosen by you or allocated by us, at any time, if in our,reasonable opinion you have failed to comply with any of the provisions of these Terms of,Service, our Terms of Use or our Privacy Notice and CookiesPolicy.,Ifyouknoworsuspectthatanyoneotherthanyouknowsyourpasswordorhasmadeany,use of your Researcher Account, you must promptly notify us at support@prolific.co.,4.Posting a Study listing and Payment of Our Fees,BeforeuploadinganyStudy listingyoushallusethestudycostcalculator(availableonthe,Website) to determine the Study Cost including our fee for your use of the Service and any,applicable VAT (“Platform Service Fee”).
You must then pay the total amount of the Study,Costs to your Researcher Account using your credit or debit card (or that of your employer or,academic institution, in whichcaseyouwarrantthatyouareauthorisedtousesuchcard).,When the Study Costs are paid to your Researcher Account, we shalldebit the Platform,Service Fee and creditthebalance of theStudyCosts (“Net Study Costs”) to your,Researcher AccountontheWebsite.
YouwillnotbepermittedtopostanyStudyunlessyour,Researcher Account is in funds sufficient to cover the Net StudyCosts.
You can use the,features of the Service to request an invoice which will identify the Platform Service Fee,separately from the Net Study Costs.,Once your Researcher Account is in funds you shall enter all the information relevant to your,Study (such as the name of Study and the number of participants required).
You may also,enter pre-screening criteria so that only Participants with certain demographic characteristics,can participate in the Study.
All pre-screening information is based on Participants’ self-,reporting.
Wedonotwarranttheaccuracyofanypre-screeninginformationandareunder,noobligation to verify pre-screeninginformation.,Once youhavesubmittedyour Study listingtotheWebsiteyouwillnotbepermittedto,withdrawthe Net Study Costs while the Study is active.
If your Study is withdrawn or closed,(forinstance,duetoalackoforareducednumberofParticipants)then,providedthat,sufficient funds remain in your Researcher Account to pay any Rewards to all Participants,,you may withdraw any remainder.,Money you transfer to the Researcher Account shall be held in that account (subject to,deduction of our fees payable under these Terms of Service) on trust for you by us, subject,to the provisions of these Terms of Service.
You will not be entitled to any interest that may,be paid by the bank on those funds, and by entering into this Agreement you waive any,entitlement to interest on such money.,You warrant and undertake that:,you own or are licensed to use all intellectual property rights in the Study materials,,and have all necessary rights, licenses and permissions to conduct the Study using,the Service;,you will, in relation to the personal information of any Participants, comply with your,obligations set out under “Privacy”below;,you have obtained written approval for your Study from the relevant ethics committee,of your academicinstitution;,you will make clear to each Participant the purposes of the Study, the intended,publicationsofanyresultsoftheStudy,andall Study Termswhich must be accepted,by the Participant in order to take part in the Study;and,youwillensurethatyourStudyasksParticipantsfortheirIDnumbers(asassigned,by us when they register for the Website) and provides Participants with a study code,by which the Study can beidentified.,3,5.Submissions and Payments of Rewards,Submissions to Studies are not moderated by us and we are under no obligation to oversee,,monitor or moderate Submissions.,ItisyourresponsibilitytocheckthatSubmissionsmeetthespecificrequirementsofyour,Study once submitted by aParticipant.,You shall review each Participant’s Submission within a reasonable period following its,submission and either approve or reject it.
Approved Submissions shall automatically receive,aReward,transferredbyusfromyourResearcher AccountwithustotheParticipant’s,nominatedaccount.
,If a Submission is not reviewed within twenty-one (21) days after its submission, you will lose,the right to reject it and the Participant will be allocated the Reward automatically.,YoumayrejectSubmissionsiftheydonotmeettherequirementsofyourStudy(for,example, if the Submission was wrong, the Study was not completed correctly or the,instructions were not followed).
Rejected Submissions shall not entitle the Participant to,receive a Reward.
If youdecidetorejectsomeone’swork,youwillbepromptedtogivea,reasonfor therejection.,You must act reasonably in rejecting Submissions.
If you reject more than a reasonable,proportionoftheSubmissionsmadetoanyparticularStudy(suchproportiontobe,determined by us in our absolute discretion), or if we otherwise have reason to believe that,you are improperly exercising your right to reject Submissions, we reserve the right to take,any or all of the followingactions:,to suspend your use of our Service pending investigation;,to terminate your use of our Service;and,to allocate Rewards to any and all Participants in any Study in relation to which we,believe you have improperly exercised your rights of rejection, regardless of whether,or not those Participants’ Submissions have been accepted or rejected byyou.,You may withdraw Studies at any time.
However, if you do so, any Participants who has,submitted a Submission will still be entitled to a Reward and we will still pay that Reward to,them.,If you reject any Submissions then spaces on the Study will automatically re-open to allow,new Participants to replace those whose Submissions were rejected, unless the Study has,been withdrawn.,We will take payment of Study Costs from you, and make payment of Rewards, through our,payment processing service providers Braintree and PayPal.
The collection and processing,by these providers of your credit or debit card details and other personal data are governed,by their respective terms and conditions and detailed in the Privacy Notice and Cookies,Policy for more information (www.prolific.co/privacy).,All payments pursuant to these Terms of Service, including the Study Costs, are in GBP,Sterling and stated inclusive of VAT unless stated otherwise.
All fees payable by you to us,under these Terms of Service shall be exclusive of any applicable value added tax (VAT),which you shall also be liable to pay to us.,Any funds relating to Net Study Costs in your Researcher Account following the completion,or withdrawal of a Study which have not been allocated as Rewards may be applied by you,4,towards further Study Costs or may be returned to you upon your request to your nominated,account or payment method within 18 months after the end of the Study.
No fee will be,payable by you Researcher for the repayment of the balance of the Net Study Costs within that,18 month period.
,However, if you fail to either apply such a balance of Net Study Costs toward another Study,or request repayment of the balance, or your Researcher Account has remained inactive (i.e.,you have not logged in to your Researcher Account or taken any action on the Service) for a,period of eighteen (18) months, then we may: ,close your Researcher Account.
, take such steps as we consider appropriate, which shall include transferring the money,to the payment card or other payment method that you used to transfer the Study Costs,to us or by sending a cheque to your last-known address and you shall pay to us a fee of,£10 (“Net Study Cost Redemption Fee”) which we may debit from your Researcher,Account (whether or not that action is successful in transferring the surplus Net Study,Costs, for instance, if you nominated account or payment method is no longer available,or the cheque is not presented).
and/or ,you shall pay to us a fee of £5 per month (“Dormant Account Fee”) which we may debit,from your Researcher Account, provided that no Dormant Account Fee will be charged,by us or payable by you to the extent there are no Net Study Costs credited to your,Researcher Account.
,We may waive or offer discounts on any of our fees to any Researcher(s) at any time in our,sole and absolute discretion.,We may change any of our fee rates from time to time.
We will give you at least 30 days’,notice of any change in our fees in accordance with Clause 11.
Any such changes in fees,will only affect Studies initiated on and after the date on which the change is stated to take,effect.,6.Intellectual Property,All intellectual property rights in Submissions are owned by the relevant Participants unless,otherwiseagreedbetweenyouandtheParticipants.Itisyourresponsibilitytoensurethat,you have obtained any necessary permission, licence or consent to your intended use of,those Submissions or an assignment of any relevant intellectual propertyrights.,7.Privacy,Any personal data provided to us by you will be used only for the purpose of providing the,ServiceandstrictlyinaccordancewithourPrivacyNoticeandCookiesPolicy,https://prolific.co/privacy.,We shall not disclose any Participant’s personal data to you.,You shall not request that any Participant provides you with their personal data unless you,haveinplacesuitabletermstoensureyourcompliancewiththeprovisionsoftheGeneral,Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and have provided these to the Participant prior to any,disclosure to you of their personal information.
You will at all times comply with your or your,institutionsobligationsasdatacontrollerunderGDPRinrelationtoanypersonaldata,provided to you in the course of aStudy.,8.Limitation of Liability,5,Except as expressly and specifically provided in these Terms of Service:,a)all warranties, representations, conditions and all other terms of any kind whatsoever,impliedbystatuteorcommonlaware,tothefullestextentpermittedbyapplicable,law, excluded from these Terms of Service;and,b)the Service is provided on an "as is"basis.,Notwithstanding any other provision in these Terms of Service, nothing will affect or limit your ,statutory rights.
or will exclude or limit our liability for:,a)death or personal injury resulting from ournegligence;,b)fraud or fraudulent misrepresentation;or,c)any matter for which it would be unlawful for us to exclude or attempt to exclude our,liability.,Subject to the above:,a)we shall not be liable whether in tort (including for negligence or breach of statutory,duty), contract, misrepresentation, restitution or otherwise forany:,i)loss of profits, loss of business, depletion of goodwill and/or similar losses or,loss or corruption of data or information, or pure economic loss,or,ii)special, indirect or consequential loss;and,b)ourtotalaggregateliabilitytoyouunderorinrelationtotheseTermsofServiceor,their subject matter (whether in tort (including for negligence or breach of statutory,duty), contract, misrepresentation, restitution or otherwise) shall not in any event,exceed a sum equal to whichever is the higherof:,i)theCommissionretainedbyus(inrelationtoStudiesyouhaveposted),during the period of six months immediately preceding the data on which the,event or occurrence giving rise to our liability took place;or,ii)£50 (fifty UK poundssterling).,You agree to indemnify us against all costs, losses, damages, expenses and liabilities,(including, but not limited to, reasonable administrative and legal costs) suffered, incurred or,paid out by us as a result of any claim by any Participant(s) or other third parties arising out,of or in connection with:,a)your breach of these Terms of Service, our Terms of Use or our Privacy Notice and,CookiesPolicy;,b)your use of the Service, including but not limited to any actual or alleged infringement,of any intellectual property rights by any of the studies you post;or,c)yourfailuretocomplywithanyrelevantlawsorregulationsinconnectionwithyour,use of the Service (including but not limited toGDPR).,9.Disputes,Youacknowledgethat youusetheServiceat yourownrisk.
We may, but are not obliged to,,assist in resolving any disputes between you and Participants which arise as a result of, or,which are related to, the Service.,10.Termination,6,YoumayatanytimeelecttostopusingtheService.Pleasecontactusat,support@prolific.co if you wish to close your Researcher Account.
If you wish to close your,Researcher Account, it is your responsibility to ensure that any funds in your Researcher,Account are withdrawn beforeclosure.,We reserve the right to terminate or suspend your access to the Service immediately and,without notice to you, and terminate your contract with us under these Terms of Service, if:,a)you are in breach of any term or condition of these Terms of Service (repeatedly or,otherwise);,b)you are impersonating any other person orentity;,c)when requested by us to do so, you fail to provide us within a reasonable time with,sufficient information to enable us to determine the accuracy and validity of any,information supplied by you, or your identity;or,d)we suspect you have engaged, or are about to engage, or have in anyway been,involved, in fraudulent or illegal activity in relation to theService.,If we terminate or suspend your access to the Service for any of the reasons set out above ,then:,a)anySubmissionthathasbeencompletedbyaParticipantbutnotyetacceptedby,you willbedeemedacceptedandtheapplicableRewardwillberemittedtothe,Participant and deducted from your Researcher Accountand,b)wemayretainyourremainingResearcher Accountbalance(ifany)andsetitoff,againstanyliability you may have tous.,11.General,Assignment.
You may not assign the benefit of these Terms of Service without our prior,written consent.
We may assign the benefit of these Terms of Service at any time, without,notice.
Subject to the foregoing, these Terms of Service will be binding on each party's,successors and permitted assigns.,No Waiver.
No failure or delay by us to exercise any right or remedy provided under these,Terms of Service or by law shall constitute a waiver of that or any other right or remedy, nor,shallitpreventorrestrictthefurtherexerciseofthatoranyotherrightorremedy.Nosingle,or partial exercise of such right or remedy shall prevent or restrict the further exercise of that,or any other right orremedy.,Notices.
All notices relating to these Terms of Service will be sent by e-mail or will be posted,on the Website.
We will send notices to you at the e-mail address maintained in our records,for you.
You must send notices to us at support@prolific.coor by recorded delivery to our,postal address of: The Wheelhouse, Angel Court First Floor, 81 St.
Clements Street, Oxford,,OX41AW, UK.E-mailnoticesaredeemedwrittennoticesforallpurposesforwhichwritten,notices may be required.
E-mail notices are deemed received the business day after,transmission if properlyaddressedtotheintendedrecipientandifnoerrororserver,messageindicatingnon-deliveryhasbeenreceivedbythesender.Postalnoticesare,deemedreceivedwhendelivery isrecorded.,7