Qualtrics Survey Software Acceptable Use Policy

This form must be read and agreed to prior to having a Qualtrics account created for you.  By doing so, you’ve agreed to the guidelines and can be held solely responsible for surveys and data collected by yourself and/or others (students) under your direction. Any conflict with this agreement will be sufficient cause for the suspension of your Qualtrics account and the accounts of those under your direction.  Surveys must include the privacy statement disclaimer.

1. No survey should ever collect (ask for) personal identifiers, such as names, student IDs, social insurance numbers, addresses (including email) or any other personal information that would allow a respondent to be linked to their survey data. (Exception: If your survey is providing an incentive for respondents and some form of contact is needed, collection is permitted provided the information collected will be detached from the survey data. This information is prohibited for being used to distribute marketing or SPAM type information.)
2. Surveys should not ask respondents to identify their race, religion, disability, or sexual orientation, unless this information is necessary for the study. In the event that researchers do wish to collect such data, they are encouraged to think about why such data is necessary and to have a rationale in case respondents object. Surveys may ask respondents to identify their age or income using groupings and if/when gender is asked an “other “and “prefer not to answer” category should be included. No question that collects personal information will be made a mandatory question.
3. Data collection needs to be identified as being either anonymous (no use of tokens), or confidential (use of tokens, but personal identifiers will not be used in analysis, such as email).
4. Surveys will not contain any inappropriate, foul, disrespectful, or prejudicial language, questions or comments. Information regarding harassment and discrimination can be found here: http://www.mystfx.ca/campus/stu-serv/equity/
5. Researchers have professional and legal responsibilities to their respondents that are embodied in the procedures of a research study. Underlying these specific responsibilities are fundamental ethical principles: Respondents should be:
   1. Willing participants in survey research;
   2. Appropriately informed about the survey’s intentions and how their personal information and survey responses will be used and protected;
6. FOIPOP should be strictly adhered to and passed on to the respondent in the disclaimer of the survey. The purpose of the FOIPOP Act is twofold:
   1. to make public bodies more open and accountable to the public by providing access to information contained in records under the custody or control of the public body. (The Act provides that certain information is or may be exempted from disclosure); and
   2. to protect the privacy of personal information in the records of the public body and to prevent their improper disclosure. You can find information on FOIPOP here: http://foipop.ns.ca/
7. StFX has also created/adopted specific policy related to the ethical conduct for research involving humans. Information can be found here:  http://www.mystfx.ca/research/ethics and http://www.stfx.ca/privacy/

I, the undersigned have read and agree to adhere to guidelines set by the University, and Provincial and Federal law in conducting survey research on human subjects (including the links provided to me). I accept that I will be held responsible for any misconduct regarding my research or the research of those working with me.