Privacy Notice

Information provided in an inquiry

The contact form requests your name, email address and message. An institution or organisation name is optional. Your message may describe a research project, its current stage or a relevant deadline.

Please provide only the information needed to explain your inquiry. Do not include participant identifiers, sensitive personal information or restricted research material in the initial form. A manuscript or dataset is not required to begin the conversation.

Later correspondence may contain information supplied by you or an authorised contact. When providing information about another person, confirm that you are entitled to share it and limit the detail to what the inquiry or agreed work requires.

How inquiry information is used

Inquiry information is used to understand the request, assess suitability, communicate about scope and prepare a proposal where relevant. Related correspondence may also be needed to manage the inquiry, record agreed decisions and administer any resulting engagement.

A service inquiry does not subscribe you to marketing. If a separate optional activity relies on your consent, its purpose and the way to withdraw that consent are explained when the choice is offered. You can ask a question about a service without agreeing to unrelated promotional contact.

Where an engagement involves additional personal data, the project documentation sets out the purposes, responsibilities and restrictions relevant to that work. Research datasets and other confidential materials may require arrangements beyond those used for ordinary inquiry correspondence.

Website information and technologies

Technical information may be processed to provide, protect and maintain website functions. Depending on the technology involved, this can include information associated with a request to access a page or use a form.

The Cookies Notice addresses cookies and similar technologies and the choices associated with optional use. Information about an optional feature is provided when that feature is offered. A description of a possible category does not mean that a particular analytics, marketing or embedded service is installed.

Access and service providers

Access to inquiry information is limited to the people who need it to assess the request, communicate with you or administer the agreed service. Technology providers may process information where their services are needed for functions such as hosting or communication.

If project work requires an external specialist, the role, information needed and applicable sharing arrangements are addressed before restricted material is shared. An instruction to provide consulting does not authorise unrestricted circulation of research files.

Information may also be disclosed where a binding legal obligation applies or where disclosure is otherwise permitted by applicable law. Requests for disclosure are considered in relation to the information and circumstances involved.

International processing

A project may involve restrictions on where information can be stored or accessed. Tell us about institutional, contractual or other relevant requirements during scoping, before sending the affected material.

Where personal information is transferred internationally, the arrangements must meet the requirements that apply to that transfer. A general website inquiry does not override an institution's approved sharing process or authorise a transfer of restricted research data.

Retention

Information is retained for as long as needed for its stated purpose and relevant obligations. Inquiry correspondence, contract records and research materials may require different treatment.

Retention decisions take account of whether an inquiry remains active, whether it led to an engagement, any continuing obligations and the need to retain records for an applicable legal requirement or claim. Project terms may also specify return, retention or deletion arrangements for supplied files, including relevant exceptions.

When information is no longer needed for those purposes, it is deleted or otherwise handled in accordance with the applicable retention arrangements. If you have a question about a particular record, use the contact page without resending sensitive material.

Your choices and rights

Depending on the applicable law and circumstances, you may have rights to request access, correction, deletion, restriction or portability of personal information, or to object to certain processing. Where processing relies on consent, you may withdraw it without affecting processing that was lawful before withdrawal.

A request may require sufficient information to identify the relevant records and establish your identity or authority. Exceptions and other legal obligations may affect how a request can be handled. You may also have the right to raise a concern with the competent data-protection authority.

Use the contact page to explain the nature of your request. Do not include identity documents or research-participant information unless a suitable means of providing necessary evidence has been agreed.

Research materials and external tools

Before sending detailed project files, read the confidentiality guidance and agree the required arrangements. Removing direct identifiers does not necessarily make a dataset anonymous.

The agreed scope identifies the purpose of access, authorised recipients, transfer route, permitted tools and relevant retention conditions. Use of restricted project material with third-party AI requires appropriate permission and safeguards; it is not authorised merely by requesting research support.

Changes and questions

This notice may be updated to reflect changes in the website or information-handling arrangements. Additional project-specific information remains relevant to the activity it describes.

For a privacy question, contact Outlier Science through the contact page and describe the matter briefly. Keep restricted files out of the initial message.