Privacy Notice - Research

A bit about us

The University of Salford is the “Data Controller” of your personal data & is subject to the UK General Data Protection Regulation 2016 (“GDPR”). We are registered with the Information Commissioner’s Office (“ICO”) registration number Z469563X and our Data Protection Officer is Andrew Hartley.

Why do we collect your Information?

Under the GDPR we have to have justification (“legal basis”) for obtaining your information, for individuals taking part in research activities, we believe that this is:

Public Task

To ensure that we can carry out our role as an educational and research establishment, meeting legal, moral and contractual obligations, as laid out in the University’s Charter.

Archiving, research and statistics

To ensure that we can carry out our role as a research establishment.

When Do We Collect Data?

We collect data about you as part of a research study. The University undertakes research in many different fields of study and for many different projects. The information we collect about you will depend entirely upon the research study you are taking part in. This will have been fully explained to you when you signed up to be part of the research study and gave us consent to participate in the study and to gather information about you for the purposes of the study.

What Sort of Data Do We Collect?

Under the GDPR we are only permitted to collect the minimum amount of information needed to carry out a specific purpose. We may collect the following type of personal data about you:

1. Information that helps identify you:

• Your name & date of birth,
• Contact information (address, email, phone number),
• National Insurance Number (or other Tax Identification number),
• Passport Number (or National Identity Card details),
• Country of domicile & nationality.

2. Information relating to your education & employment history:

• The school(s), sixth form(s)/college(s) & other Universities you’ve attended,
• Dates of Study & examination results,
• Places of work & vocational qualifications achieved.

3. Information about your family or personal circumstances, where this is relevant to the research study you are taking part in.

4. Sensitive personal data, including:

• Information concerning your health & medical conditions,
• Information about your racial or ethnic origin, religion or political beliefs & sexual orientation,
• Certain criminal convictions,
• Other information relevant to the research study you are taking part in.

How Do We Use Your Information?

We will process your personal information for a range of purposes associated with the research study you are taking part in. The primary purposes are:

• To use your information along with information gathered from other participants in the research study to seek new knowledge and understanding that can be derived from the information we have gathered
• To summarise this information into written form for the purposes of publication. Any information published will be at a summary level and will be fully anonymised and there will be no way of identifying your individual personal information within the published results,
• To use the summary and conclusions arising from the research study for teaching and further research purposes. Any information used in this way will be at a summary level and will be fully anonymised. There will be no way of identifying your individual personal information from the summary information used in this way.

How Long Do We Keep Your Data For?

Data is retained for as long as it is required to perform its purpose, or for as long as is required by law (see the link below). At the end of that retention period, your data will either be deleted completely or anonymised.

View our Records Retention Schedule.

Who Do We Share Your Information With?

Your personal data will only be shared with trusted third parties identified to you at the time we gained your consent to take part in the research study.

Here’s the policy we apply to those organisations to keep your data safe & protect your privacy:

• We provide only the information they need to perform their specific services,
• They may only use your data for the exact purposes we specify in our contract with them,
• We work closely with them to ensure that your privacy is respected & protected at all times,
• If we stop using their services, any of your data held by them will either be deleted or rendered anonymous.

Examples of the kind of third parties we work with are our employees, agents, contractors where there is a legitimate reason for their receiving the information, including:

• Third parties who are working with the University as part of the research study you are taking part in as contributors to the research study,
• Third parties who provide IT support for the research study,
• Internal & external auditors.

International Data Transfers

Some of the personal information we process about you may be transferred to, and stored at, a destination outside the UK, for example where it is processed by staff operating outside the UK who work for us or for one of our research collaborators, partners or suppliers, or where the personal data is processed by one of our research collaborators, partners or suppliers who is based outside the UK or uses a storage facilities outside of the UK.

How Can You Find Out What Information We Hold On You?

You have certain rights in respect of the personal information the University holds about you. For more information about Individual Rights under GDPR and how you exercise them please return to our privacy homepage.

This Statement

From time to time we may make changes to this statement because the way we are processing your personal information changes.  All alterations will be posted on this page and will apply from the time we post them.  Where we have a valid email address for you we will periodically email you to inform you what changes have been made and to send you a link to our current privacy statement.

This statement was last updated on 25 May 2018.