Information and consent for participation in research conducted by Marsouin

, par Laurent Mell

The purpose of this document is to provide you with detailed information about the research surveys conducted by Marsouin. This information, in accordance with the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), will allow you to become aware of the methods of processing your personal data. This information will also allow you to freely consent, in an informed and unequivocal manner, to the specific processing planned within the framework of this data collection for scientific research purposes.

What is a "scientific research" purpose ?
It is generally accepted that the purpose of scientific research carried out within a public research centre is to make original contributions to the knowledge of a research subject. This contribution, which may be based on the collection and use of personal data, is made in accordance with the methodological and ethical standards and good practices in force within the scientific disciplines that support the research project. In this context, the notion of "scientific research" applies in particular to the collection and use of personal data that takes place during a research project carried out by a researcher or a research team attached to a public research institution.
The legal basis for the collection and processing of your personal information is then the execution of a mission of public interest.
When data is collected by Marsouin (or by a service provider for Marsouin, see below), the data collected, and in particular personal data, are only collected for scientific studies. It will not be used for anything else.

What is "personal data" ?
The notion of "personal data" refers to any information relating to or identifying a person. This identification can be direct (e.g. your name and surname) or indirect (e.g. your email address, an identifier on a website, or your voice, the IP address of your connection). This identification may be based on a single piece of data (e.g. your name) or on a combination of data (e.g. your e-mail and your voice).
Given this understanding of identification, we will treat all direct and indirect details collected in the course of our research about research participants as personal information and protect it accordingly. Unless otherwise stated at the time of the survey, identifying data is retained for one year. Anonymised survey data is kept indefinitely, to create an archive of digital usage, and to allow historical comparisons.
An anonymised version (without personal data as defined above) of the data collected is published on the Marsouin website. See here.

Steering, management and funding of the research work involving data collection
This research is led by Marsouin, which is a scientific interest grouping, represented by the legal entity IMT Atlantique.
Marsouin conducts surveys financed by the Brittany Region or by other partners, most often public, which aim to study the transformations linked to digital technology in Brittany. To this end, recurrent or occasional surveys are carried out among individuals, companies and municipalities.
The research may be carried out by researchers from a Marsouin member institution, sometimes in collaboration with researchers from other universities.
In all cases, the data is collected by Marsouin or by a service provider, under contract with Marsouin (via its legal representative, IMT Atlantique). In the latter case, the data collected is only transmitted to Marsouin.

How is the data collected and managed ?
The questionnaires include a barometric part and a part co-constructed with the researchers of the Marsouin network as well as other socio-economic actors in Brittany. Three methods of administering the questionnaire can be used depending on the survey : (1) Telephone via a service provider ; (2) Mailing (sending the paper questionnaire by post) ; (3) Online via a survey software.
For each of our surveys, the preferred sampling method is the quota method, which ensures that the sample is representative. Several types of sampling may be used during the same survey in order to ensure compliance with the quotas defined before each survey.
At the end of the survey, a file containing the survey responses is obtained. The quality of the data is checked by the service provider carrying out the survey and/or by us. In cases in which the quotas are not fully met, a margin adjustment may be carried out to ensure that the sample is representative.
The data thus obtained is anonymised and stored on servers located in France, to which only the Marsouin team has secure access.
Exclusive access to the data is guaranteed to researchers who are members of the Marsouin network for 6 months beginning from the end of the survey. When the data are available, researchers are notified through the Marsouin members’ mailing list and the data can be transmitted to them upon request within this time.
After this period, the anonymised data are made public. They are posted on our website (hosted by OVH, in France) and can be downloaded via direct links.

Purpose of this research work
The aim of this research is to learn more about the uses of digital technology and its impact on our lives. We also seek to share this better understanding of our digital lives with the scientific community, but also with the general public, by systematically publishing summaries of our work on the Marsouin website.
Documentation and metadata
The questionnaire corresponding to each dataset is also stored and made available along with the data itself. It is distributed in PDF format.
For each dataset, a data dictionary table is created and made available in order to link the survey questions with the corresponding variables in the data file.
In addition, a PDF file containing the first frequency tables for each question is also made available. These frequency tables are carried out without any filtering or prior processing of the data and may therefore differ from certain results that will be published in scientific productions using the same data later on.

Right of access and modification
In accordance with the French law on "Informatique et Libertés", you have the right to access and rectify any information about yourself
If you wish to exercise this right and obtain information about yourself, please contact us (contact at marsouin dot org), indicating the context in which you entrusted us with personal data (type of survey, date, means of collection).
Should you not be satisfied with the answers provided by Marsouin staff, you can also contact the data protection officer of IMT Atlantique, which is the legal entity representing Marsouin at the following address : dpo at imt-atlantique dot fr
Additional information can be found on the CNIL website at : https://www.cnil.fr/en/gdpr-toolkit