Frequently Asked Questions
Below are some common questions about the DAN Study. Click a question to expand or collapse the answer.
This site stores a small cookie that stores an anonymous UUID to remember your survey progress on this browser. If cookies are blocked, your responses cannot be linked to your session. This means the system cannot track returning participants and will treat you as a new participant each time.
Your cookies appear to be disabled in your browser.
UUID is an acronym that stands for Universally Unique IDentifier ↗.
It is a 36-character string value that consists of five groups of hexadecimal digits split with hyphens. A hexidecimal character ↗ is a base-16 numeric with 16 valid characters, 0 to 9 and A to F. The first group of a UUID is eight hexadecimal characters. The second, third, and fourth groups consist of four hexadecimal characters. The fifth group has twelve hexadecimal characters.
The UUID structure is governed by the Internet Engineering Task Force ↗ (IETF). The current Standards as of May 2024 are published as RFC 9562 ↗. This document describes the structure of the UUID and it details the various UUID versions that exist. This site uses the UUID Version 1 layout which is composed of the timestamp and the MAC address of the host machine. The combination of a point in time (the timestamp) and a point in space (the computer generating the UUID) makes duplicate UUID values extremely unlikely.
The survey identifies returning participants using a cookie stored in your browser. If you switched devices, cleared cookies, or used a different browser, the system cannot retrieve your previous participation data. You will be treated as a new participant.
The reason why this system does not know it's you again is because this site does not collect or store any of your personal identifiable information (PII) such as your user name. The only identifiable identifier tied to you is a unique identifier (UUID) that is assigned to a specific device and a specific web browser.
If this occurs to you and you are confident that you are a returning participant, your best option is to revisit this site from the same device and browser you used in your earlier session. Alternatively, you can retake the entire survey as if this is your first visit with our thanks for your patience.
Before proceeding in our research study, you are asked to intentionally consent to participate. This makes your voluntary participation in our study a conscious and deliberate decision to allow our research team to collect and retain your survey responses for up to five years as per our Privacy Policy at which time your data will be deleted.
Out of respect for your privacy, this site does not ask you for your user name or any other personal identifiable informmation (PII) other than your email address if you choose to enter the e-gift card draw or wish to contact the research team through our contact form.
Your survey responses are saved to a database that resides on a remote server hosted by a cloud service. Your responses are retained for five years as per our Privacy Policy at which time they will be deleted.
When you agree to participate in our survey, a unique identifier (UUID) is assigned to you and stored on your device and in the database so that we can remember who you are in an anonymized fashion as long as you revisit this site using the same device and web browser. This unique identifier will also be retained for five years then deleted from the database. Your local browser cookie is also set to expire in five years.
If you choose to revoke your voluntary consent, your survey responses will be removed immediately. Your unique identifier will still be retained for five years so we can remember your consent status.
Visit our Privacy page for more information.
Your data is stored and retained in a secure database for five years as per our Privacy Policy, and only after you consent to the collection and storage of this data. After this time, your unique identifier (UUID), preferences, and survey responses will be deleted.
If you choose to revoke your consent at any time before this, your survey responses will be deleted immediately. The UUID assigned to you will still be retained for five years so we can remember your consent status and other user preferences.
This site collects and stores the minimum amount of personal data that it needs. We do not need to know your name or any other contact information so we do not ask for it. The only data we associate with you is a unique identifier called a UUID, and this allows us to recognize you as a returning participant in case you wish to complete the survey in multiple sessions.
The only identifiable contact information we ask for is your email address, and this is strictly optional. There are two reasons why you may be asked for your email address. First, if you wish to contact our research team through our Contact Form, we need your email address so we can reply to your message. Second, if you wish to enter our e-gift card draw, we need your email address so we can inform you if you win the draw.
For more information, see our Privacy Policy.
Yes, you may revoke your consent at any time from the Consent page. If you do, your responses will be permanently deleted from the database. The UUID assigned to you will still be retained for five years so we can remember your consent status and other user preferences.
If you have completed our survey and entered our e-gift card draw, we will inform you by email if you are declard a winner.
If you would like to ask us any questions or provide any feedback to our team, please contact the research coordinator through our Contact page.