Terms of Service
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Table of Contents
1. Acceptance of Terms
By using Study Screener (the "Services"), you agree to these Terms of Service. If you are using the Services on behalf of an organization, you represent that you have authority to bind that organization and you accept these Terms on its behalf.
2. Service & Accounts
Study Screener provides tools to organize and screen studies for systematic reviews. You must be at least 18 and provide accurate account information. You are responsible for maintaining the confidentiality of your credentials and for activity on your account.
3. Acceptable Use
Do not misuse the Services. In particular, you agree not to:
- Upload unlawful or infringing content
- Attempt to access the Services or data without authorization
- Reverse engineer or interfere with the platform or its security
- Overload the Service with automated requests or abusive behavior
4. Your Data & IP
You own the content you upload ("Your Content"). To operate the Services, you grant us a limited, worldwide, non-exclusive, royalty-free license to host, process, and display Your Content only to provide and maintain the Services.
Study Screener, including its software, algorithms, and branding, is our intellectual property. You may not copy or create derivative works of the platform.
5. Privacy
Your use of the Services is also governed by our Privacy Policy. We may process and store data outside your country. We take reasonable measures to protect your data, but no method is perfectly secure.
6. Billing
Paid plans renew automatically until canceled in your account settings. Fees are charged in advance and are generally non-refundable except where required by law. We may change pricing with notice to existing subscribers.
7. Disclaimers & Liability
The Services are provided "as is" without warranties of any kind. To the maximum extent permitted by law, we are not liable for indirect or consequential damages. Our total liability for any claim is limited to the greater of $100 or the amount you paid in the 12 months before the claim.
Outputs from AI features are suggestions only and should be reviewed by qualified researchers. AI-generated results may contain errors, inaccuracies, or biases, and you are solely responsible for verifying all AI-assisted decisions in your systematic review process.
Author Responsibility
Users remain fully responsible for all methodological decisions, study inclusion or exclusion, and final content of any evidence synthesis produced using the Services. Use of AI assistance does not transfer responsibility for accuracy, completeness, or interpretation of results to Study Screener.
8. AI Explainability and Transparency
In accordance with Cochrane's RAISE framework for responsible AI in systematic reviews, Study Screener is committed to transparency and explainability in our AI-powered screening features. We provide comprehensive insights into how our AI makes screening decisions and maintain detailed audit trails for compliance and research integrity.
For more information about our responsible AI principles and alignment with the RAISE framework, please see our Responsible Use Statement.
AI Decision Process
Our AI screening system provides confidence scores for each screening decision, along with detailed rationale explaining the factors that influenced the recommendation. When AI confidence falls below 89%, studies are automatically flagged for human review to ensure quality and accuracy.
Your Right to Explanation
You have the right to request detailed explanations of AI screening decisions, including:
- A description of how the AI reaches screening decisions and confidence scores
- Access to logs and audit trails created during processing, including AI rationale and confidence scores
- Complete decision history with timestamps showing all changes and modifications
- Reviewer identity for all human interventions and changes
- Export functionality for audit logs to support compliance with research standards and regulatory requirements
Requesting Explanations
To request AI explainability information or audit logs, please contact our support team through the contact page. We will respond to such requests within a reasonable timeframe and provide the requested information in a clear, understandable format.
This commitment to AI transparency ensures that researchers can maintain full accountability and trust in their systematic review processes while benefiting from AI assistance.
Disclosure of AI Use
Users are responsible for disclosing the use of Study Screener's AI features in protocols, methods sections, or supplementary materials of systematic reviews, meta-analyses, or related publications, in accordance with applicable journal, organizational, or regulatory guidelines (e.g., PRISMA, Cochrane).
AI Limitations and Bias
AI screening outputs may be influenced by limitations in training data, language coverage, reporting quality of studies, or domain specificity. Users are expected to consider these limitations and apply appropriate verification, calibration, or dual-review strategies to ensure research quality and validity.
Evaluation and Validation
Study Screener may participate in independent evaluation, benchmarking, or validation studies with academic or non-profit evidence synthesis organizations, subject to user consent and data protection safeguards. Such participation supports the advancement of evidence synthesis methodologies and quality standards.
9. Termination
You may cancel at any time. We may suspend or terminate accounts for breach or misuse. Upon termination, access ends and we may delete data after a reasonable period (typically 90 days).
10. Data Retention and Project Deletion
Study Screener maintains different data retention policies based on your subscription plan to ensure efficient use of resources while preserving your research work.
Project Activity and Retention
Project retention is based on the last activity within each project. Activity includes:
- Importing or uploading studies
- Making screening decisions (include, exclude, or mark as maybe)
- Resolving conflicts between reviewers
- Generating exports
- Adding or accepting collaborators
Retention Policies by Plan
Free Plan
- Maximum 1 owned project
- Up to 10,000 studies per project
- Projects are automatically deleted after 90 days of inactivity
- You will receive an email warning 7 days before deletion
AI Screening Plan
- Up to 5 owned projects
- Up to 20,000 studies per project
- Projects are retained for 1 year of inactivity before deletion
- You will receive an email warning 7 days before deletion
Important: Projects follow the retention policy of your current plan. If you upgrade or downgrade, the retention period adjusts accordingly. However, we recommend maintaining regular activity on important projects to prevent automatic deletion.
To prevent project deletion, simply access and work on your projects periodically. You can view your project activity and scheduled deletion dates in your account dashboard.
Manual Project Deletion
You may also manually delete projects at any time through your project settings. Manual deletion is immediate and permanent - deleted projects cannot be recovered.
11. Indemnification
You agree to indemnify, defend, and hold harmless Study Screener, its officers, directors, employees, and agents from and against any claims, demands, losses, damages, costs, liabilities, and expenses (including reasonable attorneys' fees) arising out of or related to:
- Your use of the Services
- Your violation of these Terms of Service
- Your violation of any third-party rights
- Any content you upload or share through the Services
12. Force Majeure
We will not be liable for any delay or failure to perform our obligations under these Terms if such delay or failure results from events beyond our reasonable control, including but not limited to: natural disasters, war, terrorism, riots, embargoes, acts of civil or military authorities, fire, floods, accidents, strikes, or shortages of transportation facilities, fuel, energy, labor, or materials.
13. Disputes
Please contact us through our contact page to attempt informal resolution for 30 days. Unresolved disputes will be resolved by binding arbitration under the rules of the American Arbitration Association. This agreement to arbitrate is intended to be interpreted broadly and includes any claims based in contract, tort, statute, or other legal theory. Arbitration will be conducted on an individual basis only. You waive any right to participate in class actions, collective actions, or representative proceedings. You may opt out of this arbitration agreement within 30 days of account creation by contacting us through our contact page.
14. General Provisions
- Changes: We may update these Terms; continued use means acceptance.
- Governing Law: Delaware law governs, excluding its conflicts rules.
- Severability: If a provision is unenforceable, the rest remains in effect.
- Assignment: You may not assign these Terms; we may assign them.
- Entire Agreement: These Terms and the Privacy Policy are the entire agreement.
15. Contact Information
- Support: Contact us
Effective as of the date listed above.