Terms of Participation

1. The study

Can I Still Code is a citizen-science research project investigating whether AI-assisted coding practices affect Python developer skill over time. It is run by Andy Woods at Royal Holloway, University of London and has received institutional ethics approval.

2. Participation is voluntary

You are free to join, pause, or withdraw from the study at any time without giving a reason and without any negative consequence. Withdrawal instructions are in your profile settings.

3. What participation involves

• Completing a brief profile questionnaire at registration.
• Returning every 28 days to complete a short set of Python coding challenges (typically 20–40 minutes).
• Answering a short post-session survey about your AI tool usage.
• Completing the challenges without AI assistance or internet searches, as instructed.

4. Honesty

The scientific value of the study depends on participants completing challenges independently. Please do not use AI tools, search engines, or other external resources during a challenge session. We have no way to enforce this, and we trust you.

5. Your data

By participating you consent to your anonymised data being included in the open research dataset, as described in our Privacy Policy. You may request deletion of your personal data at any time before the dataset is anonymised and released.

6. No compensation

Participation is unpaid. In return, you receive a personal results dashboard showing your own skill trends over time, and you contribute to open science.

7. Eligibility

You must be 18 or older and able to read and write Python. There are no other eligibility requirements.

8. Account

You are responsible for keeping your login credentials secure. One account per person. We reserve the right to remove accounts that show signs of automated or dishonest activity.

9. Changes to these terms

If we materially change these terms we will notify active participants by email and publish a new version here. Continued participation after notification constitutes acceptance.

10. Contact

For any questions about participation: hello@canistillcode.org