Participation Policy

1. What ResearchDen is

ResearchDen is an unincorporated volunteer research community focused on artificial intelligence and machine learning. It exists to help first-time and experienced researchers publish in peer-reviewed conferences and journals through mentorship, collaboration, and structured accountability.

ResearchDen is a community initiative. It is not a company, a school, a research institute, or an employer.

2. What ResearchDen is not

The following statements describe ResearchDen accurately and completely:

No legal entity. ResearchDen is not incorporated, registered, or established as a legal entity in any jurisdiction. It has no articles of incorporation, no registered office, and no corporate existence.
No revenue. ResearchDen generates no income of any kind. It has no sales, no sponsorships, no advertising, no grants, and no donations.
No fees. Participation is free. No participant pays anything to join, remain in, or benefit from the community.
No compensation. No participant receives payment, salary, stipend, equity, commission, honorarium, or any other benefit in exchange for participation. This applies to every participant without exception, including the Founder.
No employment. Participation creates no employment, contractor, agency, partnership, or service relationship between any participant and ResearchDen, or between any two participants.
No products or services. ResearchDen does not sell, license, or provide services to any client or customer.

3. Voluntary participation

All participation in ResearchDen is entirely voluntary and unpaid.

Participants contribute their time by choice, for their own learning, research interests, and professional development. Nobody is obligated to contribute a minimum amount of work, meet a schedule set by ResearchDen, or continue participation for any period.

Titles used within the community, including Founder, Research Scientist, Research Operations Lead, Lead Researcher, Research Associate, and Research Member, describe areas of interest and contribution within a volunteer group. They are not job titles and do not correspond to positions, employment, or compensation.

4. Roles

Founder. Md Sultanul Islam Ovi established ResearchDen in June 2024 and participates as a volunteer research mentor. This is a voluntary and unpaid role.
Research Scientists. Experienced researchers who volunteer time to guide projects and review work.
Research Operations Leads. Volunteers who help with community administration, including reviewing applications and organizing cohorts.
Lead Researchers. Participants who take primary responsibility for a project and coordinate its team.
Research Associates and Research Members. Participants who work on research projects, contribute to manuscripts, and take part in community activities.

All roles are voluntary and unpaid. Open to motivated researchers everywhere. No fee to take part in the community.

5. How participation works

Applications. Prospective participants apply through the ResearchDen application form. Applications are reviewed in cohorts.

Provisional period. New participants begin with a provisional period of four to six weeks. This gives both the participant and the community a chance to assess fit before longer-term collaboration.

Cohorts. Research activity is organized in cohorts with defined start points. Participants may continue into subsequent cohorts or step away at natural transition points.

Inactivity. Participants who have not contributed for eight consecutive weeks without notice are moved to inactive status and removed from the public team listing. Inactive participants may return by contacting the community.

Ending participation. Any participant may end their participation at any time, for any reason, with no notice required and no consequence. ResearchDen may end a participant's involvement for violation of the Code of Conduct or the Authorship and Intellectual Property Policy.

6. Individual responsibility

Each participant is solely responsible for ensuring that their participation complies with:

The immigration, visa, and work authorization rules that apply to them
The policies of their university, employer, or institution
The laws of their country of residence

ResearchDen does not provide immigration, legal, employment, or tax advice, and nothing in this policy or in any communication from ResearchDen should be treated as such advice. Participants who are uncertain whether volunteer research participation is permitted under their visa status or institutional policy should consult their designated school official, international student office, or a qualified advisor before participating.

7. No guarantees

ResearchDen does not guarantee publication, authorship, acceptance at any venue, recommendation letters, certificates, job placement, or admission to any program. Research outcomes depend on the quality of the work and the decisions of independent reviewers and editors.

8. Changes to this policy

This policy may be updated. Material changes will be communicated to active participants by email. The current version is always available at researchden.org.

9. Contact

Questions about this policy: contact@researchden.org