Impressum, Privacy & Terms | Maria Fermin Research Studio — Maria Fermin

Impressum

Maria Fermin | Research Studio
Independent research, cultural analysis and research-support platform

Operated by:
Maria Aisha Binti Mohammad Fermin
Obentrautstraße 45, 10963 Berlin
Germany

Maria Fermin | Research Studio is an independent research, cultural analysis and research-support platform operated by Maria Aisha Binti Mohammad Fermin. It is not a separate incorporated legal entity.

Privacy Notice

Last updated: 20 September 2026

Who is the data collector?

The data controller for this website is:

Maria Aisha Binti Mohammad Fermin
Maria Fermin | Research Studio
Obentrautstraße 45
10963 Berlin
Germany

Email: maria@mariafermin.com

For questions about your personal data or this Privacy Notice, please contact me at the email address above.

What information do I collect?

When you contact Maria Fermin | Research Studio through this website, I may receive information such as your:

name;
email address;
preferred meeting date and time, if provided;
the type of research support, analysis or collaboration you are interested in;
information about your project, research needs, deadline or context that you voluntarily provide in an enquiry; and
any other information you choose to include in your message.

Please do not submit medical information, financial information, identification documents, or other highly sensitive personal information through website forms.

Why do I use this information?

Personal data may be used to respond to enquiries; assess research-support, analysis or collaboration requests; determine fit, availability and scope; arrange mutually agreed calls or meetings; communicate about potential or ongoing engagements; and comply with applicable legal, accounting and administrative obligations.

I do not sell personal information to advertisers or third parties.

Personal data may be processed, depending on the context, on the basis of:

Art. 6(1)(b) GDPR - where processing is necessary to respond to a request relating to a possible service or collaboration agreement, or to take steps requested before entering into such an agreement;

Art. 6(1)(f) GDPR - where processing is necessary for legitimate interests such as operating, securing and communicating through the website, managing enquiries and maintaining professional correspondence;

Art. 6(1)(c) GDPR - where processing is necessary to comply with a legal obligation; and

Art. 6(1)(a) GDPR - where consent is specifically requested.

Website hosting, forms and third-party services

This website is hosted using Squarespace. Squarespace may process technical information necessary to provide, operate and secure the website. Information submitted through website forms may be processed and stored within Squarespace’s systems and forwarded to my professional email account for the purpose of responding to the enquiry.

Email correspondence may be processed through Google Workspace.

Personal data may be processed by Squarespace and other technical service providers outside the European Economic Area where necessary. Where this occurs, applicable legal safeguards for international transfers will be used.

Cookies and Website Analytics

Squarespace provides built-in website analytics that may process technical and usage information relating to visits to this website, such as page views, general traffic information and device/browser data. This information is used to understand how the website is accessed and to maintain and improve the site.

Cookies and similar technologies that are technically necessary for the operation of the website may be used where permitted by applicable law.

Non-essential cookies and similar technologies are restricted until the visitor makes a choice through the website’s cookie controls. Where consent is required, processing takes place only after consent has been given. Visitors can accept, decline or manage their cookie preferences through the website’s cookie controls.

How long is information kept?

Personal data is retained only for as long as reasonably necessary for the purpose for which it was collected, or for as long as required by applicable legal, accounting or tax obligations.

Enquiries that do not lead to an ongoing relationship will be retained only for as long as reasonably necessary to handle the enquiry, maintain appropriate records and meet any applicable legal obligations.

Your rights

Under the GDPR and applicable data-protection law, you have rights including access, rectification, erasure, restriction of processing, data portability and objection, subject to the conditions and exceptions provided by law.

Where processing is based on consent, consent may be withdrawn at any time with effect for the future.

You also have the right to lodge a complaint with a competent data-protection supervisory authority.

To exercise your rights, contact: maria@mariafermin.com

Terms of Collaboration & Research Support

Last updated: 20 September 2026

These Terms explain how enquiries, research-support requests, collaborations and project-based work through Maria Fermin | Research Studio are handled. Maria Fermin | Research Studio is an independent research, cultural analysis and research-support platform operated by Maria Aisha Binti Mohammad Fermin.

Collaboration requests

Submitting an enquiry or collaboration request through this website does not create a confirmed appointment, booking, client relationship or project agreement.

Availability, scope, timeframe, fees and any relevant conditions will be discussed and agreed separately before work begins.

Areas of Collaboration

Maria Fermin | Research Studio presents my independent research and areas in which I may be available for selected collaborations, conversations or project-based work.

Enquiries are welcome. Where an engagement involves paid work, the scope, timeframe, fee and applicable conditions will be agreed separately before work begins.

Qualitative Research & Cultural Analysis

Research-informed qualitative and cultural analysis involving identity, belonging, social behaviour, cultural boundaries, intercultural dynamics and other complex social questions. Depending on the project, work may include desk research, evidence synthesis and interpretive analysis.

Research Development Support

Developmental support with research direction, proposal structure, research questions, qualitative methodology, project framing and interpretation. Support is advisory and intended to strengthen independently conducted research.

Researching Sensitive Social Topics

Methodological and ethical support for qualitative research involving sensitive, stigmatised or socially complex topics, including identity, belonging, vulnerability, culture and lived experience. Support may include consideration of research design, interviewing, positionality, participant sensitivity and methodological risk.

Project Collaboration

Research, cultural, editorial or other project-based collaboration agreed according to the scope and requirements of an individual project.

Academic integrity

Research-development support is intended to support learning, research design, methodological thinking and independently conducted academic work.

I do not complete assessed work on behalf of students, ghostwrite academic submissions, fabricate research or data, impersonate students or researchers, or guarantee academic outcomes.

Clients remain responsible for their own authorship, citations, research decisions, institutional requirements and final submissions.

Fees

There is no fee to submit an enquiry through this website.

Where an engagement involves paid work, the scope, fee, payment arrangements, timeframe and applicable conditions will be agreed separately before work begins.

No paid work begins until the engagement has been confirmed by both parties.

No guaranteed outcomes

Maria Fermin | Research Studio does not guarantee particular academic, professional, commercial, funding, admissions or personal outcomes.

Research-informed analysis and developmental support involve professional judgement and interpretation. Clients remain responsible for decisions made on the basis of the support provided.

Intellectual property

Unless otherwise agreed in writing, pre-existing materials, frameworks, templates and original resources developed by Maria Fermin | Research Studio remain my intellectual property.

Client-provided materials remain the property of the client or their respective rights holders.

Ownership, licence, usage rights and any transfer of rights relating to project-specific deliverables will be agreed separately where relevant.

Changes

These Terms may be updated as Maria Fermin | Research Studio develops its research, collaboration and project activities. The version displayed on this website applies at the relevant time.

Service Boundaries

Maria Fermin | Research Studio works at the intersection of qualitative research, cultural analysis and research development.

Clear boundaries help ensure that the activities described on this website are understood for what they are, and what they are not.

Nothing on this website, by itself, creates a client, employment, agency, partnership or other contractual relationship. Any engagement must be separately agreed.

Qualitative Research & Cultural Analysis

Qualitative Research & Cultural Analysis provides research-informed perspectives and analysis on social and cultural questions, including identity, belonging, representation, social behaviour, cultural boundaries and intercultural dynamics.

It does not constitute legal, medical, psychological, financial or other regulated professional advice.

Research Development Support

Research Development Support may include discussion of research direction, proposal structure, research questions, qualitative methodology, interviewing, sampling, project framing and interpretation.

It is developmental research support, not academic ghostwriting.

I do not complete assessed assignments, theses or proposals on another person’s behalf, fabricate research or data, impersonate students or researchers, or guarantee academic outcomes.

Researching Sensitive Social Topics

Research involving sensitive or socially complex topics may raise questions concerning ethics, participant vulnerability, confidentiality, positionality, safeguarding and researcher responsibility.

Support in this area is methodological and research-informed. It does not replace institutional ethics review, safeguarding procedures, legal advice, clinical expertise or specialist trauma-informed support where these are required.

Researchers remain responsible for obtaining any necessary institutional approval and for complying with applicable ethical, legal and professional requirements.

Privacy & Discretion

I handle enquiries, client materials and project communications with care and discretion, subject to applicable legal obligations and the Privacy Notice.

Please avoid sending medical information, financial information, identification documents or other highly sensitive personal information through website forms.

Information submitted through this website is handled in accordance with the Privacy Notice.

Research versus consultation

Information shared during an enquiry, consultation, research-support engagement or collaboration will not be treated as research data or used in academic research unless you separately and explicitly agree to participate in a defined research project under its own participant information, informed-consent and ethical procedures.