This website, patrickmello.com, is the personal academic website of Dr. Patrick A. Mello, informing about research, teaching, and publications. This policy explains what data is processed when you visit the site and which rights you have under the EU General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR).
Controller
Dr. Patrick A. Mello
Department of Political Science and Public Administration
Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam
De Boelelaan 1105, 1081 HV Amsterdam, The Netherlands
Email: p.a.mello@vu.nl
Hosting and server logs
This website is hosted by IONOS SE, Elgendorfer Str. 57, 56410 Montabaur, Germany. When you visit the site, the web server automatically records technical information in log files, such as your IP address, the date and time of access, the requested page, and your browser type. This processing is necessary to deliver the website reliably and securely and is based on a legitimate interest (Art. 6(1)(f) GDPR). Log data is handled by IONOS under a data processing agreement, is not merged with other data, and is not used to identify individual visitors.
Visitor statistics
This site uses Koko Analytics, a privacy-friendly statistics tool that runs entirely on this website. It is configured to work without cookies and does not transmit any data to third parties. Only aggregated counts are stored (page views, visitor numbers, referring sites, visitor countries, and device types); no individual visitor profiles are created. The visitor’s country is derived from the IP address at the moment of the visit, using a database installed locally on this website’s server; the IP address itself is not stored. This processing is based on a legitimate interest in understanding overall site usage (Art. 6(1)(f) GDPR). The site does not use Google Analytics or any comparable tracking service.
Cookies
This website does not set cookies that require consent, which is why no cookie banner is shown. Technically necessary cookies are only used if you log in to the administration area of the site.
Contact by email
If you contact me by email, your address and message are used solely to handle the correspondence (Art. 6(1)(f) GDPR or, where applicable, Art. 6(1)(b) GDPR).
Email updates on QCA resources
On the QCA pages you can sign up to receive occasional email updates on new versions of the R Manual for QCA, new editions of the QCA book, and upcoming courses. Signing up is voluntary. The only data requested is your email address. No data is transmitted until you submit the form. On submission, your address is sent to MailerLite Limited, 88 Harcourt Street, Dublin 2, Ireland, which operates the list on my behalf under a data processing agreement. The data is stored on servers in the European Union. You then receive a confirmation email and your address is added to the list only after you click the confirmation link (double opt-in). The date of your confirmation is recorded. The legal basis is your consent (Art. 6(1)(a) GDPR). You can withdraw your consent at any time via the unsubscribe link in every message or by emailing me. Your address is then deleted from the list. Open and click tracking is switched off for these mailings.
External links and files
Publications offered on this site are PDF files hosted on this website. Links to external services (for example publishers, DOI resolvers, Google Scholar, or YouTube) lead to third-party sites with their own privacy policies; no data is transferred to these services until you follow such a link.
Your rights
Under Articles 15 to 21 GDPR you have the right to access, rectification, erasure, restriction of processing, data portability, and objection concerning your personal data. Given the minimal processing described above, in practice hardly any personal data about visitors exists on this site. You also have the right to lodge a complaint with a supervisory authority, in particular the Dutch Autoriteit Persoonsgegevens or the authority of your place of residence.
Last updated: 28 September 2026