Data storing and sharing during research

In order to prevent research data from getting lost, the storage location and backup of research is of great importance. Usually storing research data on the university network drives is the best solution. Storage of research data in Dropbox, Google Drive, USB drives and external hard drives is not recommended and it is prohibited for privacy sensitive data . When using university network drives for storing your data, automatic backups are often included. Daily backups are recommended to prevent data loss during the research process.

If the research data contains personal information or other sensitive information, unauthorized access to the data should be prevented. However, at the same time, you want to give your co-researchers access to the data, in case you are collaborating. Careful consideration of the storage location is therefore of great importance . When working with others on the same dataset it is important to make clear arrangements for how the data are managed. That way, you can control any privacy and security issues concerning the data. You have to find out who should have access to which data, how the access is granted and controlled and if you will make use of access levels (only reading rights, reading and editing rights, etc.).