Prevent surprises, plan your data!

It is wise to 'plan' data management before you start collecting data, to be able to prevent unnecessary surprises during your research project. This way, you can ensure that you are able to use the right IT applications and that you will work according to the relevant laws and regulations, for example if you will work with information about human beings.

 

The Hanze UAS has developed the checklist 'Responsible data management for students'. Fill in the list at the start of your project and update it during your project when there are changes in your research set-up. This will guide you in taking the right precautions to collect, analyze and store the data in a good and secure manner.

Different types of data

 

Before you start with the collection, creation, or use of research data, it is important to check whether the data will contain personal information. If this is the case, you will have to organize your research according to the 'privacy by design' principles.

 

The following aspects should be taken into account:

  • Does the data contain special categories of personal data? Take additional security measures to protect the integrity of the persons whose information are part of your research.
  • Make use of verified applications for your research. You can set your language to English by changing your profile.
  • If possible, ask the research persons for consent prior to data collection by means of 'informed consent'.
  • Investigate the possibilities whether you can collect anonymous data or whether the data can be anonymized after data collection.

The tab data and privacy in this LibraryGuide provides additional information about these topics.

 

Privacy regulations for EU and non-EU students

The Dutch privacy regulation (AVG) and de European privacy regulation (GDPR) are applicable to all EU and non-EU students that are conducting a research assignment at Hanze UAS. This is irrespective of the nationality of the student, the nationality of the persons whose information is being collected, or the location (country) where the research is being conducted. 

 

Questions and more information

For questions regarding the handling of personal data, please get in touch with the supervisor of your internship, living lab project, or final thesis. For more information about privacy and personal information: please visit the webpage CVI toolbox on Topdesk (you can change your language in your profile), which offers, amongst others, informative posters on the secure collection and handling of personal data in research and about video recording at the Hanze UAS.

 

Data storage

Data volumes up to 1 TB can be stored on your OneDrive account at Hanze UAS. In case you will have more than 1 TB of data, you need additional storage. Do not use your own devices or private services such as Dropbox or Google Drive, because Hanze UAS does not have any agreements with these companies. Instead, contact you supervisor to discuss the options to request additional storage space for your project. 

 

Computing capacity

Do you require additional computing capacity to generate or analyze the research data for your project? Contact your supervisor to discuss the options to request additional computing capacity. 

 

Software

Is there any software or application that supports data collection or data analysis? Take a look at the list of verified applications of the Hanze UAS to check whether you are allowed to use it.

 

Practical examples:

  • Enalyzer for organizing a survey
  • An Electronic Lab Notebook (ELN) for lab experiments (Life Sciences)
  • Atlas.ti for qualitative analysis (such as text analysis and combining different types of data)

 

There may be existing data that you can use to do the analysis for your research project.

 

For example: you are investigating the effects of the Corona-lockdown on small and medium enterprises. In this case, financial data about Dutch companies from the database Statline from Statistics Netherlands (CBS) could be very useful. You could also complement the data from this source with your own data collection, such as interviews with entrepreneurs or business owners.

 

Other sources of existing data:

  • From the company where you do your internship
  • From a governmental organization
  • Research data from an online repository

Important when using data from other sources:

  • Check whether the data has a reliable source
  • Check whether you need to sign a non-disclosure agreement (NDA) or another type of contract
  • Make sure you properly cite the sources of your data

 See also our LibraryGuide Discovering existing data for more information about re-using data.

 

Do you do your research in collaboration with a company or other organization? Or is your research part of an assignment for your internship?

 

Thoroughly check whether you are dealing with secrecy or confidential information. For example, information and knowledge that are vital for companies to maintain their competitiveness in the market. It is important that you store and share the data in a secure manner. Very often, companies won't allow students to share the data with others. You should therefore check what is agreed on in your internship contract. 

 

Hanze UAS provides a template for a non-disclosure agreement (NDA) for students who do an internship at an organization. This template contains a clause regarding the confidentiality of personal information. Currently the template isn't available due to changes of myhanze.nl.

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