The topics of storage of and access to data sets are of great importance in data management.

With regards to storage, it is useful to distinguish between the ‘dynamic’ storage of data during research and the archival storage after finalization of a (sub) project.

In Step 4. Archiving data after your research, we’ll offer support for archival storage. This step is about storage while you’re still collecting and analyzing your data.

When choosing your storage facilities a number of considerations are to be taken into account.

• Data security – how secure are your data against data loss; how easy can data be retrieved after an incident?
• Accessibility – is your data safe for access by unauthorized persons; how easy can you share it with your colleagues?
•  Flexibility and speed of data retrieval – how long does it take to store or retrieve your data; can you easily access your data in applications (e.g. video or statistical apps like e.g. VLC media player of Stata); can you refer to the data source in scripts you use in your analyses, e.g. a Stata do-file or a script in R?
• GDPR compliancy – if the data contains personal data, is the facility secure enough and described in your Data Management Plan and/or entry in the Processing Registry and/or DPIA? If these type of data are involved, please contact the data manager  or privacy officer of the faculty.

Quick overview storage facilities

Research Data Management Support offers an overview of all kinds of storage facilities and a guide on how to select the best facility.

The UU offers various storage facilities for Research Data during your research, varying from Network Drives (e.g. U:/ or O:/), to more sophisticated environments like Yoda. Some are shareable with colleagues inside the institute, though you have to ask ITS to manage that and some even with colleagues all over the world (Yoda).

There are also trustworthy cloud solutions like SURFDrive. However, be careful using other cloud solutions, as the servers could be located all over the world. So in case you are processing personal data, use the institutional solution or ensure that your institute has a Processing Agreement with the said provider. E.g. all Dutch Universities have such an agreement with SURF.

While collecting data, you might be storing data on external devices, e.g. video cameras, interview devices, external discs etc. If you use any of these, make sure they are properly secure (e.g. through setting passwords and encryption) and that you transfer data as soon as possible to the central storage offered by your institute. External hard disks or memory sticks are not suitable for backup due to bit rot and a being forgotten in al kind of places.

While collecting data, you might be storing data on external devices, e.g. video cameras, interview devices, external discs etc. If you use any of these, make sure they are properly secure (e.g. through setting passwords and encryption) and that you transfer data as soon as possible to the central storage offered by your institute. External hard disks or memory sticks are not suitable for backup due to bit rot and a being forgotten in al kind of places.

4. Archiving data after your research