Early in your research process, create a plan to safely store and regularly back up your research data. Data loss can be disastrous and take time and money to recreate if possible. Here are a few simple steps to mitigate the risks of data loss:

• Estimate how much storage space you will need and determine who will need access, what type of access will each team member need, and how they will access the data
  • Keep the number of researchers who can manipulate the data as small as possible to reduce the risk of human error
• Follow the 3-2-1 backup rule
  • 3 - Have at least 3 copies of your data,
  • 2 - Stored on 2 different secure and reliable media (e.g. cloud storage, hard drive, etc.),
  • 1 - With 1 backup copy offsite
• Backup regularly and, preferably, automatically

For more information on UNBC's data storage and security options, contact Information Technology Services at support@unbc.ca.

Neither Scholars Portal Dataverse or FRDR are appropriate to store sensitive or restricted data and you will have to de-identify and anonymize your data before you can publish it. Sensitive and restricted data include:

• Human Participant Data
  • Such as biographical data and human biological material
  • Ensure you have consent to share this data and de-identify participants
  • Contact the UNBC Research Ethics Board for more information
• Indigenous-owned Data
  • Includes data collected from Indigenous people, Indigenous lands, water, and ice
  • Must receive consent from the affected Indigenous community leaders to share data
  • For more information see:
    • The First Nations Principles of Ownership, Control, Access and Possession (OCAP™)
    • First Nations Information Governance Centre (FNIGC). A First Nations Data Governance Strategy. March 30, 2020.
    • Inuit Tapiriiti Kanatami (ITK) and Nunavut Research Institute Negotiating Research Relationships with Inuit Communities: A Guide for Researchers
    • ITK’s National Inuit Strategy on Research
    • National Aboriginal Health Organization’s Principles of Ethical Métis Research
    • Global Indigenous Data CARE Principles for Indigenous Data Governance
• Location information
  • Includes data collected of vulnerable species, from field sites in protected areas, from sensitive archaeological sites, or from private property where consent to reveal location was not obtained, could devalue property, cause stigmatization, or endanger vulnerable species
  • For more information consult:
    • IUCN Red List of Threatened Species
    • Global Biodiversity Information Facility’s Guide to Best Practices for Generalizing Sensitive Species-Occurrence Data

Source: FRDR. (n.d.). Preparing Your Data. FRDR-DFDR. Retrieved January 29, 2021, from https://www.frdr-dfdr.ca/docs/en/preparing_your_data/#choosing-preservation-friendly-file-formats

Some Best Practices for Working with Sensitive Data

• Encrypt computer hard drives and other devices to prevent unauthorized access to information
• Do not use Dropbox, Google Drive, and other free cloud services to store sensitive data
• Do not collect personal information unless absolutely necessary and de-identify data immediately. Segregate personal information from the other data collected.
• For more information refer to the Sensitive Data Toolkit for Researchers by Portage Network Sensitive Data Expert Group

Source: Kaitlyn Gutteridge. (2016). Data Privacy and Information Security: Researcher Checklist. UBC. https://researchdata.library.ubc.ca/files/2016/08/UBC_Checklist_for_Privacy_in_Research-Updated_August_2016.pdf