Skip to Main Content

Research Data Management

Sensitive Data

Neither Borealis Dataverse nor 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 Yukon University Research Ethics Board (ethics@yukonu.ca) for more information

  • Indigenous-owned Data

    • Includes data collected from Indigenous people, lands, water, and ice.

    • Indigenous community leaders are in the best position to assess the benefits and risks of sharing Indigenous data. These data should only be collected, used, or shared with the explicit consent of these community leaders.

    • For more information see Indigenous Data Sovereignty

  • 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

Source: 

FRDR. (n.d.). Preparing Your Data. FRDR-DFDR. Retrieved January 29, 2024, from https://www.frdr-dfdr.ca/docs/en/preparing_your_data/#choosing-preservation-friendly-file-formats

Wilson, Susie (2021). Research Data Management: Data Storage and Security. https://libguides.unbc.ca/rdm/secure-storage

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.

Source: Kaitlyn Gutteridge. (2015). Data Privacy and Information Security: Researcher Checklist. UBC. https://researchethics.ubc.ca/sites/default/files/documents/UBC_Checklist_for_Privacy_in_Research-Updated_August_2015_0.pdf

Working with Active Sensitive Data

Limit what is collected Personal/sensitive information cannot be inappropriately accessed, revealed or used if it's not collected. If it is not essential to the research project, it should not be recorded or saved.

Encryption & access restriction Personal/sensitive information must be encrypted* and access restricted to team members who must have access to them.

*Encrypted data are scrambled so that only users who possess an encryption key will be able to use, read and/or decipher them.

Have clear labels Restricted files should be clearly labelled as such and password protected. Non-digital materials (notebooks, photographs, DVDs) should have 'restricted' labels on the outside of the packaging.

Sensitive Data Toolkit for researchers developed by the Digital Research Alliance of Canada (the Alliance) Sensitive Data Expert Group (SDEG):

The Portage COVID-19 Working Group developed a guidance to help researchers minimize disclosure risk when sharing data collected from human participants in 2020.