Research Ethics & Data Management

Research Ethics & Data Management

UCD owns all data generated by research projects conducted by or under its auspices, regardless of funding source, unless stipulated otherwise by agreement. Please comply with the UCD Data Protection Policy.

Research data comprises all recorded descriptive, numerical or visual material collected and used in the conduct of research, irrespective of medium. It may include physical and electronic records, digital images, microfilm, microfiche, audiotape, videotape and photographs. Research data may be augmented by objects, specimens and samples.

Please see the UCD GDPR Guidance & Resources for detailed guidelines on data management.

The following provides a brief overview on key issues for noting by researchers collecting data for research:

• Responsibility for the management of research data: The Principal Investigator and/or researcher/supervisor is the custodian of the research data and is responsible for its management, including security, storage and retention. The Principal Investigator and/or researcher/supervisor is also responsible for informing the research participants of the researchers obligations in relation to the data. Please see the UCD Policy on Data Management

• Security of research data - access: The Principal Investigator and/or researcher/supervisor must determine and control access rights to research data. It is particularly important that access rights to personal data are strictly confined only to those who have been granted access . As well as ethical considerations , the privacy rights conferred by the Data Protection Acts 1988 and 2003 prohibit the processing of personal data without prior consent and, in the case of certain types of sensitive personal data, without the explicit written prior consent of the data subject. For the purpose of the Acts, processing includes storing, retrieving, accessing and retaining personal data. However personal data collected anonymously, or data that have been de-identified to the extent that the data subject can never again be identified from the data, do not come within the terms of the Acts.

• Security of research data - storage: Once access rights have been established, data storage arrangements must also reflect the sensitivity of the data. Appropriate levels of storage security must therefore be established by the Principal Investigator and maintained by research participants. These will include strict protocols for the protection from unauthorised access of all physical and electronic locations where data are stored.

• Retention of research data for duration of study: The Principal Investigator and/or researcher/supervisor must determine and make arrangements for the retention of data for appropriate periods following the conclusion of the project. Retention periods can vary depending on the research discipline, research purpose and type of data involved. They should therefore be determined on a project by project basis, taking into consideration any existing documented legal obligations governing retention periods, conditions imposed by research sponsors and the need to allow sufficient time for reference. Once the period of retention has expired, research data must be disposed of or deleted securely and confidentially in a manner appropriate to its format.

• Retention of research data for Archiving: The Principal Investigator and/or researcher/supervisor may wish to archive the collected data for the purposes of making it available for future use.  You should consult with your school as they may have a policy on how they archive material. Further information can also be sourced from a number of Irish organisations such as the Irish Qualitative Data Archive ((opens in a new window)IQDA) or the Irish Social Science Data Archive (ISSDA).
  

See also Online Platforms & Social Media in Research here.

Further Information can be found on the following websites:

• (opens in a new window)Data Management for Researchers: UCD Library provide excellent guides on how to manage, organise, store and plan data.
• Policy on Research Data Management: all UCD researchers are responsible for managing their data collection in accordance with the UCD.
• Social Media Research: Social media platforms must not be used to conduct surveys or gather data from participants. These platforms should only be used to advertise a research study and then direct potential participants to a project specific website which may host the survey. See Guidelines on the Recruitment of Participants for Research Studies.
• Secondary Data may required ethics approval from the (opens in a new window)Health Research Consent Declaration Committee (HRCDC)  for access to health related datasets.
• Internet mediated research (IMR): using a platform such as Zoom, Google Meet or Microsoft Teams, raises specific challenges in terms of security, privacy and confidentiality. UCD IT Security will assist you with related queries including guidance on training on IT security, including encryption.
• Social Media Research - A Guide to Ethics
• Ethics using Social Media
• (opens in a new window)Data Protection Commission
• (opens in a new window)10 Misunderstandings about Anonymisation AEPD-EDPS
• (opens in a new window)Using Administrative Data for Research - Quick Guide Synergies for Europe’s Research Infrastructures in the Social Sciences (SERISS).