Storage and backup

What to consider in your DMP

Employing good storage and backup practices during your project can help to prevent data loss and unauthorised access. Whether you're collecting new data or accessing existing data, you need to consider:

• where data will be stored
• how you plan to protect any confidential data.
• who will have access to the data
• how often you'll back it up
• where you'll store backups of your data.

Storage options

You must ensure that data is stored safely, securely and protected from loss, as set out in the Research Data Management Policy. You should take steps to ensure your chosen data storage methods comply with:

• the University’s Information Security Policy
• the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR)
• funder requirements
• and any commitments made in consent forms.

The UK Data Service has excellent in-depth guidance available on data storage, security and back up.

OneDrive

Microsoft OneDrive is the primary option available at the University. This is a good choice for individual research projects which involve less file sharing and collaboration with project members and external organisations.

SharePoint

Microsoft SharePoint is recommended for storing research data in projects which will require collaboration with lots of project members and/or external organisations. A SharePoint site can be integrated with Microsoft Teams which makes it easy to collaborate and work on files with collaborators, even where they are external to the University. You should ensure your site is set to private and only invite collaborators who will require access to the files.

When using either OneDrive or SharePoint, access to files containing sensitive data should be controlled and, where appropriate, encrypted using methods such as password protection. The loss or breach of any sensitive data must be reported as quickly as possible to the DIT Service Desk.

The Library provides online help and guidance for using University storage systems.

Not recommended

• Portable storage media (e.g. CDs, USB sticks) are vulnerable to loss or damage
• Third party cloud storage (e.g. Google Drive, Dropbox) does not come with the same data protection assurances as the University’s storage options
• Local storage (e.g. C: drive) is vulnerable to damage and does not automatically back files up

If you need to use external storage devices to collect data or store backups, you should contact DIT via the Service Desk.

Data backup

Regularly backing up your data is an essential part of research data management. Backups protect against data loss which might occur due to hardware failure, software faults, or human error.

It's generally recommended that you make two or three backups of research data. Copies should be stored on at least two different storage media and, where possible, one copy should be stored off-site.

The UK Data Service has further, detailed information about backing up your data.

Costs

There may be costs associated with the storage and backup of your active research data. Costs might be incurred, for example, if additional storage is needed beyond the standard offering at the University. You might also need to factor in the costs of backing up your data.

Non-digital data

Not all data that you create or collect will be digital. Non-digital data can be anything from:

• handwritten lab notebooks
• artefacts
• medical specimens
• geological samples.

Where it's not possible to digitise your data, you should take steps to store the physical data in a secure location such as a locked, fireproof safe. Further guidance on digitising data is available from the UK Data Service.