Data storage

According to the Australian Code for the Responsible Conduct of Research, researchers are responsible for the safety, security and integrity of the research data they generate or collect, and for any correspondence and records that relate to that research.

Researchers must ensure that all research data, regardless of format, is stored securely and backed up or copied regularly. Arrangements must be in place for the research's life cycle and any statutory minimum period of retention. For digital data, researchers should confirm with IT staff that the back-up regime in place is appropriate for their research data, in terms of the frequency of back-ups, the number of back-up copies, and their housing in multiple locations, including off-site copies.

When planning data storage, researchers should consider:

What data formats will be used
What the expected data volumes will be
What privacy or security requirements, if any, must be met
What the access requirements are
What kind of long term data storage is needed, for example
- 'market' (frequent additions and updates)
- 'vault' (archival storage, periodic access only)

Researchers should consider the longevity of any hardware and software used to create and manipulate research data. Issues include:

Could the hardware, software or digital storage media fail or become obsolete within the project's lifetime?
What impact would such a failure have on the project?
What level of technical support is available long term?
Can existing data be easily migrated to new hardware and software platforms?

UQ researchers have a range of digital storage options:

storage by ITS's High Performance Computing Centre
network storage provided by organisational units
personal storage, such as computer hard drives
removable media, such as portable hard drives
cloud services, both commercial and not-for-profit, e.g. ARCS Data Fabric

The Code is clear about your responsibilities:

2.6.2 Ensure that research data and primary materials are kept in safe and secure storage, even when not in current use.

2.6.3 Provide the same level of care and protection to primary research records, such as laboratory notebooks, as to the analysed research data.

2.6.4 Retain research data, including electronic data, in a durable, indexed and retrievable form.

2.6.5 Maintain a catalogue of research data in an accessible form.

Best Practice

Choose non-proprietary, well-documented file formats that will last at least as long as the research project.
Save files in their original state - uncompressed and unencrypted.
Choose formats that will not be complicated to migrate to new formats.
If the data needs specific software to be understood, try to archive the software and its documentation as well as the data.

TIP

All storage options have pluses and minuses. Not all storage is suitable for data archiving. USB drives, Flash drives, CDs and DVDs can easily become unreadable, and so are unsuitable for data archiving. Consult your local IT support for advice.