Research Data Management

Confidentiality & intellectual property

Confidentiality

• Rowan University regulations: Rowan University researchers conducting human subject research should consult the Office of Research and Sponsored Projects and Rowan University IRB in planning for data management and sharing
• Health research regulations: Researchers need to adhere to privacy law regarding personal health information. See the HIPPA Privacy Rule, Information for Researchers.
• Informed consent: Researchers should include a provision for data sharing. See the guides to informed consent from the U.K. Data Archive and ICPSR (Institute for Social Research, University of Michigan).
• Maintaining confidentiality: Data made publicly available should not contain information that could risk the confidentiality of their participants. See the ICSPR’s guide to confidentiality.
• Other useful tips:
  • Some archives, such as the ICPSR, will review your data for the presence of confidential information and provide infrastructure for restricted access to sensitive data.
  • Check your discipline’s academy or association for more resources. The National Academy of Engineering Online Ethics Center provides information about ethics in engineering and science.

Intellectual Property

Sharing data that you have produced or collected yourself:

• Data is not copyrightable. Particular expressions of data, such as a table in a book, can be copyrightable.
• Promote sharing and unlimited use of your data by making it available under an Open Data Commons or Creative Commons license.

Sharing data that you have collected from other sources:

• Licensed data can have restrictions in the way it can be used or shared downstream.
• Many databases licensed by the Rowan University Libraries allow for educational and research use, and sharing limited portions of data.  For more information on terms of use for databases licensed by the RU Libraries, email Christine Davidian, e-Resources & Serials Librarian, davidian@rowan.edu.

Source: MIT Libraries