The Active Data Storage service provides researchers with an area to store their data during the course of a research project. This is data that will be subject to regular change, accessed by multiple users, and in a ‘raw’ format. This data is distinct from the final datasets that you might publish through an online repository in order to comply with open data policies. Your ‘active’ data space will be closed once your research project is finished and you will decide which data to publish, archive, or discard. However, even at the ‘active’ or ‘raw’ stage, it is important that your data is well structured and organised.
It is important that you store the data generated during a research project in a safe, secure location. This is explicitly required by funders. You must also ensure multiple copies of your data are retained in case of data loss. You should not store master copies of your data in removable mediums such as your laptop hard drive, USB sticks or external hard drives. These are prone to damage, corruption and data loss. You may also expect to generate large volumes of data which cannot be stored efficiently on removable mediums or through your standard ‘Q’ drive allocation.
The Active Data Storage service addresses these issues by providing a secure location to store your data, with a safe second copy retained at a separate physical location.
When planning for and conducting research, there are a number of storage and security issues which researchers need to consider. The University has clear policies and guidelines on protecting your information and data – please familiarise yourself with these.
Access to the facility is provided following completion of a request form and submission of a data management plan. Access to the facility will not be provided unless a Data Management Plan (DMP) for your research project has been completed.
Data Management Plans - useful links below
Basic DMP Template Form (only to be used if funder has not requested a DMP)
You can request as much space as your project requires, but this must be justified through your data management plan. This will include providing specific details of the datasets and file-types you plan to produce, as well as the expected size of each dataset and/ or file-type. Space will be allocated on a project-by-project basis, linked to an externally-funded research grant (where applicable). Space will not be assigned to individual researchers for multiple research projects.
Physical security: Physically the data is stored in secure server rooms. Access is restricted to a specific set of individuals and video surveillance is in operation.
Accessing the service off campus: The active space may be accessed remotely using the Kelvin VPN service. All users must have an account in the University’s Active Directory service.