Research data management

Storage

A good storage strategy is important to reduce the risk of losing your data, and to ensure it is stored securely to avoid data breaches. Storage needs will vary between projects and writing a data management plan will help you to identify the appropriate approach for your data.

Where and how should I store my data?


University provided cloud storage

University of Sussex staff and students have access to OneDrive. Staff and researchers have access to Box. These University provided services should be used in preference to any commercial services such as Dropbox or Google Drive, which may not meet the security requirements for your data.

OneDrive and Box are GDPR compliant, provide storage space that should be sufficient for most research projects, and allow for version control and secure collaboration by sharing links to files.

 ITS have guides to get you started with OneDrive and Box.


Laptops and portable media

Laptops and portable media can be convenient for storing your data temporarily but are at greater risk of damage or loss. These should not contain the only copy of your data, and it’s important to be mindful of the risk of any data breaches if the device was lost and the data can be accessed. To prevent this it’s vital to password protect devices and files, and to avoid transporting data unnecessarily.


Specialist support for high volumes of research data

The ITS Research Support team can help with projects which have large storage and data processing requirements.