Safeguarding data
Research data ethics
All research at the university must be conducted to high ethical standards and comply with any legal requirements. This includes research data management.
Research data containing personal data is subject to UK data protection law. The law places obligations on you as a researcher.
You must consider issues such as:
- consent
- confidentiality
- privacy
- security
- disclosure
- protection
- safeguarding
- risk
- human rights.
You should consider whether personal data (eg names and addresses) adds research value. If it does, you should inform your participants and seek explicit consent for the use of their data.
When you seek permission from participants, ensure that you make provision for the sharing and reuse of data in the participant consent information and sign-off form. The University provides information and guidance on good practice in ethics and ethical review.
Further help
For more information about collecting personal data for research refer to the Data Protection website. Here you will find advice and templates for privacy notices, data processing and sharing agreements, records retention and conducting a Data Privacy Impact Assessment (DPIA).
The Leeds Data Protection in Research podcast.is another useful resource designed for academics at the University of Leeds who handle personal data in their research and want to ensure compliance with data protection regulations.
You might also find the following guidance useful: