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Storing and handling data during the research

During the research or project, the data must be stored carefully and securely while taking into account the agreements you have made with your partners. As the research progresses, your storage needs may vary, and you may have to store your data in several systems and/or with different access rights during the data’s life cycle. The data must be managed well, documented, stored securely and backed up to maximise its potential at the different stages of its life cycle. The most important tool in your data management process is the data management plan (DMP).

It is a good idea to pay attention to how you name your files and organize your folders. Think how you could express the content of the files and organize your data and folders as efficiently and clearly as possible. You can consider if a colleague or you yourself after five years could find and understand the stored files and data. Good practices for naming can be found for instance in: RDMkit – Data organisation.

Interviews (audio and video files and transcription)

When conducting interviews or otherwise collecting audio or video material, please note that voice and image are direct identifiers, meaning that you are simultaneously collecting personal data. If you are not collecting data belonging to special categories of personal data (such as health data, religious or philosophical beliefs, political opinions, etc.), Microsoft Teams and Zoom, when used under Jamk’s licence, are suitable tools for data collection. In face-to-face interviews, you may use an audio recorder. You may transcribe the material using Teams’ automatic transcription feature or by using Word’s “Transcribe” function, into which an audio file can be imported.

Special categories of personal data fall under the data classification Secret (1R). If such data are intended to be collected or may arise during the interview, remote interviews must be conducted via Zoom, taking into account additional security measures (see the Zoom guidelines for conducting interviews involving sensitive data). Microsoft Teams is not a suitable tool for collecting this type of data. Interviews must not be recorded unless recording is strictly necessary. Face-to-face interviews may be conducted using an audio recorder that stores the recording only on a memory card and not in the user’s cloud storage or similar service. If an interview is recorded, the recording must be transferred immediately to CSC’s service for sensitive data (SD Desktop). During recording and transfer, it must be ensured that the data are not stored in Zoom’s or Jamk’s cloud services; instead, the data must pass solely through the hard drive of a Jamk-owned computer. Once the transfer has been completed, the recording must be deleted from the Jamk computer’s hard drive. If an audio recorder has been used, the memory card must be destroyed. Interview material may be transcribed in CSC’s SD Desktop service, where, for example, a locally operating Whisper AI application can be installed for transcription purposes.

Data Storage Options

During the research process, the researcher can use the shared folders in Jamk’s M drive to store their data. M drive is not suitable for storing sensitive data (data classifiction Secret (1R)). To the sensitive data we recommend CSC’s SD services.

To set permissions for the M-drive folder, contact Jamk’s Helpdesk. Only the folder’s owner can submit a permission change request.

The M drive is located on Jamk’s own servers and is backed up daily. We recommend using the M drive for backing up research data. Users must always be careful when handling their own files! Jamk’s workstations are encrypted, making it virtually impossible to restore files.

Log in to the services using your own Jamk account. This will give you more storage space and functionality, and Jamk’s data is contractually protected. The higher education partnership agreement allows for higher quality and, above all, more secure cloud storage space for files compared to private user accounts. However, these services are not suitable for confidential, sensitive information. Mobile device users must ensure the security of their phone.

In OneDrive, files can be accessed from different devices anytime, anywhere. It allows multiple users to edit files simultaneously. OneDrive accounts are personal, meaning that it will be removed if its owner leaves Jamk. In this case, the data will also be removed from the service!

Teams is the most versatile service for working together. In addition to employees and students, you can invite other people outside of Jamk. Teams will remain at the organisation’s disposal even if its administrator decides to leave Jamk. In this case, a new administrator must be assigned to the team (either by the outgoing administrator or by sending a request to Jamk’s HelpDesk).

OneDrive and Teams are backed up. In Teams, backups only apply to files, not conversations.

Eduuni is a group work environment that is a safe alternative for the processing of confidential data, in comparison to other cloud services. It is suitable for working together with other organisations, including in EU-wide international research projects. You can process confidential information (access rights must be restricted to the right users). Eduuni’s servers are located in Finland and the service is provided by CSC. The service requires registering with your work email address (HAKA login). The service is also subject to a fee, unless, for example, one of the project’s parties has already paid for it.

PLEASE NOTE! If the data to be stored is not confidential, Microsoft Teams is the recommended option for group work.

FileSender is a file transfer service that can be accessed using a Jamk ID through the HAKA login. The service is a good alternative to email attachments, as it can be used to send large files (up to 50 GB). You can determine how long the file will be shared and when the file transfer will expire and can no longer be downloaded. The person who shared the file will be informed of any events related to the file. The service is provided by CSC and its servers are located in Finland. The service is not suitable for the transmission of sensitive information.

As a technology, email does not include any easy-to-use and reliable mechanisms for securing its contents, which is why sending any sensitive information via email is strictly forbidden. If you wish to send any secure messages to Jamk, you can do so without any restrictions via the Securemail service.

Personnel can use a service package for sensitive data free of charge to store and share data between different parties (SD Connect) and analyse data personally or collaboratively (SD Desktop). The service is suitable for sensitive data, such as special categories of personal data (data classification Secret (1R)).

Open the suitable SD workspace well before data gathering so that the service is available to you as soon as you need it. You need to create a research project in the MyCSC portal in order apply storage space for the service (see the user guide below).

Jamk offers the Webropol survey system for the use of its personnel and students. By using it, you can be sure that any personal data related to your surveys are stored within the EU. The system is compliant with the highest security standards, and all of its servers are located in Finland. If you use Webropol to create a survey related to your research, you must take into account the requirements for the processing and storage of personal data in the survey system. The same principles also apply to other survey systems. The system is not a storage location for your data.

All documented information is archived electronically in Tweb. Jamk no longer maintains any paper archives. A separate location is created for each project in the document management system, where all documents related to the project are added. Document Management accepts different file types, and the user can specify who has access to the data stored there.

Jamk offers personnel a wide range of information systems and software as well as home use licences:

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