Confidentiality & Intellectual Property

Confidentiality

• UNMC regulations: UNMC researchers conducting human subject research should consult the IRB on the Use of Humans as Experimental Subjects 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 guide to informed consent from the U.K. Data Archive and ICPSR.
• 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 provides information on Responsible Collection, Retention, Sharing, and Interpretation of Data.

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 a Creative Commons license.
• If you are uncertain as to your rights to disseminate data, UNMC researchers also can consult the Office of General Counsel. Note: Laws about data vary outside the U.S.

Sharing data that you have collected from other sources:

• Licensed data can have restrictions in the way it can be used or shared downstream.
• Some databases licensed by the UNMC allow for educational and research use, and sharing limited portions of data. For more information on terms of use for databases contact the owners of the databases.