What is required for the safe storage of personal information?

To respect the requirements of the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act (FIPPA), you need to indicate clearly, in the informed consent, the length of time for which any personal information collected (e.g., signatures on the consent forms, contact information, identifying information from audiotapes or in a dataset) will be kept in a secure location before being destroyed. You also need to indicate that personal information will only be viewed by researchers (and supervisors) directly involved in the study.

Search the Secretariat Policy Listings for “Mobile Technology Policy“.

According to the TCPS2, electronic research data should be encrypted and password-protected. Physical copies of data must be kept in a secure location that only the researcher and supervisor can access. In the case of funded data, ensure you are in compliance with the requirements of the funder. Anonymized datasets (i.e., with all identifying information removed), or anonymous datasets (i.e., where participants never provided identifying information), can be retained indefinitely. However, if you wish to utilize this data in the future for purposes beyond the initial intent of the study (e.g., educational purposes, secondary data analyses), this possibility must be clearly indicated on the informed consent form.