University destroyed disabled student Phd data

[Dan_Ashcroft 10]

There's a team of seven staff in the research office dedicated to assisting PhD students - including matters surrounding complaints, appeals and progression: http://www.sheffield.ac.uk/ris/contacts/rdst

[Chris11 10]

There's a team of seven staff in the research office dedicated to assisting PhD students - including matters surrounding complaints, appeals and progression: http://www.sheffield.ac.uk/ris/contacts/rdst

 

There should also be a departmental representative for PGR students that this young lady can contact / could of contacted when the issues were ongoing.

[alchemist 38]

It's an ethics issue, if you look back - number of copies and storage conditions.

 

How does the number of copies and storage become an ethics issue? Are their any funding bodies or research projects that ban the making of secure backups?

[Dan_Ashcroft 10]

How does the number of copies and storage become an ethics issue? Are their any funding bodies or research projects that ban the making of secure backups?

 

What if the data was interviews with victims of sexual abuse?

 

What if it was analysis of tissue samples looking at probability of future diseases?

 

If you had participated in this research and personal data of this nature existed about you, would you want the researcher having a copy on usb stick in their pocket, or on a CD in their kitchen?

 

Data storage in research is a very ethical issue.

[geared 321]

You can also be held criminally responsible for loosing such data.

[shortcrust 10]

All copies of the data in the same place? No sympathy whatsoever. Really REALLY basic stuff.

 

No ethics issues at all. Data can be encrytpted if necessary and should always be backed up in separate locations.

 

 

It's highly unethical to lose data because you've not taken the correct measures to back it up correctly.

 

Quite right. There's a responsibility to ensure that participants' time isn't wasted.

 

Can quite believe that someone has come on here to moan about about this.

Edited March 29, 2013 by shortcrust

[zippy 10]

Never heard of it before in my life.

 

How can the uni destroy all of their work, they should have multiple lab books, digital copies and all backups.

If they were that close to finishing they should also have written most of the thesis.

 

exactly - where are the backups etc

 

funding is as others have said an issue, it is not unknown for people to have to finish 'writing up' unfunded.

 

---------- Post added 29-03-2013 at 12:35 ----------

 

Not lab based work and happened almost a year ago but took uni 4 months to determine what had happened to the storage cabinet. Work was backed up on encrypted usb stix but this also stored in cabinet.

 

strikes me as a significant failure of due diligence by the student.

 

---------- Post added 29-03-2013 at 12:37 ----------

 

How does the number of copies and storage become an ethics issue? Are their any funding bodies or research projects that ban the making of secure backups?

 

encrypted data can be stored anywhere in physical form. also i'm sure that if there was an even greater than usual reason for data security the University computer services would be able to provide secure storage.

 

---------- Post added 29-03-2013 at 12:40 ----------

 

Online is a big no-no, especially if the data is sensitive (contains peoples names, DOB etc)

 

Uni mainframe is considered 'secure' along with encrypted USB sticks.

E-mail is usually a no-no as well, although the NHS have a 'secure' system for it, Universities sometimes do not.

 

the NHS do NOT have a 'secure' e-mail system beyond that commercially available ot any user .

 

Universities generally have better IT than the NHS due to the lack of collective commercial inertia.

[jennybongo 10]

If it was an autistic student this could more traumatising than a a neuro typical person, it could be potentially very damaging to their mental health and their ability to undertake any future courses with the University.

I don't know what the disability is, but if the work has to be done again I imagine if it was someone with a neuro disability or dyslexia, it would have taken 50 x the effort than other students without a disability. It might have been their only chance at it.

[zippy 10]

This.

 

Sounds like someone playing the disability card to me.

 

and perhaps a secondary diagnosis of Dizaei Syndrome ...

 

---------- Post added 29-03-2013 at 12:47 ----------

 

If it was an autistic student this could more traumatising than a a neuro typical person, it could be potentially very damaging to their mental health and their ability to undertake any future courses with the University.

I don't know what the disability is, but if the work has to be done again I imagine if it was someone with a neuro disability or dyslexia, it would have taken 50 x the effort than other students without a disability. It might have been their only chance at it.

 

and this excuses their lack of effective data husbandry in what way ?

 

losing your data is the kind of error you expect people to have conquered by GCSE level regardless of any other factor.

[jake 10]

The Students Union has an independent advice centre staffed by full time advisers who will be very aware of the university & funding regs - i'd suggest she seeks advice from there rather than randoms off a forum

[Litotes 63]

What if the data was interviews with victims of sexual abuse?

 

What if it was analysis of tissue samples looking at probability of future diseases?

 

If you had participated in this research and personal data of this nature existed about you, would you want the researcher having a copy on usb stick in their pocket, or on a CD in their kitchen?

 

Data storage in research is a very ethical issue.

 

No, but in the ethics committee application for the research to go ahead, the data storage (including backups) would have been addressed. The student should have followed these guidelines.

[jennybongo 10]

Zippy - was saying how it affects them if that's the case. Also, if it were someone with autism and believed it to be in a safe place (or was told so) then their impairment may prevent them from thinking they need to look at alternatives.

There is not enough details from the poster, but wanted to put an autism perspective on it because some people questioned where disability comes into it.