Guest lectures on Data Handling, privacy, Ethics for students
To ensure that the importance of Research Data Management (RDM), personal data in research (privacy), and research ethics is well understood by students at the time they begin their bachelor's and master's theses, we enhance their knowledge through guest lectures offered across all BMS degree programmes.
Research Data Management resources for students
Bachelor’s and Master’s students conduct research as part of their studies, yet support for good research data management (RDM) is not always readily available. To help students develop responsible and reliable research practices, data stewards from Leiden University, Radboud University, the University of Groningen, and the University of Twente collaborated on a set of practical RDM resources.
The resulting materials help students manage research data throughout the entire research process and include:
- An RDM Guidebook for Students, introducing key RDM concepts, principles, and best practices.
- An RDM Checklist for Students, providing practical guidance on tasks before, during, and after a research project, including additional considerations when working with personal or sensitive data.
- A User Guide for Educators, supporting lecturers, coordinators, and supervisors in integrating these materials into courses, thesis trajectories, and research skills education.
Together, these resources support students in conducting research responsibly, transparently, and in line with good scientific practice. They are designed for use across disciplines and institutions and can be applied in both Bachelor's and Master's programmes.
Since their launch in December 2025, the guidebook and checklist have been viewed more than 2,000 times. Feedback, experiences, and examples of how the materials are being used are always welcome.
For questions or suggestions, please contact please contact Alice Nikuze, Minsi Li, or Deniece Nazareth.
Storage for students
Students can make use (for a part) of the same storage facilities as staff. Please look at the Table on the UT overview of data storage for up to date info. In short, you can use:
- Google drive/One Drive (with your UT-account): store personal identifiable data (the server is GDPR compliant), share data with your supervisor/team members, capacity 1 TB
- Your supervisor can invite you as a student via SurfDrive to share data. You cannot use SurfDrive without the invitation from your supervisor.
- BMS-LAB has facilities for you to store research data. Indicate this with a project sign-up at BMS LAB.
- Dropbox/personal devices: store anonymized data (not GDPR compliant), share data.
- UT-students do not have an M-/P-drive, however, your supervisor can request for a shared p-drive with you, this can be done via LISA service portal.
NOTE: Never store personal identifiable data of your research participants on your personal laptop or an unprotected USB-device! Those data need sufficient protection under GDPR (dutch AVG).
Data preservation and Reuse
Did you finish your thesis? What to do with the research data you collected and processed? Please discuss this with your supervisor(s), as:
- Supervisor(s) decides whether and what data will be kept, and where to keep the data, because: supervisors are jointly responsible for the integrity of the research;
There is a higher chance for the data to be reused by (students of) the supervisors.
If supervisors do not want to archive the data, the UT will not require students to archive the data. Do you wonder if can you keep the data to yourself? If your data does NOT contain personal data, you can keep a copy to yourself. But if the data contains personal data, your access to this data should be blocked immediately after you finish the research
MICRO-LECTURES
Since 2022 a series of micro-lectures has been available teaching students how to handle their data during, and after, their study. Based on 5 simple questions, all aspects of Research Data Management (RDM) will be addressed in fun, animated, short online recordings.
More information
BMS Data stewards (Deniece & Minsi)