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Data Transfer and Sharing

WVU policies for transferring and sharing research data are based on criteria such as data risk category, existing data agreement or use restrictions, funder restrictions, data management and sharing plans, data safety and monitoring board restrictions, and/or institutional policies.

Sharing and transferring research results data after the Award period or in support of a publication  is different than sharing and transferring data during active research for collaboration, this link provides information on federal data management and sharing policies for funded research.

Funded Research Considerations

The funding agency policies will specify requirements for sharing and transferring research results outlined in the data management and sharing (DMS) plan. The DMS plan becomes a contract, the institution (WVU) is responsible for tracking the location of research results data. Before data supporting research results is transferred out of WVU, a data agreement may be required. 

Future regulations will require cybersecurity requirements for funded data, which will require WVU to track and manage funded research data during active research. In preparation, select storage that is managed by WVU. 

Data Transfer

Data transfer means that a copy of the data will be transferred out of the institution (WVU or HSC) to an external entity. The external party can then modify the copy, the original copy remains unchanged. Transferring data between departments at within WVU and HSC is not considered data transfer for this purpose.

ITS-Supported Methods for External Data Transfer

  • Globus
    • Low to medium-risk data
    • unfunded/funded
  • SFTP
    • All data risk categories
    • unfunded/funded
  • WVU/HSC Email
    • Low to medium-risk
    • Unfunded
  • External Hard Drives/USB Drives
    • Low to medium-risk
    • Unfunded

Data Sharing/Collaboration

Data sharing means that one copy of the data is shared between WVU/HSC staff an external party. When one party changes the data, it changes for both parties. There are multiple ways to share data:

  • OneDrive/Google 
    PI can provide access to students and external parties for low to medium-risk, unfunded data
  • SharePoint
    PI can provide access to students and external parties for low to medium-risk, funded/unfunded data
  • Data Depot
    PI can use Globus to allow external access, more restrictive, low to medium-risk, funded/unfunded data
  • Qualtrics
    PIs can provide access to students and external parties for low to medium-risk data collection

High-Risk Data

Sharing or transferring high-risk data must be approved via a WVU Data Agreement and access must be provided by ITS or WV CTSI. Contact dataagreements@mail.wvu.edu.