Data management, software and online methods for human participant research

 

Research Data Management & Planning

Research Data Management & Planning support services are provided through the UNBC Library.

 

Data transfer

File transfer options through Office 365 are now available for all UNBC accounts. Please note this change to Office 365 coincides with the future de-commissioning of all G:Drive & H:Drive folders. Best practices and training is available for researchers, faculty and staff from the UNBC Community. To transfer research data pertaining to research involving humans, it is recommended by UNBC Information Technology Services that faculty, staff and students use Microsoft One Drive. 

Application Document Library Capacity Typical Use Tips
OneDrive Single Document Library 
in single Sharepoint site 
for you (i.e. personal locker)
& default Document Library 
for private Teams		 1 TB per user Personal work related files 
(e.g. time sheets, leave forms, etc.)		 File sharing
Request Help
Sharepoint Master storage site & 
default Document Library 
for public Teams		 10 GB per user, 
25 TB per site collection		 Departmental & teams files 
(e.g. university files for all employees)		 About Sites
Request Site
Teams Channels (i.e. public and 
private work spaces) 
with folders created in 
the Sharepoint default Document Library		 10 GB per user, 
25 TB per site or group		 Departmental & teams files Channel Types
Request Team
H Drives 
(personal)
G Drives 
(shared)		 N/A 250 MB To be discontinued How to Prepare

 

Approved Software at UNBC

Software which has been reviewed by Information Technology Services for privacy, security, support and contractual terms and conditions can be located on the ITS Approved Software List.

 

Transition from Zoom to Teams

As of May 2025, all faculty, staff, and students are encouraged to use to Microsoft Teams for their teaching and/or research purposes. An article on how to get started using Microsoft 365 Teams for videoconferencing for meetings, research collaborations and/or teaching has been provided by UNBC ITS. As a collaborative platform, Microsoft Teams offers robust video conferencing, collaboration, and integration with our Microsoft 365 environment. As a research tool, it offers built-in recording and transcription features while meeting necessary security and privacy standards when used through institutional accounts. 

Zoom licenses will be available for one more year (i.e. until May 2026) to UNBC faculty who use zoom for teaching and/or research purposes. 

For human participant research: 

  • When setting up Teams for engaging in human participant research, avoid using private Private Teams accounts (i.e. not through UNBC's license), as these do not necessarily meet data security requirements.
  • If you are a student who is required to use Zoom as per the approved REB protocol for your research activity, please send an email to ITS (with your supervisor cc'd) to request ongoing access to Zoom.
  • If you are a researcher, faculty member or student conducting research activity for which the study protocol identifies the use of Zoom to conduct interviews with human participants, please be prepared to submit an amendment upon your next renewal for adapting your study protocol to use Microsoft Teams for conducting research interviews.

 

Surveys

Before using any survey tool, please take the time to carefully read the complete use terms and support resources. You are required to take all necessary precautions to secure your workstation in order to protect it from unauthorized users and use. 

Microsoft Forms is included with the UNBC Microsoft Office 365 licensing and is available for students, faculty and staff. Forms can be used to create customized quizzes, polls and surveys and is recommended for teaching and administrative use. For more information to get started please see the ITS Knowledge Base article.

SurveyMonkey is also available and to be used for Research purposes only. SurveyMonkey is fully compliant with the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act. Data loaded into or collected through UNBC Enterprise accounts is hosted on the Canadian server. Please contact the Service Desk to request an account.

If you are unsure if the data you are collecting will require a Privacy Impact Assessment, please contact privacy@unbc.ca

For the most up-to-date information on surveys provided by UNBC Information Technology Services, please check here.

 

Social Media in Research Recruitment

TCPS 2 on whether Research using Social Media Platforms require Research Ethics Board Review.

 

Fraudulent Participants

Guidelines on Fraudulent Participants for researchers who find themselves engaged with participants and malicious elements (e.g. bots) who appear to have falsified their eligibility in order to receive remuneration from participating in a study.

 

PRE Crowdsourcing Responses

TCPS 2 on the Use of Crowdsourcing Platforms for Recruitment in Research.

 

 

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