Information security and academic writing at UiS

As a student, it can be useful to know about tools at UiS for collecting, processing and storing data safely.

Published 12. Jan. 2022. Updated on 31. Aug. 2022

This guide is relevant for all students writing their theses and describes key tools recommended at UiS for data collection, processing and storage.

ATTENTION: For theses and assignments that collect and/or process personal data or sensitive personal data, in addition to this guide, you should also read "handling personal data in student assignments", which is useful for both student and supervisor. If you collect personal data, e.g. via audio recordings, the project must be reported to NSD.

This guide describes a standard applicable to most research and student projects. For what is not covered or answered here, please refer to the Classification Guide and Storage Guide. If you have questions regarding the interpretation of these guides, you can contact your supervisor or IT-hjelp@uis.no

Below is a guide that covers most requirements for secure collection, processing and storage in connection with student assignments.

Planning

As a student, it is important to make the necessary assessments during the start of your project. Here, you have to

Consider the classification of data in the project. Does it contain personal data and, if so, is it necessary? Speak with your supervisor about the necessity of using personal data in your project.
Which tools should be used? Is the guide below sufficient or do you need other data storage from the data storage guide?
Think of data as a lifecycle of collection, processing and deletion. It is a good idea to create a data management plan.

Data collection

For safe collection of data in research or student assignments, it is recommended to use Nettskjema. Nettskjema is free to use by anyone at UiS and uses FEIDE sign-on.

Nettskjema can be used for:

Consent forms
Questionnaires
Secure sound recordings through Nettskjema diktafon app (sound recordings of people are personal data)

Data collected in Nettskjema is approved for storage of RED data, see classification guide.

If you download data from Nettskjema, it must be handled according to the data storage guide. It is not recommended to download RED data from Nettskjema.

For storage outside Nettskjema, you must use your UiS OneDrive account (studentnr@uis.no). Do not use a private OneDrive account for storage. UiS OneDrive is approved for YELLOW data and ensures that you have a back-up in case you lose your machine.

It is also recommended to have a fully encrypted disk. How to check if the disk is fully encrypted:

Other tools that can be used:

SurveyXact (use two-factor authentication)
- Approved for collection of RED data.
- Offers analysis tools as well

Processing / analysis

For safe processing of data, it is recommended to use the Office suite with storage in the UiS OneDrive account.

Processing in Office365:

Store the documents in your UiS OneDrive account
You can share the document with supervisor / collaborators directly from the document in Office
You can share documents from your UiS OneDrive account
When sharing with others, it is important to specify that they must also handle data in accordance with the classification level.

Data processing in Nettskjema:

Audio recordings must be transcribed manually from nettskjema.no
Audio recordings in Nettskjema can be downloaded in accordance with the data storage guide, but it is not recommended.
Results from the questionnaire can be downloaded and saved in the UiS OneDrive account.
Results from the questionnaire can be processed in Office 365 programs.

Other tools that can be used:

Nvivo (use UiS OneDrive storage WITHOUT automatic synchronization)
- Can be used for transcribing (works best on Windows machines)
- Can be used to encode text

Project end

At the project's end, it is important to ensure that the project's data is handled and deleted in a secure manner. What is described in your data handling plan must be followed.

Storage:

If there are purposes that require continued storage, further storage in a controlled area should be ensured. Here you can use the UiS OneDrive account as long as you are a student with an active user.
For storage beyond that or in case of special requirements contact it-help@uis.no
Data stored in Nettskjema expires after 6 months after last acquired data. You can extend the storage by 6 months by submitting new response to your online form.

Deletion:

You must actively follow up and delete relevant data - do not wait for Nettskjema's automatic deletion.
Data collected in Nettskjema will be deleted after 6 months after the last response.
It is important to follow the rules for deletion that are communicated in a possible declaration of consent and data management plan.
Remember to delete consent forms, but not before the main data has been deleted.

If you have read this guide through and are going to process personal data in your thesis, you should also read this guide on processing of personal data in thesis writing.