During your research you will be using data. In today’s world there are many laws and rules with regards to storing data. In this section we will try to briefly explain the main things you must take into account:

• If the data you use or generate during your research can be classed as personal data (involving data from or about human beings) you must always ask permission from the Human Research Ethics Committee of TU Delft (HREC) prior to starting to generate or use data. Failing to do so is a violation of the university rules and serious consequences for both you and your supervisor. See the HREC Website of TU Delft for more information.
• Depending on the type of personal data you may need to write a Data Protection Impact Assessment. This is mandated by Dutch law. For more information see the TU Delft Privacy website. For further help and instruction please consult your faculty’s data steward.
• Once you are given permission by the HREC, you must also ask for the participant’s informed consent as well as inform them that they have the right to be forgotten and how they can invoke that right. See the HREC site for more information.
• All personal data must be stored in a secure data storage and only be transferred via secure data storage. Please use a TU Delft project Drive for secure data storage and use SURFfilesender for data transfer. Your supervisor must apply for a project drive for you.
• Do not use portable storage devices or other cloud services to store personal data nor other datatransferservices. This way you will not violate Dutch Data Protection Laws. Finally, after gathering all your data anonymise your data as much as possible and if necessary use pseudonumization to identify your research subjects: eg captain 1, co-pilot 1 etc.
• In the case you are working with commercially sensitive data discuss with your supervisor what to do
• In the rare case you are working with data that may be dangerous for society your TU Delft supervisor will inform you of what steps need to be taken. This is rarely the case for thesis projects.
• When you are doing your thesis within a company ensure you adhere to the company’s standard regarding data use and check before starting that their data policy is not in contradiction with the TU Delft policy on Open Access of thesis work.Do not sign Non Disclosure Agreements (NDAs) or contracts with companies until you or your supervisor has received legal advice from the university that it is OK to sign.
• All the rules above also apply if you are given data from a third party to work on at university.