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Tips: Protocol for Sharing Data via Dropbox

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jmgclark edited this page May 18, 2016 · 1 revision

Protocol for Sharing Data via Dropbox

When sharing data with research assistants, the following protocol helps ensure data security and the limited distribution of data that contains personally identifiable information (PII):

  • The Principal Investigator (PI) should share a folder containing the data with the Research Assistant (RA). PI must maintain ownership of the folder. For instructions on how to share a folder in dropbox, see https://www.dropbox.com/en/help/19.

  • The RA must have read and write access to the folder so that he/she may change/edit contents.

  • The RA should NOT make copies of the shared folder to a local folder on the RA's computer. If the constant uploading to Dropbox is an issue, please note that Dropbox synching can be turned off for individual folders (see https://www.dropbox.com/en/help/4456)

  • Upon completion of the project, the PI must remove the RA's permissions to the shared folder (i.e. unshare the folder).
    ** When you remove members, you'll be given the option to let them keep a copy of the shared folder and its files. If you choose not to, the files will be removed from the members' online accounts immediately and from their linked computers the next time they sync using the Dropbox desktop application. In this case the files will be permanently deleted from those accounts, meaning they can't be recovered even with Dropbox's restore feature. See https://www.dropbox.com/en/help/314.

  • The RA must confirm that the folder has been removed from the RA's computer. For some projects, the PI may require the RA to be present during the unsharing in order to confirm the removal of the files from the RA's computer.

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