Data collection
- The exact nature of data collected will vary from project to project, and will often be laid out in project-specific participant information and informed consent forms (filled in before research starts), however, they may include detailed information about a land-based initiative, its challenges and achievements, or the experiences or personal details of people working on that initiative. This data may be collected using techniques such as (online) surveys, interviews, focus groups, or workshops. Where online tools are used to collect research data (e.g. Typeform for surveys), these are GDPR compliant. People involved in research will be informed of their rights to withdraw data (usually within a certain time period) after it is collected, by contacting Shared Assets, via contact information also contained in participant information sheets.
Data management
- Data collected will be stored and analysed on our internal password-protected Google Drive, our password-protected Typeform account, and occasionally in another secure shared drive (such as that of a university) with other external partners. If the latter is the case, it will be made clear to research participants in participant information sheets/informed consent forms which they fill in before the research begins.
Data access
- As mentioned in our Research Approach, we strive to make the summarised findings of our research, and the datasets produced, freely available online, using Creative Commons Licences, so others can learn from and build on our work, following the principle of ‘as open as possible, as closed as necessary’. This means results will often be anonymised to protect co-researchers/participants, but where research participants/co-researchers find it empowering to be named and recognised for their work, we will include identifying details with their explicit consent. In some cases, data from research may also be published in formal research outputs (e.g. journal articles, conference papers, theses and reports) - in these circumstances we will aim to upload the articles as soon as possible in open-access websites such as ResearchGate.
Data archiving
- After a research project concludes, we will keep the raw datasets, anonymised as necessary, for up to 10 years, on our Google Drive. Published research outputs, with summarised data/findings, will be kept indefinitely.
We will continue to think about the approaches outlined above, to make the process of research and learning, and the data these involve, empowering as opposed to extractive.