Data Management and Sharing
- Sheridan Libraries
- Guides
- Data Management and Sharing
- JHU Policies for Data Management and Sharing
Johns Hopkins University has established policies on issues related to data management that should be addressed in your data management plan. Below are just a few of the more relevant highlights from each; however, there may be additional, relevant information that applies to your specific research. We suggest that JHU researchers read these policy documents in their entirety.
Data Ownership & Retention
The Johns Hopkins University Policy on Access and Retention of Research Data and Materials covers various aspects of research data management.
- Data generated by research projects at or under the auspices of Johns Hopkins University is owned by the University.
- Primary investigator is responsible for storing data using a method that permits a complete retrospective audit if necessary.
- Research data should be archived for a minimum period of 5 years after the date of any publication upon which it is based.
Institutional Review Board
If your work involves human subjects, you may need to limit the extent of the research that you share to protect the rights of and privacy of individuals per JHU IRB policies and HIPAA regulation. Although your data management plan should explicitly state which data you will not be sharing due to IRB concerns, it is also important to try and share some form of your data.
- Johns Hopkins Medicine Institutional Review Board
- Homewood IRB: for Krieger School of Arts and Sciences, Whiting School of Engineering, School of Education, Carey Business School, Nitze School of Advanced International Studies, and Peabody Institute.
- School of Public Health IRB
JHM Data Trust
JHM Data Trust: The Johns Hopkins Medicine Data Trust Council has been established to provide JHM researchers with the technical infrastructure, standards, policies and procedures, and organization needed to bring together patient and member-related data from across the health system to support our mission. The goals of the Data Trust are to: Ensure security and privacy of our patients’ data, consolidate teams to address organizational priorities and reduce redundancy, and increase the value of data through better integration and analytics.
- Accessing data from JH Medicine clinical enterprise systems such as EPIC or PMAP requires approval from the Data Trust Reseach Subcouncil, following their procedures for requesting data.
- Sharing JH Medicine Data (patient- or member-related data stored in clinical enterprise systems) with researchers outside of JHM (including other JHU divisions such as School of Public Health, and Krieger Arts & Sciences), or data repositories such as JHU Data Archive, may require Data Trust review, including IRB-approved protocols for data sharing and data de-identification if needed. More information.
Intellectual Property
The creation of intellectual property during the course of your research may have implications on if and when data will be shared. Many funding agencies, such as NSF, allows the retention of intellectual property to the grantees, but that does not preclude sharing of results, data and collections with other researchers.
The JHU Intellectual Property Policy defines IP “as any new and useful process, machine, composition of matter, life form, article of manufacture, software, copyrighted work (see IV. E) or tangible property.”
IT Technical and Security Policies
The creation of intellectual property during the course of your research may have implications on if and when data will be shared. Many funding agencies, such as NSF, allows the retention of intellectual property to the grantees, but that does not preclude sharing of results, data and collections with other researchers.
The JHU Intellectual Property Policy defines IP “as any new and useful process, machine, composition of matter, life form, article of manufacture, software, copyrighted work (see IV. E) or tangible property.”
JHU Policies on Responsible Conduct of Research
Some JHU schools have additional policies that may address issues related to data management.
- Whiting School of Engineering: Section 4 of the Rules and Guidelines for Responsible Conduct of Research covers data gathering, storage, and retention.
- School of Medicine:
- Section 3 of Rules and Guidelines for Responsible Conduct of Research
- Research Ethics Workshops About Responsibilities and Duties of Scientists (REWards) required for new Principal Investigators at JHM.
Open Access Policy
The Johns Hopkins Policy on Open Access requires JHU faculty to have their peer-reviewed journal articles available to the public. For more information on open access, check on the following two JHU resources:
- Open Access at Johns Hopkins by Office of the Provost
- Open Access Libguide by the Sheridan Libraries