Access to data for the team

Research projects often involve multiple team members, institutions and external collaborators. Managing access to data in a secure and transparent way supports collaboration while maintaining accountability and reducing operational risk.

Access arrangements should be proportionate to the sensitivity, scale and governance requirements of the data. This applies across all social science data types. Good access management ensures that the right people have the right level of access at the right time.

Managing access permissions

Access to project data should be granted only to authorised team members and aligned with defined project roles. Where possible, use role-based permissions to control who can view, edit or export data.

Access permissions should be reviewed regularly and updated when project responsibilities change. Sensitive or restricted datasets may require additional approval processes or the use of secure working environments.

Onboarding and offboarding team members

When new staff or collaborators join a project, they should receive clear guidance on:

• where data are stored and how to access them
• security and handling requirements
• documentation and version control practices.

When team members leave, access rights should be removed promptly. Any locally stored working files should be transferred to approved project storage locations or securely deleted where appropriate.

Audit trails and accountability

Where possible, systems should maintain records of data access and file changes. Audit trails help document who accessed or modified data and when. Maintaining auditability supports transparency, quality assurance and compliance with institutional and funder requirements. It also helps teams resolve issues if problems arise during collaborative work.