Data protection for researchers

Data protection law has a massive impact on the way researchers collect and use personal data for research. Many data protection laws around the world have a reference to processing personal data for historical, statistical or research purposes. The exact wording is slightly different, but they essentially all come down to the same thing.

Researchers collect and process large amounts of personal data. This data can be used to:

• track a persons’ spending habits and create trends;
• identify issues in specific areas; and
• determine the outcome of an event.

Your organisation needs to consider how it approaches the protection of personal data. If you don’t, you could find yourself causing serious harm to not only your business but also to the data subjects who participate in your research.

What laws apply to your processing?

Different data protection laws will apply to your organisation depending on where you are based or where your data subjects are from. Depending on your circumstances, you may need to comply with:

• The General Data Protection Regulation – if you are based in the European Union or process the personal data of data subjects who are.
• The Protection of Personal Information Act (POPIA) – if you are based in South Africa.
• Or other data protection laws that may apply in your location.

We can help you identify the data protection laws applicable to you and help you take practical and effective steps to comply with them.

Will joining this lens help my organisation comply?

Yes. That’s the short answer. Our data protection for researchers programme aims to help your organisation understand its responsibilities, and plot its actions.

We have already helped many organisations comply with data protection through our Data Protection Compliance Programme. But what are the key considerations for data protection for researchers? You may ask yourself:

• What areas do I need to focus on?
• What should I avoid doing?
• How can I protect the data of my participants?

Because research is purpose-driven, you need detailed steps to assist you with streamlining your data protection efforts. It is important that your organisation protects the participants from abuse of their personal data, and helps them secure their right to privacy.

If you are feeling overwhelmed by all these questions, don’t worry, we will help you. We like to keep things simple at Michalsons and we will simplify the requirements of data protection law, making it easier for you to understand and apply it to your activities. We also guide you through the practical issues that researchers most often face. We can offer this material in the form of an online programme, webinar or an in-person workshop, which is presented by an experienced data protection expert.

Our data protection for researchers programme is worth joining for any organisation that has a research and development department, tertiary institutions that conduct different forms of research, whether academic or medical or any type of organisation that is conducting research on a regular basis. This does not mean that everyone in your organisation needs to go through this programme. There may be many persons that are involved in research, but you should only have a core team of individuals that focuses on the topic. For example, your Data Protection Officer (or Information Officer).

You’ll achieve the following results as a consequence of participating in our data protection for researchers lens:

• Raise your awareness by learning about the data protection laws that apply to your organisation.
• Protect the participants of your research from harm by protecting their personal data that your organisation processes.
• Reduce the risks of non-compliance (like damage to your brand and losing the trust of your stakeholders) by focusing your efforts
• Reduce your overall costs by doing it yourself with our assistance.

The lens contextualises our core data protection programme into a comprehensive and manageable size for researchers. We help you achieve specific outcomes by providing written guidance in the lens for you to work through. We provide you with links to useful resources, actions for you to take, and an introductory video for you to watch. To help you achieve the outcomes we also provide tools like templates, checklists and frameworks to fast-track your compliance efforts.

• We believe in using the law as a tool to prevent harm from coming to people.
• We have significant practical experience dealing with data protection law.
• We cover only those areas of data protection law that are most relevant to you, saving you time and money.
• We think practically about the issues faced by researchers, helping you to apply your energies to the most riskiest areas.
• We provide insight and simplify the issues, empowering you to work through the obligations yourself.

Once you have joined the data protection for researchers programme, you can decide when it would be best for you to start working through it and how long you are going to take. You can work through it at your own pace, essentially. Sign up now to book your place.

A lens is a complimentary programme that you get access to by joining the data protection programme. It contextualises data protection for a particular audience, such as community schemes, non-profits, or schools.

These lenses serve as an additional guide as you work through the core programme.

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