Table of contents

Overview 

Research data storage provided by Dropbox on Australian servers.  

Ideal for collaborating with people outside the University.  

If your data is; 

  • related to University work, such as teaching and learning, or administrative files, please use Microsoft OneDrive or Teams. 
  • data supporting publication, or to made permanently shared, use http://figshare.canterbury.ac.nz  

UC has an institutional subscription available for academic and research staff.  

Need help?  

Please Create Incident (canterbury.ac.nz) in the event of a failure, or error. 

For product information on Dropbox please reach out to the Research Experience Product Manager Jamie Hart or log a ticket for an Internal work request (canterbury.ac.nz) and select eResearch Support Services in the Assignment Group drop down list. 

What is Dropbox 

Dropbox is a cloud file storage service that lets you share, synchronise, and collaborate on documents across the UC and with an even wider group of collaborators in academia and industry. 

You can use Dropbox for: 

  • Joint research projects 
  • Funding bids 
  • PG supervision 
  • Accessing files off-site and around the clock 
  • Allowing visitor and time restricted access to selected files and folders, while maintaining high levels of security for the data you need to keep private 

 

UC has an institutional subscription which allows you ample storage space. If you already have an account, you are invited to join the UC enterprise account, where there is an added benefit of greater security and backup and support.  

Access 

Research staff and doctoral candidates can request access to Dropbox via the ServiceNow Dropbox Access Request form after providing information about intended use. You may be prompted to provide additional information to support your request, including approval from a Principal Investigator or supervisor. 

 

Please note that Dropbox is not available for use by group accounts, e.g. group emails. For more information on this, please contact Jamie Hart, Product Manager Research Experience. 

 File size limit 

There is no file size limit. Your UC Dropbox account allows you to store files of any size or type. However, your upload speed may vary depending on the file size and the network you're using. 

Upload limit 

There is a 50GB limit per file upload if you are accessing Dropbox through your browser. 

Sponsored storage 

When you share a Dropbox folder with a user external to UC, storage in that folder does not count towards their quota. This is a feature of our enterprise Dropbox plan and unlike what would happen on any other plans. Note that the external user will still be shown the size of their quota, but nothing they upload to the folder you shared with them should count towards their quota.  

Security 

Dropbox is considered a secure data storage solution. However, it is important to note that Dropbox is designed for collaboration and data sharing with others.  

Dropbox is not recommended as a long-term storage solution for sensitive data.  As with any computer storage system, there is always some risk of unauthorised access or the accidental sharing of data.

 If in doubt, encrypt your data. If you need to share data containing identifiers with a collaborator, even when encrypted, you should check that this is permitted under your ethics approval. Some researchers use Dropbox alongside UC’s Research Data Storage drives in order to meet their need to collaborate while working with sensitive data.  

Privacy  

The only people who can access your files are you and the collaborators with whom you selectively share your files. The owner or administrator of a folder can appoint other people as owners, so it is important to know who is able to share folders if you will be storing sensitive files. 

In the case of an audit investigation, University systems administrators may be directed to access your account - as they are able to do with other IT services (such as email, desktop devices or networked storage drives). Such access is in accordance with the IT Policy Framework and the Staff Code of Conduct. If such a request is made, the systems administrator would access the account solely for the directed purpose of the investigation. We expect this provision to be used very rarely. 

Can I store sensitive data on Dropbox?  

Sensitive data (e.g., personally identifiable research data) can be stored on your University Dropbox account if it is encrypted before uploading and this complies with your funder and ethics requirements.  

If you have concerns about the content or type of information you wish to share, contact the eResearch Support Team on ServiceNow and we can advise you on the best way to keep your data and documents private and secure. 

Please note that you are still responsible for the data you place on Dropbox. Please be mindful of who you grant access to your files, and consider that the specific requirements for your data may not align with Dropbox's capabilities (i.e. that some data should never be shared in its original form). 

Alternatively, datasets can de-identified before uploading to Dropbox. 

Contact the Human Research Ethics Committee or the Animal Ethics Committee regarding human, animal and biological safety ethics.  
Datasets that contain identifiers should be de-identified first before uploading to Dropbox. If in doubt, always encrypt your data and be mindful about sharing the data.

Storage Location 

Dropbox data is stored offshore (the closest data centre is Sydney).

If the data you work with requires storage within New Zealand, for example, health information containing personal identifiers, Dropbox cannot be used. 

Sensitive Data  

Includes 

  • health data  
  • personal financial data 
  • employment records 
  • culturally sensitive information 
  • commercially sensitive information 
  • location data of endangered or protected ecosystems 
  • student information and records, including exam questions 

 
File version history, deletion and auditing 

Retention of previous versions and deleted files and documents in UC’s Dropbox subscription is 10 years. If you accidentally delete files, these can be recovered within 10 years.  

If you need it, secure deletion of files is available upon request. 
 

Data management requirements 

The creation, use and sharing of research data at UC is governed in accordance with the Research Conduct Policy, and must comply with the requirements for ethical and socially responsible research and commercial research. Please refer to the UC Privacy Policy and Privacy Act 2020. 


What happens to my data when I leave the University? 

Your University Dropbox account will be subject to the University's exit procedures and data retention processes. 
 

Personal files on my University Dropbox account 

Dropbox is provided to support your work as an employee of the University. 

  • Personal files can be kept in a personal folder on your University account. Content remains private, so long as you do not make the folder shared. However, the data in your personal folder remains subject to the University’s IT Policy Framework and the Staff Code of Conduct and can be audited if required. 
  • It is possible to link to your existing personal Dropbox account through the desktop application, without it becoming a folder within the UC Dropbox account. 
  • If privacy is a high priority for you, we would advise you to maintain a personal Dropbox account for your personal files (keeping personal files personal) 

Common issues 

Email changes

your Dropbox login is linked to your UC email address. Your UC email address can change for three broad reasons: 

 If your UC email changes and you do not mirror the change in your Dropbox settings following the instructions at https://help.dropbox.com/account-settings/change-email you may lose access to your Dropbox account. In that case, you can raise a ServiceNow ticket [ToBeDefined] to get assistance from a Dropbox administrator to change your email and restore your access. 

Offboarding (Leaving UC) 

When you leave UC (or just want to stop using Dropbox), it is important to manage your Dropbox data responsibly. You need to go through the checklist 

  • Any “corporate” UC data should be moved to appropriate UC storage 
  • Data you currently share with UC colleagues and to which they will still need access to after your departure needs to be transferred to them. 
  • Remove your personal data if you do not wish to keep a Dropbox account 

In the event you still have some personal data, or data you want to keep for your next endeavor, you can request to have your account to be transferred from an Enterprise account to a personal/professional one. If you are leaving UC, you will want to change the email address associated to the account as you will lose access once your UC account is decommissioned. You may be able to directly join your new institution that way if they also offer Dropbox storage. 

 

 

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