Data storage and security is about two fears: losing your data, and the wrong people seeing it. The answers are a backup rule (several copies, in more than one place) and sensible protection (access controls and, for sensitive data, encryption). Both are simple habits, not dark arts.

There are two kinds of researcher: those who have lost data, and those who are about to. Hardware fails, laptops are stolen, files corrupt — it is a matter of when, not if. The point of this lesson is to make sure that, when it happens to you, it’s a shrug and not a tragedy.

The backup rule worth tattooing on your wrist

  • 3 copies of anything important,
  • 2 different types of storage (say, computer + cloud),
  • 1 kept off-site (so a fire or theft can’t take everything).
  • This is the famous 3-2-1 rule, and it has saved more research than any clever software.
Backups vs disaster
A laptop is stolen from a cafe. Researcher A had everything on it — gone. Researcher B followed 3-2-1: a copy on the laptop, one in the cloud, one on a drive at home. Within an hour they’re working again on a borrowed machine. The thief took a laptop, not a project. That is the whole point of backups.

Security: who should see this?

If your data involves people — interviews, health records, anything personal — you have a duty to protect it. That means access controls (not everything open to everyone), and encryption for the truly sensitive, so a lost device doesn’t become a lost confidence. Protecting participants’ data is part of protecting the participants.

Try this
Right now, count how many copies exist of your most important file, and in how many places. If the answer is “one” or “one place”, fix it today — add a cloud copy. Five minutes against a future disaster is the best deal in research.

🔗 A friendly free guide: Digital Curation Centre — How-to Guides

Safely kept data becomes far more valuable when it’s also shared. On to Data Sharing & Open Data.

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Last modified: Friday, 5 June 2026, 8:17 AM