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Secure data linkage
A great percentage of scientific research is done in cooperation with so-called third parties (a party outside your UMC). Any research in which privacy-sensitive data are exchanged or linked (i.e. health research, biomedical research, social research) requires extra safety checks and security measures.
Within the Dutch research institutes, there is a range of data linkage solutions available and the most appropriate one for your research depends on factors such as ownership of the data, available linkage items, how often a link must be realized, etc. To make sure you work in the best standard way possible a guideline and accompanying toolkit has been developed by the Dutch Special Interest Group ‘Secure data linkage” (SIG-VDK). Please report new solutions or any other comment to this SIG-VDK workgroup.
Secure Data Linkage Guideline:
- Fill in the NL Data Linkage Form
- Use preferably a standardized linking procedure for your type of data linking, when possible
- Use a technical solution that is known as a ‘best practise’
- Describe your choices (and its costs) in your Data Management Plan
- Be sure that the used procedure is discussed with your institutional privacy data steward and accepted by the scientific community
For more information, please also read ‘Data delen en koppelen’ at the ELSI helpdesk’.