research support portal vu

Research Data Management

• Finding Existing Data
• Data Citation
• Research Proposal
• RDM Requirements
• Collaboration
• Data Security
• GDPR & Privacy
• Data Management Plan
• Policies & Regulations
• Data Collection
• Data Storage
• Data Protection
• Data Provenance
• Data Processing
• Data Analysis
• High Performance Computing
• Selecting Data
• Data Documentation
• Selecting an Archive
• Data Publication
• Dataset Registration

Storage During Research

Many storage options exist that can be used for research data. Depending on the conditions and scope of the research the choices may be broader or narrower. The choices may depend on factors like:

• Does a project involve multiple organisations or departments?
• The sensitivity of the data: does it involve personal data or copyrighted / commercial data?
• Are any commercial parties involved?
• Does the research project involve multiple locations (multinational, even)?
• Will there be (lab) devices producing data that need to be stored as well?
• What will be the volume of the data?
• Will there be lots of interactions with the data (using software/tools)?

Many solutions exist and may be used:

• Local storage on computers/networks
• Data storage by creating a shared database on a server
• Specific locations where physical data samples are stored
• A powerful (cloud-based) High Performance Computer

Researchers and PhD students have multiple options that can be used, some of which are listed below. More information about these storage options is available behind their respective links. It is also possible to ask the Research Data Services team for advice or, in case of complex projects, the relationship manager from the IT domain team for research.

Local Storage & Protection

VU IT and the department IT for Research (ITvO) offer several services for both employees and students to store the data that are being collected and used during research. Examples of local storage options are:

• Group (network) drives . Most departments of faculties at the university will already have group drives or folders available to them. A research project may require strict limitations on who has access to specific folders or drives for sensitive data. Contact IT via the selfservice portal to discuss your requirements. Note: The Home and Group drives will be phased in the course of 2022/2023 and the university will shift to using Microsoft 365 (OneDrive and Sharepoint) as default storage. A security classification for these systems is not yet available, so we cannot give advice yet about if these are good places to store (potentially) sensitive data. Research Drive or Yoda (see below ) is a better option to store sensitive data.  
• SciStor (short for ‘Storage for Scientists’): This option allows for inexpensive storage of large files. There are various levels of security possible and various ways to get access to the files. SciStor is only intended for ongoing research, not for archiving.

An overview of storage and file transfer options is available below and online as the Storage finder . This overview and/or the storage finder will help you to choose the storage option most suitable to your research. In the left column, you will find criteria about the research and the data. The matrix shows you what storage options meet these criteria. You can then choose the appropriate storage option based on your needs. Please make use of the RDM Support Desk and/or your local data stewards to get help on which tool to pick, particularly when working with confidential, sensitive and/or personal data

• Storage Matrix

Protected Cloud Storage & File sharing

• Yoda (short for Your Data) is a cloud storage at SURF and is suitable for storing large-scale and sensitive datasets. Yoda also supports collaborating on projects in and outside the VU and adding contextual information ( metadata ) about your dataset as you go. Yoda is the best choice if your research is very sensitive.
• Research Drive is a cloud storage at Surf for research projects and is suitable for collaboration in and outside the VU, for storing sensitive data and large-scale research projects. You can also encrypt data in Research Drive using several tools. You are able to request storage space in Research Drive via a web form in the selfservice portal (VU employees only). Research Drive is the best choice if you need to manage access rights on a folder level. More general information about Research Drive can be found here , and its wiki pages, including tutorials, are here .
• There are differences between Research Drive and Yoda and each one may support certain projects better than others. Use the storage finder to understand what would be the best choice for your project, and, if you have questions, get in touch with the RDM Support Desk .
• Surf Filesender : cloud service that allows you to send files of 1 Terabyte to other researchers and encrypted files of up to 250 GB.  
• Surfdrive : is a personal cloud storage service for the Dutch education and research community, offering staff, researchers and students an easy way to store, synchronise and share files in the secure and reliable SURF community cloud. All users receive storage space of up to 500 GB.  
• Zivver : All employees of Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam can use Zivver, the encryption program that allows you to send email or data (sensitive or otherwise) securely by email. Attachments will also be encrypted and can be several Terabyte in size (max = 5 TB). Specific information on how to get and use Zivver are available on the selfservice portal. General explanations on how to use it are available at the Zivver website .  
• Open Science Framework : OSF can be used to store data, but it is primarily a tool for data publication and knowledge/research dissemination. The URL in the bullet point leads to more information about how to work with OSF as a VU researcher, but if your question is not answered in the documentation, please get in touch with the RDM Support Desk.
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• Last Updated: Feb 22, 2024 1:30 PM
• URL: https://libguides.vu.nl/rdm

Research Integrity and Compliance

Accessing vumc clinical resources.

Researchers across Vanderbilt University (VU) may need access to Vanderbilt University Medical Center (VUMC) clinical systems, facilities or patients (VUMC Resources) to complete their VUMC IRB-approved or VUMC IRB-ceded research projects. To support this important work, VU has an agreement with VUMC to allow approved VU-employed researchers, VU post-doctoral appointees, and VU advanced academic degree students access to VUMC Clinical Resources.

For questions or assistance with requesting VUMC clinical resources, please email [email protected] .

Accessing VUMC Clinical Resources FAQ

Who is eligible to access vumc resources.

The VU-VUMC research access agreement covers VU-employed faculty and their associated VU-employed key study personnel research staff, VU post-doctoral appointees, and VU advanced academic degree students and postdocs. VUMC access is not permitted for VU undergraduate students or minors (under 18 years of age) including no access to VUMC protected health information (PHI) regardless of the platform storing the PHI, e.g., Electronic Health Record (EHR), REDCap or Box. VU researchers must be listed as PI, Co-I or Key Study Personnel on an active IRB-approved or IRB-ceded study that is being led by VU. If you do not meet these criteria and need access to VUMC clinical resources, see Vanderbilt University Medical Center Relations  for information on intern and observer appointments. 

How long does the approval process take?

The approval process takes approximately one month as it involves various access requirements including a background check, health screening, and required VUMC documentation.  

What information is required to complete the initial survey?

The initial survey will ask you to provide general personal information as well as details for your VUMC access sponsor, your research, and what type of resources you are requesting access for. You will also be asked for permission to release to VUMC the date of your most recent background check.

What are the requirement of the VUMC Access Sponsor

VU-employed Faculty who are named as the PI or Co-I on an active VUMC IRB approved, or VUMC IRB-ceded, project must have a “VUMC Access Sponsor,” defined as a VUMC-employed Faculty member with access to clinical systems by virtue of his/her role at VUMC who has agreed to sponsor such access. 

The VUMC Access Sponsor, in broad terms, is responsible for (i) understanding what VUMC Resources the VUMC IRB-approved, or VUMC IRB-ceded, research requires access to; (ii) understanding of the VU Research Personnel project role, PI, KSP, CO-I; and (iii) providing oversight of the VU Research Personnel access use including reviewing VU Research Personnel’s appropriate use of VUMC Resources with direction or guidance from the VUMC Privacy Office, as applicable. 

For the avoidance of doubt, the VUMC Access Sponsor is not assuming any role other than oversight of VU Research Personnel access to and use of VUMC Resources and is not replacing the research project PI as the primary individual who is in charge of and has direct responsibility for the IRB-approved, or VUMC IRB-ceded, research. 

In all cases, the VUMC Access Sponsor shall document his/her sponsorship/supervision in writing.

I don’t have a background check; how can I get one?

Background checks are dependent on your current role at VU (and in the case of students, your school). If you are in need of a background check, the REDCap survey will provide information on how to request based on a series of answers to identifying questions. 

What approvals are needed before my application can be submitted to VUMC?

Your current role and visa status will determine the necessary approvals for your application to be sent to VUMC. Graduate students require approval from their academic advisor. All non-US citizens will require approval from the Office of Employee Immigration Services or International Student & Scholar Services to ensure that accessing VUMC resources is permittable under their respective Visa conditions. 

What additional forms does VUMC require?

Along with completion of an Occupational Health Screening, VUMC requires the following forms to be completed once your VU application is transferred to the VUMC system.

• VUMC Access Sponsor Agreement
• PI Responsibility Agreement 
• Potential Hazard Assessment 
• Emergency Contact Survey
• Confidentiality Agreement
• Protentional Hazard Information Sheet
• Statement of Agreement
• Appointment Letter
• Trainings, including the Initial Trainig Curriculum for New Hiress and, if applicable, the eletronic health record system. 

My research project and access are required for longer than one year; how can I renew my application?

Before your access expires, you will receive notice from VUMC with an option to renew . If no changes have been made since your initial application, then your access can be extended for another one-year period with an updated confirmation from your VUMC sponsor and an update to your heath screening (e.g. annual TB skin test and flu vaccination). If there are changes to your research project or acceess needs, then you must update your application to reflect these changes before a renewal can be issued.

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Is CERN activating the world’s most powerful particle accelerator for the April 8 eclipse? No

Cern restarted its large hadron collider after a regular winter stop for maintenance. it is unrelated to the eclipse. .

As people around the country await the April 8 total eclipse, conspiracy theories about a Switzerland-based nuclear research facility have some social media users on edge. In their view is CERN, also known as the European Organization for Nuclear Research.

“Why is CERN being reactivated on April 8, the same day as the infamous eclipse?” asked a  March 29 Facebook post , referencing what it called the group’s plan to activate “the large hadron collider” on the day of the eclipse. “My gut instinct is that something really big is being planned for that day… perhaps a total takedown of both the grid and society in general worldwide.” In  another post  April 1, a man in a baseball cap speculated that CERN is deliberately starting back up April 8 to “open up a gateway, a portal.”

(Screenshot/Facebook)

These posts were flagged as part of Meta’s efforts to combat false news and misinformation on its News Feed. (Read more about our  partnership with Meta , which owns Facebook and Instagram.)

It is not unusual for scientists to conduct research during an eclipse, when the sun’s corona becomes visible and areas in totality go briefly dark in the moon’s shadow.  Total solar eclipses   allow researchers “to study Earth’s atmosphere under uncommon conditions.” NASA, for example, is launching three sounding rockets on the day of the eclipse to study its effects on the ionosphere (a mission that also became a  subject of   misinformation ).

But CERN’s research is different. The primary research focus of CERN — an acronym derived from the French name “Conseil Européen pour la Recherche Nucléaire” — is  particle physics , or “the study of the fundamental constituents of matter and the forces acting between them.” The organization seeks to find answers about the  universe’s fundamental structure .

CERN houses the Large Hadron Collider, the  most powerful particle accelerator in the world , which measures around 16.8 miles (27 kilometers) in circumference. The collider’s aim, as  Britannica explains , is to “understand the fundamental structure of matter by re-creating the extreme conditions that occurred in the first few moments of the universe according to the big-bang model.”

CERN spokesperson Sophie Tesauri told PolitiFact in an email that the collider’s activities have nothing to do with the April 8 eclipse.

“What we do at CERN is doing particle physics with accelerators such as the LHC, and this has little to do with astrophysics in a direct way,”  Tesauri said. “So there is no link between the solar eclipse on Monday 8th April, and what we do at CERN.”

CERN has an  accelerator complex  composed of machines with “increasingly higher energies.” A beam of particles is injected by one machine to the next one, bringing the beam to a higher energy — and the Large Hadron Collider is the last element in this complex.

“Hadrons” are a group of particles that include protons and ions. In the Large Hadron Collider,  two beams  travel in opposite directions at nearly light speed and are made to collide. In 2012, Large Hadron Collider experiments led to the discovery of the  Higgs boson particle , a particle named for British physicist Peter Higgs, who in the 1960s postulated about the existence of a particle that interacted with other particles at the beginning of time to provide them with their mass.

Tesauri told PolitiFact that the accelerator complex is restarted every year after a brief winter technical stop, when beam production ceases so that the accelerators can undergo maintenance. Restarting an accelerator like the Large Hadron Collider “requires a full commissioning process in order to check that all equipment works properly.”

“Now that all the checks have been performed, the LHC is ready to provide particle collisions to the LHC experiments, and first collisions for this year should actually happen today 5th April,” Tesauri said in her email. “This will mark the beginning of the physics run for 2024.”

The beams were initially expected to enter collision April 8, according to a  March 14 report . It said, “Depending on how work progresses, this milestone may shift forwards or backwards by a few days.”

On April 5, CERN  announced  that the Large Hadron Collider achieved its first stable beams in 2024, “marking the official start of the 2024 physics data-taking season.” The statement said that from March 8 to April 5, the Large Hadron Collider was set up to handle the beam and tested for any issues.

“Although the solar eclipse on 8 April will not affect the beams in the LHC, the gravitational pull of the moon, like the tides, changes the shape of the LHC because the machine is so big,” CERN’s announcement said. This phenomenon is not unique to an eclipse; a  2012 news release  discussed distortions in the machine brought about by a full moon.

According to CERN’s frequently asked questions page, the Large Hadron Collider is  expected to run over 20 years , “with several stops scheduled for upgrades and maintenance work.”

Conspiracy theories surrounding CERN’s work have been circulating for  years . In a statement to  Verify  fact-checkers, CERN said that its research “captures the imagination of lots of people, which is why CERN has been featured in a lot of science fiction books / even movies, around the world.” CERN said works inspired by its research are fictional and “should not be confused with the actual scientific research.”

False claims about the group’s work are so common that the organization addresses some common theories on its  FAQ page : No, it won’t “open a door to another dimension,” and no, it won’t “generate black holes in the cosmological sense.”

We rate the claim that CERN is activating its Large Hadron Collider in connection with the April 8 solar eclipse False.

More from Poynter:

• MAN ON MOON: Reflections on how mankind and the media came together on the surface of the moon 50 years ago
• Gannett journalists in the solar eclipse’s path go on strike
• What if newsrooms treated every day like eclipse day?

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