We take your Data Security Seriously

A Confidentiality agreement is the Non-disclosure Agreement or contract that is made between ourselves. This agreement involves the consent process that seeks to protect the source of the data as well as the confidentiality of the research subject. This contract is valid for both the individual recorded research interviews and focus group discussions as the data collected might be sensitive to be shared hence confidentiality need to be guaranteed. In addition, the researcher would not wish the findings to leak out before analyzing it. Here are several areas of concern that need to be checked before signing the agreement.

Access of data

When signing the confidentiality agreement, it is vital to find out other people who have access to the data. We reccommend you identify any third parties in the picture and establish the partnership they have with us.  It is advisable to insist on the use of a password  or on the file that you provide us. Once you feel that there is limited access to the data we  are working on, you can go ahead and sign the contract.

Data disposal

The data disposal entails the storage of the complete transcription before delivering it to you and disposing it after sharing it with you. This is a vital point of discussion with us before signing the NDA. It is advisable to have a fixed time between when the work is complete and when to delete it. We will agree on the duration of time we will need to save a file awaiting for your review and when to delete it and have this time clearly stipulated in the confidentiality agreement. In addition, the mode of disposal of the transcription will need to be clear.

Transfer of data

Data transfer is a sensitive issue to discuss before signing the non-disclosure agreement. This refers to the mode of data sharing in audio form and the transcription done. There are networks that are not safe exposing your data to undesired third parties. It is advisable to insist on sharing the data through safe mediums such as the Dropbox since it has the encryption requiring verification before accessing the data. This is why we prefer to use Dropbox. Emails are not the best for sharing such sensitive information. Therefore, you should sign the confidentiality agreement when you are sure that the data you give us will be safe before, during and after e.g: the research interview transcription.