HomeFrequently asked questions (FAQs)How will the project keep my data safe and confidential?

How will the project keep my data safe and confidential?

Who has access to my data?

All data collected during the research will be kept confidential and made anonymous over the course of the project. Only members of the research team will have access to it. Your name will not be used in any report or publication produced and it will not be possible to identify you in any of the data.

There is no risk of your data being sold to third parties. Data collected during this project will only be used for research purposes.

The research team will not report any information to the government or other authorities. For example, if you were not declaring all your income, or were providing false information to the government, we would not declare this.

How will my data be stored?

The research team will securely store data collected during the project in encrypted, password-protected files on project computers where it will be kept safe and confidential at all times.

In My Money Tracker, all your data will be encrypted and stored securely. It will be kept confidential and stored first in a pseudonymous format – meaning that any information which could be used to identify you directly or indirectly will be replaced with a false name, and then in an anonymous format. The research team will not have access to any of your account details, such as account or card numbers, they will only be able to see the amounts and the type of transactions, for example £10 spent in Tesco, or £20 received from a personal contact.

What will happen to my data at the end of the study?

In accordance with Glasgow Caledonian University’s policy on data protection, and under General Data Protection Regulation 2018 and the UK Data Protection Act 2018, your data will not be kept longer than six years after project completion. Anonymised personal data will be kept secure and protected by a password on a project computer. Anonymous research data will be deposited in the UK Data Service Repository. To find out more about how we are using your personal data for this project, please take a look at the Fair Processing Notice which includes more information on how we use your data for this research. If you have any questions about the University’s data protection policy, you can talk to Dr Olga Biosca, a member of the research team, at olga.biosca@gcu.ac.uk or send an email to dataprotection@gcu.ac.uk.

Who do I speak to if I have concerns about how my data is being used?

If you have any concerns at all about how your data is being used as part of this research, please contact Dr Olga Biosca at olga.biosca@gcu.ac.uk or the Glasgow Caledonian University data protection team at dataprotection@gcu.ac.uk.