1 Purpose

This page provides a user access to resources to learn about Databrary or get user support.

2 Routes

2.1 API

  • databrary.org/support
  • nyu.databrary.org/support

2.3 To

Header links:

Direct links:

3 Actions

4 Information for Institution Authorized Organizational Representatives

Researchers seeking authorization to access Databrary must have their Databrary Access Agreement approved and signed by an authorized organizational representative, or AOR, of their institution. Once an institution has signed the agreement, the individual becomes an authorized investigator.

4.1 What is an Authorized Organizational Representative?

  • put link to Glossary definition here

4.2 What type(s) of Institutions may participate in Databrary?

4.3 Overview of the Databrary Access Agreement

The Databrary Access Agreement grants user and contributor privileges to all shared data in Databrary. Once the agreement is finalized, authorized investigator can access identifiable data that is shared. Below is a summary, but all details are located in documents located in the Templates and Policies sections

Approval for research involving human subjects is not required by Databrary in order to become an authorized investigator.

Institutions should remember that authorized investigators agree to seek whatever approvals are required by their institution for their use of Databrary. Typically, contributing data and conducting research using Databrary resources require institutional approval for research involving human subjects. However, many uses of Databrary are for pre-research or non-research purposes (e.g. browsing data for ideas, getting video clips for teaching or talks, learning about procedures or methods) and do not typically require institutional approval for research involving human subjects.

When Authorizing Investigators The institution confirms the eligibility of its investigators by:

Verifying that authorized investigators are eligible to conduct independent research at the institution. Validating that authorized investigators have research ethics training that meets the institution’s standards. The institution:

Maintains an ethics or institutional review board that reviews and approves research involving human subjects. Grants authorized investigators the responsibility to choose and manage affiliates who meet Databrary’s qualifications and who agree to follow Databrary’s ethical principles. The institution holds authorized investigators responsible for the conduct of affiliates they select. Accepts responsibility for its authorized investigator(s) actions related to the use of Databrary. Data Contribution and Use The institution:

Asserts that it has the rights to share with Databrary any data the authorized investigator contributes; no other entity or individual has ownership rights that prevent the authorized investigator from contributing data to Databrary. Agrees to allow use of the data exclusively for the purpose of scientific research or education under the auspices of an academic, research, government, health, or commercial entity (but in the last case, solely for non-commercial purposes unless allowed under the terms of a separate agreement). Agrees not to sell or trade data or use it for other commercial purposes. Grants each authorized investigator authority to decide when and with whom the authorized investigator wishes to share data, and the institution holds the authorized investigator responsible for the use of shared data. Agrees to follow all relevant national, state, and local laws and regulations that pertain to the use of research data. Confidentiality and Ethics The institution agrees to inform Databrary of any suspected violation of confidentiality or ethics. If Databrary determines that an authorized investigator at the institution has violated the terms of the Databrary Access Agreement or other Databrary policies, Databrary may remove the data in question and/or deny the authorized investigator or the institution access to Databrary, temporarily or permanently.

Any violation may be reported to the official at the institution charged with handling violations of research ethics. The Institution may request information from Databrary about the authorized investigator’s use or their Affiliate’s use of the library.

If denied access to Databrary, authorized investigators or the institution may request a review.

Each party shall be responsible for its negligent acts or omissions and the negligent acts or omissions of its employees, officers, or director’s, to the extent allowed by law.

4.3.1 Templates

  • Databrary Access Agreement

  • Statement of Rights and Responsibilities - Annex I

  • Additional Authorized Investigators - Annex II

  • Databrary Access Guide - Annex III

4.3.2 Policies

  • Terms of Use

  • Privacy Policy

  • Data Security

Data and metadata stored in Databrary are subject to the security policies and best practices implemented by NYU. For more information about these policies and services, please visit NYU ITS Computer & Network Security at http://www.nyu.edu/its/security/.

5 Information for IRB

5.1 Rules for Ethics oversight vs. approval

The Databrary Access Agreement is different from a traditional Data Use Agreement because there is no obligation for authorized investigators to use or to contribute data. Once our researchers are planning to share data from lab or repurpose shared data in a systematic way, they would seek proper IRB approval for those activities.

Here are our guidelines regarding ethics board involvement:

Ethics board oversight is required to join Databrary. In other words, your institution must have an IRB or human subjects research ethics board (REB).

Ethics board approval is NOT required:

  • for access to Databrary. In other words, just to browse.

  • to contribute data to Databrary that does not contain personally identifying information (PII). In other words, procedural videos, stims, coding files, analysis, computer codes, etc.

Ethics board approval IS required:

  • to re-use data from Databrary. In other words, to conduct secondary data analyses.

  • to contribute data to Databrary that contains personally identifying information (PII). In other words, videos containing participant faces, names, dates of birth, etc.

5.2 Working with your IRB

Some researchers view IRB concerns as an impediment to data sharing, even those researchers who understand the many benefits of sharing. Given the checkered history of psychological science with regard to respecting the rights of human participants, it is not surprising that not sharing data has been a generally acceptable practice. However, IRB concerns and recommendations around data sharing vary depending on the specific type of data being shared. Moreover, best practices for seeking informed consent are widely available, thereby properly protecting participants.

5.2.1 Types of Data Sharing

Different types and levels of data sharing are associated with different ethical concerns. It is useful to distinguish among different use cases, and the types of concerns raised around data sharing in developmental science.

5.2.2 Data reuse

Using data shared by others (“secondary use”) usually involves low risk to participants because the new study does not involve contact with the participants. However, the level of risk depends on the nature of the data, whether the data are identifiable or otherwise sensitive, and the sort of permission that participants initially granted for sharing. Reuse of existing shared data is common practice, so most IRBs have established procedures for determining the level of risk posed by a particular project involving secondary use. For example, many IRBs deem exempt from review projects that involve the secondary use of non-sensitive, de-identified data.

5.2.3 Video data and other data that might contain identifiers.

What’s new, less common, and a potential source of concern to IRBs is the push by investigators under their supervision for more widespread sharing of certain types of data. This push means that PIs and their IRBs must evaluate the risks of sharing data within each particular study. Doing so requires determining what data can be shared, with whom and how, and with what level of risk. The risk of identification raises special concern. Fortunately, practices about what personal identifiers should be eliminated from data files are well established (even in brain imaging), so in many cases, de-identifying data files is uncomplicated. In cases where researchers seek to share sensitive or identifiable data (such as unaltered video or audio recordings that might contain participants’ faces, voices, or audible names), establishing guidelines on restriction of access is essential. Sharing these sorts of data increases risks to participants, and therefore explicit permission to share must be sought, with participants being fully informed of the meaning of “shared data” and who will have access.

5.2.4 Who gets access and where?

Choices about how PIs should share data and who should have access are complicated. PIs or IRBs may be under the mistaken impression that shared data should (or must) be publicly available to meet open science standards, or journal or funder mandates. In fact, some of the most successful examples of data sharing in developmental research involve restricted access, where data are stored in recognized data repositories that limit access to approved researchers. Public access may be appropriate for some datasets, but it should not be the standard to which all studies must be held.

5.3 Solutions

It is critical to seek explicit permission from participants to share data and to be transparent about the uses of those data. This honors participants’ autonomy by ensuring they (and/or their caregivers) fully understand the risks of sharing the data they contribute – as well as the potential benefits to science and the community at large that they are granting by sharing.

5.3.1 Capitalize on existing resources.

Developmental science has a long history of data sharing, and researchers can learn best practices from existing resources. In developing institution- or project-specific language for consents and data sharing permissions, PIs and IRBs can draw on the collective experience of experts and data repositories that have experience sharing data from vulnerable populations, such as children. Sources that provide valuable guidance about how to seek informed consent and data sharing permission, including template language, include:

Several of these organizations are collaborating on developing template language and data sharing procedures that will make these provisions even more consistent in the future.

Be ready with answers to IRB questions about data reuse. The IRB review plays a vital role in ensuring that standard consent, data management, and data sharing practices used for primary data collection enable future secondary uses while minimizing the risks to the original participants. Anticipating the questions that will be raised by IRBs and knowing how best to respond will enhance the likelihood of your IRB granting permission for data sharing. For example, in reviewing data sharing plans, IRBs may raise several practical questions that require an explicit response. For example:

Q. Must minors be re-consented when they reach the age of majority?

A. Federal officials say not if re-consenting is impractical or otherwise increases risks to participants (e.g., by requiring researchers to maintain links between identifiable information and collected data for extended time periods).

Q. Must data be destroyed after a particular time period?

A. Not if they are stored indefinitely in a recognized repository (as should become standard practice); data destruction is not mandated under federal regulations.

Request participant consent for sharing after their participation is complete. Because IRBs are concerned with participants being fully aware of what they are sharing, it is best practice to request participants’ consent to share after they have participated in a study, and therefore know exactly what data were gathered. Most developmental research is innocuous, and most parents are willing to share their children’s data – including video recordings – after they see that the project was fun and their children enjoyed participating. Most parents of children with disabilities are willing to share their children’s data because they hope to speed progress in research.

We have drafted [template language to assist you in completing your IRB applications here].

6 Information for Authorized Investigators

6.1 How do I add a supervised user to all of my group/lab data?

6.2 How do I add a supervised user to all shared Databrary data?

6.3 How do I add a user to a specific project

6.4 What happens if I leave my institution and no longer have Authorized Investigator Status?

6.5 What if I my institution requires me to submit an IRB just to access?

Here is some language that should help you.

6.5.2 Access to Identifiers

I will have access to elements of dates (except for year) for dates directly related to an individual, including birth date, Biometric identifiers, including finger and voice prints, and Full face photographic images and any comparable images.

6.5.3 Purpose of accessing Databrary

The purpose of this application is to access the Databrary (https://www.databrary.org/about/about-databrary.html), which is a digital data library specialized for storing, managing, preserving, analyzing, and sharing video. I would like to have access to its contents in order to browse the data and potentially develop a research idea to submit for IRB approval in a separate application.

6.6 When do I need to submit to the IRB to use secondary data from Databrary?

You will need to submit to the IRB for secondary data use when you move from the preparatory to research to the research phase.

When you move from exploring the feasibility of a coding scheme to deciding to apply it systematically to a set of videos, that is when you would need to submit to the IRB. You must still protect the data during pre-research or research planning as you normally would for these sorts of data as outlined in the Databrary Access Agreement.

Keep in mind the following:

Is it Research?

Research is a “systematic investigation, including research development, testing and evaluation, designed to develop or contribute to generalizable knowledge” (45 CFR 46.102(l)).

Is it a Human Subject?

A human subject is “a living individual about whom an investigator (whether professional or student) conducting research:

  1. obtains information or biospecimens through intervention or interaction with the individual, and uses, studies, or analyzes the information or biospecimens; or (ii) obtains, uses, studies, analyzes, or generates identifiable private information or identifiable biospecimens” (45 CFR 46.102(e)).

When you can answer YES to these two questions you need to submit to your IRB. If you are not sure, contact your IRB and they can help you.

7 for Supervised Users

A Supervised Users is a person who conducts research under an Authorized Investigators sponsorship and supervision and who has been granted access to Databrary by the Authorized Investigator. In most cases, Supervised Users are students or research staff and are not eligible for Authorized Investigator status. (in the proposed Annex III)

The access privileges of Supervised Users are under the control of one or more Authorized Investigators.

7.1 How do I request access from my Supervising Professor?

Add Step by Step Instructions

7.2 I want to access a specific dataset on Databrary, How do I do this?

You must be sponsored by an Authorized Invstigator and they need to grant you access to ALL Shared Databrary Data.

7.3 What are my rights and responsibilities?

As a Supervised User, you must abide by the same rights and responsibilities as Authorized Investigators.

Supervised Users are not able to share their own data.

Supervised Users may not authorize other Supervised Users on their own behalf to access Databrary.

8 for Participants Choosing to Share Data

8.1 Participant Bill of Rights

As a person who shares information with Databrary, you have the right to:

  • Be free of pressure from anyone else when deciding if you wish to share information
  • Make up your mind about sharing information without being rushed
  • Have the decision to share information with Databrary be separate from the decision to participate in research
  • Be told what information is being shared with Databrary
  • Be told if there will be no direct benefit to you
  • Ask questions about Databrary at any time before, during or after you participate in a study or agree to share information
  • Refuse to share data without penalty
  • Ask to have your data removed from sharing on Databrary, without any penalty
  • Receive a copy of your Databrary release form for you to keep
  • Be assured that your identity will be kept in confidence by Databrary and its authorized researchers. If I have any questions or concerns I can contact Databrary staff by email at . I can also ask the staff from the study I participated in for help.

9 How to

9.1 Get Authorized

  • get authorized as an Authorized Investigator

  • have a supervised user create an account and request access from their Sponsoring Authorized Investigator

  • can an Authorized Investigator add Supervised Users

9.2 Create/Edit Projects

  • create a new project
  • update the citation of my project
  • add cited authors vs. non cited researchers
  • upload participant data
  • What file types can be uploaded? (https://nyu.databrary.org/asset/formats)

9.3 Document permission from participants

9.3.1 Consenting to participate is separate from releasing data for sharing

Researchers should not worry that participants will decide not to enter a study because they are being asked to share their information. Consenting to participate in a study is an entirely separate decision for participants from giving permission to share their data. They can agree to participate in the study and choose to not release their data for sharing.

Because of this, we recommend that researchers introduce the Databrary Release after the recording–such as at the end of a session, visit, or longitudinal study. By asking participants about sharing with Databrary after the recording is finished, participants will know what was done during the session and have a clearer understanding of what they would be agreeing to share. Even this is entirely adaptable, as there may be other reasons that asking at the end is undesirable or infeasible.

The following considerations may apply when deciding when to introduce the Release:

  • If the researcher would like to give participants the option to select which part or parts of the session to share, the form could be given at the end of each section. Alternatively, the form could be adapted to allow participants to answer about each section separately at the end of the entire session.
  • If there are activities or data of a sensitive nature in some portion of the session, the researcher may choose not to share that portion of the sessions. In this case, researchers may prefer to adapt the form to indicate that the sensitive portion will not be shared.
  • The data contributor can always choose not to share certain parts of the video even if the participant agreed to share them.
  • There may be some cases where it is simpler or necessary to offer the Databrary Release at the beginning of the study, such as in in classroom recordings or other group settings.

Databrary does not require contributors to have used the Databrary Release, or that researchers ask about sharing at the end.

9.3.2 Correlating with release levels

The template is designed to help researchers standardize the language used and know exactly which release level to tag each session with based on their participants’ decisions.

No matter what form or language is used to obtain releases for Databrary sharing, contributors must determine which release level each participant agreed to and tag each session (or portion of a session) with the correct level of sharing.

9.3.3 Samples and Examples

Sample participant release script (upload) Example videos of the release process (upload)

10 FAQ reorganize?

  • what if an authorized investigator is leaving their institution for another institution but should still retain authorized investigator status?
  • level of access for sessions vs. level of access for each specific file if they set a sessions folder to a specific level of access, they don’t need to do it again for each of the files they upload to that session

11 Templates (upload the updated templates in .doc and .pdf)

  • IRB Application - Databrary Use
  • Data Management Plan
  • Lab Staff Access Agreement
  • Video Data Release, Lab Staff
  • Sharing Release, Video Data Release, Participants

12 Glossary

  • All glossary items from New Glossary and Current Glossary have been merged in this document

  • Questions:

    • Should volume be changed to project in reference to all DB 2.0 language?
    • Are we getting rid of the term Collaborator?
    • Do we need to explain that DB users added to a specific project by an authorized investigator that do not have a sponsor will be automatically added to the Supervised User list of that authorized investigator?

12.1 Entities (people or organizations)

12.1.1 Supervised User (DB1.0 name = Affiliate)

A person who conducts research under an Authorized Investigators sponsorship and supervision and who has been granted access to Databrary by the Authorized Investigator. In most cases, Supervised Users are students or research staff and are not eligible for Authorized Investigator status. (in the proposed Annex III)

The access privileges of Supervised Users are under the control of one or more Authorized Investigators.

12.1.2 Authorized investigator

An individual who has permission from an institution to conduct independent research, who has received authorization through their institution and from Databrary to view, download, and contribute Data.

An employee of an institution who has the background and training in scientific and administrative oversight necessary to conduct and manage research. Institutions determine who may be eligible to conduct independent research, but this typically includes tenure-track faculty (Instructor through Professor, sometimes Emeritus), research or clinical faculty, and may include archivists, curators, and librarians. Research Associates, Research Assistants, and other staff are not considered to be independent investigators, and therefore are not typically granted permission to conduct independent research.

12.1.4 Investigators

In a Volume, people who have read/write/share privileges. Investigators need not be Authorized Investigators; they can be Affiliates.

12.1.5 Collaborator(s)

On DB1.0 a volume lists users who are not the volume’s owners under a Collaborators section. Functionally, Collaborators are granted access to a volume by a Volume Owner.

12.1.6 Authorized Organizational Representative (AOR)

A person granted authority by an Institution to sign the Databrary Access Agreement on behalf of the Institution and thereby bind the Institution to the terms of the Databary Access Agreement. (in the proposed Annex III)

12.3 Data

12.3.1 De-identified data

Collections of information from which all identifiers have been removed or altered in such a way as to prevent the identification of individual persons.

12.3.2 Excerpts

A still frame or a selection from a larger recording that illustrates a particular point or demonstrates a finding. Typically no more than a few seconds or minutes in length, substantially less than the full length of a recording.

Investigators or affiliates may select segments of a recording as an excerpt for informational or educational purposes if the depicted individuals have granted appropriate release level for using selected excerpts.

12.3.3 Identifiable data

Collections of information that might be used singly or in combination to determine the identity of research participants or other individuals depicted in recordings or data.

12.3.4 Non-identifiable data

Collections of information that do not contain identifiable data.

12.3.5 Highlights

Assets or parts of an asset (video clip) highlighted by the investigator to feature on the volume page.

12.3.6 Recordings

Video or audio recordings or still (photographic) images.

12.3.7 Materials

Files related to the volume such as stimuli.

12.4 Project (DB1.0 = Volume)

A collection of related data and materials.

12.4.1 Sessions

A session is a unit within a volume which consists of a set of videos and records. A session most often represents a single visit by a participant or set of particapants interacting together in a study.

12.4.2 Spreadsheet

A collection of sessions and materials folders that contain data files like videos, coding spreadsheets, and documents.

Collections of one or more files (assets) are organized into slots, and the slots have system-wide unique integer IDs.

In addition, the spreadsheet can contain information about the participants, the tasks, the settings, or other user-defined information about data collected. Information about the participants, tasks, settings are organized into arrays called measures.

The UI represents session and materials information as a spreadsheet, and enables the user to download the participant-, task-, and setting data in a tidy, rectangular CSV that can be easily imported into a spreadsheet application.

12.4.3 Measure

12.4.4 Asset

A file (image, audio or video recording, or document) that is associated with a session or materials folder (in a slot). Assets have system-wide unique integer IDs.

12.4.5 Segment

A sample of time that marks a portion of an audio or video recording. The entire recording may be selected or a portion defined by separate start and end times (in milliseconds) measured from the start of the session.

12.4.6 Keywords

Investigator contributed terms or keywords that can be attached to a volume, a session, or a record or video within a session. Only owners of a volume can add Keywords to that volume. For example, these might be the keywords that were also used for a published article related to the volume.

12.4.7 Tags

Community contributed terms or keywords that can be attached to a volume, a session, or a record or video within a session. Tags help users to find content of interest.

12.5 Release Levels

12.5.1 Unknown

Consent missing or not obtained. This content is not shared and is restricted to collaborators.

12.5.2 Private

This content is not shared and is restricted to collaborators.

12.5.3 Authorized Users

This content is restricted to authorized Databrary users and may not be redistributed in any form.

12.5.4 Learning Audiences

This content is restricted to authorized Databrary users, who may use clips or images from it in presentations for informational or educational purposes. Such presentations may be videotaped or recorded and those videos or recordings may then be made available to the public via the internet (e.g., YouTube).

12.5.5 Public

This content is available openly to anyone.

12.6 Volume-level access

Entire Volume Shared
Volume Overview Shared
Private Volume

12.7 Access levels granted to an Authorized Investigator’s Volumes

No Access
Read-only Access
Read-Write Access

12.8 Current affiliates and requests (access privileges)

These terms describe how DB1.0 describes the granting of access to i) Databrary and ii) the sponsor’s own data.

12.8.1 Grant access to OTHER RESEARCHERS’ data shared on Databrary

12.8.1.1 No access:

Cannot access shared Databrary data (except as granted through group/lab access)

12.8.1.2 Affiliate:

Can access all shared Databrary data

12.8.2 Grant access to ALL of my own data (including private volumes)

12.8.2.1 No access:

Cannot access my data (except as granted through Databrary authorization)

12.8.2.2 Read-only access:

Full view access to all my group data

12.8.2.3 Read/write access:

Can access and edit (including delete privileges) all my group data

12.8.2.4 Manager:

Can create volumes and change volume access on all my group data

13 Data Security and Best Practices

Databrary requires all Databrary Authorized Investigators and Supervised Users to embrace best practices for data security.

13.1 Protect Confidentiality

Databrary contains identifying information, thus special care must be taken.

  • Participants should be identified by a code that does not include names, initials, birthdates, phone or ID numbers, etc.
  • Identifying information should be removed from text/flat files before it is shared with Databrary. -If you collect sensitive information on paper, lock the paper records in file cabinets and ensure that the file cabinets are located in locked rooms that are not readily accessible to unauthorized people.

13.2 Password Generation

  • Use a unique password or passphrase for Databrary.
  • Do not share your password with others.
  • Choose a password that has capital and lower case letters, special characters and numbers and is long, greater than 10-12 characters.
  • Do not write your password down.
  • Do not store your password in an unencrypted file on your computer.
  • Change your password at least every 6 months.

13.3 Computers Used to Access and Download Databrary files

  • Computers should have individual-level, password-protected user accounts.
  • Computer account IDs or passwords should not be shared.
  • Computer account passwords should differ from those used for Databrary (see above).
  • Laptops may be stolen or lost, so it may be wise to enable system-wide file encryption.
  • Set your computer to activate a password protected screen saver after 3 minutes of inactivity.
  • Disable automatic log-in.
  • Set your computer to automatically logout after 5 minutes of inactivity.
  • Databrary logs the Internet Protocol (IP) addresses of computers that access the system, so you may wish to choose a specific computer or computers to use to access Databrary.

13.4 Data File Storage and Backup

  • If flat-file data are stored on laboratory computers, those computers should be regularly (daily or weekly) backed up to a secure location offsite.
  • More than one backup copy should exist. All backups should be secure.
  • Since Databrary stores high resolution copies of recordings that can be downloaded at any time, recordings taken from Databrary need not be backed up. Indeed, creating multiple backups of recordings from Databrary increases the risk that sensitive information may be released inadvertently.

13.5 Physical features of laboratory or office

  • Laboratories or offices that house computers where data are stored should be locked whenever the rooms are unoccupied.
  • Laboratories or offices that house computers where data are stored should not be readily accessible to unauthorized people who are not supervised by a researcher.
  • Be aware of whether the layout of your laboratory or office inadvertently allows other individuals to see your computer screen or reflections from your computer screen through doors or windows.

14 Data Sharing Manifesto

  • Databrary’s primary purpose is to foster open data-sharing among a community of researchers in developmental science in particular, and in psychological and neural science more generally.
  • Open data-sharing is entirely voluntary. Investigators choose whether to share, when to share, and what to share. Databrary hopes that most Investigators will choose to share, will share early on in the research process, and will share most or all of the information they have permission to share. But, there is no requirement to do so.
  • Some models for when to share are as follows:
    • At the end of the formal grant period of a federally funded project.
    • Within one year of the date an article is accepted for publication or appears (online or in print).
    • When an article is accepted for publication.
    • At the time of submission of an article for peer review.
  • The more investigators who share and the more information they share, the more the community of researchers will benefit, the more scientists will discover, and the more the public will benefit.
  • Investigators who use information shared by others should follow ethical principles.
    • They should cite resources contributed by other Investigators. Citation is an important currency of scholarly activity.
    • They should contribute data and analyses of their own to Databrary in a timely way. Not everyone has the resources to collect highly valuable data sets. But, secondary analyses of data sets should be shared and linked to their original sources.
    • Investigators who use datasets contributed by others should consider contacting the data contributor when embarking on a new analysis of a contributed data set. It may also be appropriate to invite the data contributor to collaborate.
  • Databrary encourages data from unpublished studies to be shared. In fact, Databrary provides an excellent home for them.

15 Contact Databrary

Our Physical Address

Databrary
4 Washington Place, Room 409
New York, NY 10003
212.998.5800

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