Who should I contact if I need help de-identifying my research data?

If you need help de-identifying your research data, the first point of contact should be IU’s RCdata librarians Contact information for IU Research Data Services Librarians catalog entrydirect link RC data librarians , who can provide guidance on best practices and available resources for data anonymization. They can help you understand de-identification techniques, such as removing direct identifiers, generalizing indirect identifiers, and applying statistical methods to reduce the risk of re-identification. They can also direct you to appropriate tools and software designed for de-identifying datasets, particularly in sensitive research areas like health and human subjects research.

For projects involving RCprotected health information (PHI) IU policy regarding use of protected health information in research catalog entrydirect link RC protected health information (PHI) or personally identifiable information (PII), researchers should also consult IU’s RCInstitutional Review Board (IRB) catalog entrydirect link RC Institutional Review Board (IRB) to ensure compliance with ethical and regulatory standards, such as RCHIPAA HIPAA compliance information catalog entrydirect link RC HIPAA . The IRB can help determine if additional safeguards, such as controlled access or data-use agreements, are necessary before sharing or publishing de-identified data.

If your data requires advanced de-identification techniques, consult with a statistician to assess the disclosure risk and determine whether the dataset can be de-identified effectively. Work with your IRB and IU RCData Steward Data Stewards are responsible for the governance of each subject area catalog entrydirect link RC Data Steward s to determine what data can be shared or not, and statisticians can advise on how to implement the plan. See the list below for consultation options: 

IU Bloomington: 

• RCIndiana Statistical Consulting Center Statistical consulting for IU staff, faculty & graduate students catalog entrydirect link RC Indiana Statistical Consulting Center
  • An ISCC consultant can assist you with de-identifying your data! Your ISCC consultant can 
    • Write the statistical code for de-identifying data for you 
    • Teach you how to write code to de-identify data yourself 
    • And more!
• RCBiostatistics Consulting Center Provides study design & data analysis for health-related research catalog entrydirect link RC Biostatistics Consulting Center

IU Indianapolis:

• RCBiostatistics & Health Data Science Support for grant/protocol & budget development & study design & analysis catalog entrydirect link RC Biostatistics & Health Data Science

By working with these university resources, researchers can ensure that their data is de-identified adequately while complying with institutional, legal, and ethical requirements.