A repository specifically designed to hold sensitive research data — typically personal data, health data, criminal-justice data, commercially-confidential data, or culturally-sensitive Indigenous data — with enhanced access controls, audit logging, contractual access conditions, and (often) a secure analysis environment.

ByCASRAI Editorial Board

· Last updated 21 May 2026

Examples

Worked examples

Is an instance
EGA (European Genome-phenome Archive) for consented human-subject genomic data.
Is an instance
dbGaP at NCBI for sensitive genotype-phenotype data.

Counter-examples

Looks similar, but isn't

Not an instance
An open repository like Zenodo is not a sensitive-data repository.
Not an instance
A clinical electronic health-record system is not a research-purpose sensitive-data repository.

Editorial commentary

Sensitive-data repositories implement controlled-access patterns rather than open download. Access typically requires application, ethics review, signed access agreement, and sometimes use of an on-site or remote-secure environment (a Trusted Research Environment, TRE). Major examples include the European Genome-phenome Archive (EGA), dbGaP (NCBI), and the UK Data Service Secure Lab. Sensitive-data repositories often operate under specific national legislation and accreditation regimes.

References

Lappalainen I. et al., 'The European Genome-phenome Archive of human data consented for biomedical research', Nature Genetics 47(7), 2015.

Also known as

Controlled-access repository

Machine-readable encodings

Use in your systems

JATS XML <role> element

xml

<role vocab="credit"
      vocab-identifier="https://casrai.org/dictionary/"
      vocab-term="Sensitive-data repository"
      vocab-term-identifier="https://casrai.org/dictionary/term/sensitive-data-repository" />

Schema.org DefinedTerm (JSON-LD)

json

{
  "@context": "https://schema.org",
  "@type": "DefinedTerm",
  "@id": "https://casrai.org/dictionary/term/sensitive-data-repository",
  "name": "Sensitive-data repository",
  "identifier": "https://casrai.org/dictionary/term/sensitive-data-repository",
  "description": "A repository specifically designed to hold sensitive research data — typically personal data, health data, criminal-justice data, commercially-confidential data, or culturally-sensitive Indigenous data — with enhanced access controls, audit logging, contractual access conditions, and (often) a secure analysis environment.",
  "inDefinedTermSet": "https://casrai.org/dictionary/domain/data-infrastructure#set",
  "url": "https://casrai.org/dictionary/term/sensitive-data-repository",
  "sameAs": [
    "Controlled-access repository"
  ],
  "license": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/",
  "publisher": {
    "@id": "https://casrai.org/#organization"
  },
  "dateModified": "2026-05-21T02:22:47",
  "inLanguage": "en"
}

Referenced across the research world

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