Unpublished research datasets

Detects unpublished research datasets: an unpublished / pre-publication / raw research data phrase combined with populated data rows keyed by a participant or sample identifier, or study metadata (study ID, HREC reference, protocol number, data custodian). Phrase-only mentions stay discovery-only.

Type: regex
Engine: boost_regex
Confidence: medium
Confidence justification: Enforce tiers require populated data rows or study metadata beside the dataset phrase; 'intellectual property' and 'experimental results' were removed from the primary because they matched generic text. Data-management policies and news stay at 65; a header-only extract stays at 65. Medium because published supplementary data files share the structure.
Detection quality: Topic false positive
Jurisdictions: global
Regulations: Privacy Act 1988 (Cth), Information Privacy Act 2009 (Qld), NDB Scheme (Cth), GDPR
Frameworks: ISO 27001, ISO 27701
Data categories: pii
Scope: wide
Risk rating: 8
Platform compatibility: Purview: Compatible, GCP DLP: Compatible, Macie: Compatible, Zscaler: Compatible, Palo Alto: Degraded, Netskope: Unsupported

Pattern

(?i)\b(?:unpublished\s+(?:research\s+)?(?:data(?:sets?)?|results)|pre-?publication\s+data(?:sets?)?|raw\s+research\s+data|embargoed\s+data(?:sets?)?|confidential\s+(?:research\s+)?datasets?|research\s+datasets?)\b

Corroborative evidence keywords

embargo, pre-publication, data management plan, not for distribution, de-identified, re-identifiable, data sharing agreement, manuscript in preparation, under review, collaborators only

Proximity: 300 characters

Should match

Unpublished research dataset - embargoed until publication Study ID: SLEEP-QLD-02 HREC reference: 2025/HE000412 participant_id,age,sex,group,baseline_score,week12_score P00417,34,F,intervention,21,12 P00418,52,M,control,19,18 Data management plan v3; collaborators only. — Dataset with study metadata, header and participant rows (85)
Raw research data export Study ID: SLEEP-QLD-02 Files transferred to the secure research drive. — Export note with study metadata only (75)
Embargoed dataset - soil microbiome trial, de-identified extract (manuscript in preparation) sample_id | site | treatment | concentration S-104412 | Plot 3 | biochar | 0.84 S-104413 | Plot 3 | control | 0.31 S-104420 | Plot 7 | biochar | 1.12 Not for distribution outside the project team. — Pipe-delimited sample table with header and sample-ID rows plus embargo evidence, no study metadata (85)

Should not match

Policy guidance: research datasets must be stored on approved storage and unpublished data should only be shared under a data sharing agreement. Record the study ID and HREC reference in the data management plan. — Data-management guidance
Research dataset Study ID: __________ HREC reference: __________ participant_id,age,sex,group,baseline_score — Blank dataset - placeholder metadata and header only
The journal retracted the paper after the authors could not provide the raw research data, a news report said. — News item
unrelated generic text without domain phrases — Unrelated
algorithm schematic — Unrelated

Known false positives

Privacy notices, help-centre articles, product pages and policies describing research datasets. Mitigation: They name the topic without populated rows, labelled values or identifiers, and guidance/help framing is excluded, so they stay at 65.
Analytics training material and documentation with worked examples of research datasets. Mitigation: Training and template framing is excluded; unframed worked examples with realistic rows can still reach 75.
News and industry commentary with aggregate statistics. Mitigation: Aggregate percentages are not keyed to a record identifier, so they do not satisfy the row or labelled-value structures.
Published open datasets and supplementary files. Mitigation: They can reach 75/85 when they carry participant rows; apply publication status in policy.