Preserving your research data

At the end of your research project, you will need to decide which data you retain for long-term preservation and which data you dispose of. Data that are retained are not necessarily openly available but can have legal or contractual requirements to ensure they are maintained over time so that they can still be found, understood, and accessed in the future.

It may seem like good practice to keep everything you create at the end of your research project, but digital storage space is not limitless. There are real financial costs and environmental impacts to keeping large amounts of data. And practically, it can be difficult to find important files among the clutter.

It is also worth remembering that if you have something on file, it can be subject to a Freedom of Information (FOI) request or Subject Access Request (SAR).

Which data do I keep?

The decision on which data to retain will depend on your research project. Remember, it's not necessary to preserve all your data and related records. In some cases, it may be more suitable to preserve select parts of a larger data set.  

Considerations include:

  • Are the data unique? Is it difficult or expensive to reproduce them?
  • Do data validate research findings or publications?
  • Are there funder requirements to preserve the data?
  • Do you own the Intellectual Property Rights?
  • Are there any other legal or contractual requirements outlined in e.g. a data sharing agreement?
  • Have you obtained informed consent to retain the data?
  • Are there any costs, financial or environmental, to store the data? 
  • Do you need to retain records documenting the conduct of research such as consent forms, ethical approval, protocols, contracts, etc.?
How long do I keep the data?

The retention period for your data will be dependent on any funder requirements.

Where no funder requirements or other agreement is in place, see the University of Liverpool’s Records Retention Schedule.

What do I need to do?

See also the Preserve Research Data Checklist for more guidance.

1. Delete files you do not need to retain. This will ensure only the relevant information and data remain. See the Information & Records Management Guidance Index on managing and disposing of specific information types.

2. If any data can be made openly available, consider sharing them through a data repository.

3. Data that cannot be made openly available but still need to be retained will need to be stored in an appropriate service.

  • Make sure files are organised and in recommended formats for long-term preservation and accessibility. Use appropriate file naming and version control, and provide clear documentation and metadata necessary to understanding the data.
  • Fill out the Archival_Storage_README_file.docx and upload it to the folder alongside the data. Be aware that archived files should not be changed. This can be done by removing permissions or making the folder READ ONLY.

 

Be aware!

Researchers are responsible for reviewing and deleting the data at the end of the retention period.

If you leave the institution, you will need to designate your administrator role and responsibilities to another. This can be your PI, Head of Department, supervisor, or other.

Be aware your M:Drive and OneDrive accounts will be deleted in line with university procedure after you have left the institution. Any data that needs to be retained should be moved to a designated administrator’s storage area or e.g. a departmental drive. If data are on the Active Data Store (ADS), they may remain here.