Selection and preservation

Question: Which data are of long-term value and should be retained, shared, and/or preserved?

Considerations:

What research data must be retained or destroyed for contractual, legal, or regulatory purposes? Which research data you choose to keep and the reasoning behind this? Possible future uses for your research data

Example answer: 

Much of the data has long-term value due to the breadth of topics it could be used for beyond the scope of the planned research study. Some possible future uses include a full research study comparing the themes of our research data with themes obtained from similar research data within our field.

However, not all data can be retained: some of ethical reasons, some for contractual reasons.

We cannot retain the interview and focus group video and audio recordings due to ethical considerations. Even the voices of our participants alone are identifiable, and due to the sensitive nature of the conversations involved in this research study, we do not intend to keep this data beyond its need for transcription. The data will be destroyed within 24 hours of the completion of associated transcription work. 

We cannot retain experimental observations due to the conditions of the research contract with our funder. 

We will retain and share all text files (interview questions file, interview transcripts file, and interviewer protocol sheet) and spreadsheets (participant mapping file and statistical analysis file). These will be made openly available via University of Salford's research data repository Figshare. 

Due to the research contract with our funder, we are required to restrict access to the research data for 1 year after completion of the funder research report. This data has commercial value for the funder, and releasing the data too early risks exploitation by their competitors and posing a threat to their business.   

To minimise these data sharing restrictions, research data will be prepared in advance of this deadline by uploading the data and providing all associated metadata on Figshare within 11 months of the completion of the funder research report. Then, this data will be scheduled within Figshare for upload exactly 12 months on the successful completion and send date of the report to the funder. 

This data must be made available with a CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 license due to the research contract with our funder. This means that any users is free to copy and redistribute the material in any medium or format. However, under the following terms, users must:

• give appropriate credit to licensor.
• NOT use the dataset for commercial purposes. 
• NOT distribute modified material involving this dataset.

Question: What data repository will you choose for storing your research data after the research project has concluded?

Considerations:

• Which research data repository have you chosen?  (and the reasoning behind this)
• What is the estimated overall volume of research data selected for storage and preservation within this data repository?
• Are there any costs associated with storing your research data in your chosen repository?
• What is the length of research data retention and preservation within a research data repository?

Example answer: 

After consideration of research data repositories, the research team have chosen to store all selected research data on University of Salford's research data repository Figshare. This is a widely available repository for University of Salford researchers. It connects our datasets with other projects conducted by the researchers as individuals, their research teams, and wider colleagues within our institution.

Within the estimated volume of our selected research dataset (9.98 MB), Figshare is appropriate as it comes at no addition cost for the research team. 

This research data will be retained for a minimum of ten years after the end of the research project.