Archiving of research information
Research information forms an important part of Stockholm university’s ongoing work and its history. By archiving research information including data, results and other records we can preserve it and make it available to current and future generations.
What information should be archived?
The general rule is that information and records should be preserved and archived.
However, there are exceptions; documents and records which are not public records should not be preserved and some public records should only be retained for a specific period before being destroyed.
This guidance will use the terms ‘culling’/’weeding’ (rensa) and ‘delete’/’destroy’ (gallra) to mean delete/destroy records. The different terms refer to the type of information or record that is being destroyed; documents and records which are not public records can be culled or weeded out, but public records can only be destroyed or deleted if it is supported in regulations and there is a disposal decision (gallringsbeslut).
The Swedish National Archives (Riksarkivet) is the authority that produces general regulations and general advice to be applied by all government agencies that hold public records. For some regulations, the authorities must also make a formal decision on how the regulation is to be applied to their own authority.
The Archives Act (Arkivlag 1990:782) (only available in Swedish)
The records retention schedule
The records retention schedule (dokumenthanteringsplanen) is a schedule of public record types, and information about how they must be managed. The schedule states whether the record must be registered in the Registry of Public Records (diariet), whether it must be preserved and archived or whether it can be deleted/destroyed. If the latter, it states what retention period (gallringsfrist) applies i.e. how long the record needs to be saved for before being eligible for destruction. It is based on the Swedish National Archives' regulations and Stockholm University's decisions regarding interpretation of regulation (tillämpningsbeslut).
The records retention schedule is divided into six main business processes. Information about research records can generally be found in business process 5, but other processes may also be relevant especially for large projects with many different activities. Process 5 pertaining to research information is available in English, the other processes are only available in Swedish.
Records retention schedule - 5. Conduct Research (excel-fil)
Excel, 33.7 kB.
Information planning and proactive archiving
Archiving is something that is usually done at the end of a project, but by planning an information strategy for preservation at the start of the project and managing your records continuously, you can save a lot of valuable time in the end.
Remember:
- Records created digitally must also be preserved digitally.
- Cull/weed records and delete/destroy records that are of temporary importance continuously.
- Research data which contains personal data or sensitive personal data should still be preserved.
- If a public record is to be preserved, hand it over to the registrar or other designated person in your department.
If you have questions about what records should be preserved or can be deleted, speak to your department’s archivist/records manager/registrar or the Central Archives Office.
Prepare records for archiving
At the end of the project, collect the records that need to be preserved or that have a long retention period.
Cull/weed the remaining documents and delete the records that are of temporary importance. If you have records registered in the Registry of Public Records, you do not need to preserve them in any other way. However, you should document their Registry ID (diarienummer) in your project documentation.
For ongoing research projects, one option is to use Stockholm University’s recommended storage solution for research data, currently Sunet Drive/NextCloud. When your research project is finished, your research data must be kept for a minimum of 10 years in a secure location. Your Head of Department will have information about what storage solutions are available in your department. If your research data is pseudonomised, you need to ensure that they code key is stored in a separate secure location.
As research data should be reusable, any information that helps to provide a good understanding of what happened and why during the research project and how the research data should be interpreted is important to preserve.
Archiving your research project records
When your research project is completed and you are ready to archive your material, contact your departmental archivist/records manager (arkivvårdare).
Exceptions to archiving data as a researcher
Formally publishing research data and results means the material is provided with metadata that helps make the publication more FAIR, which simplifies preservation and archiving. Below are examples of contexts where you as a researcher do not need to archive material yourself:
- Research data published in Stockholm University’s repositories reviewed by the research data team. (NB. If you have only published metadata, you may still need to archive the actual data files and then you need to do it manually.)
- Publications published in full text in DiVA.
- Data management plans drawn up in DMPonline.
- Records that have been registered in the Registry of Public Records
In other cases, it is the responsibility of the researcher to follow the university's regulations and archive what is to be archived.
Can data from a research project be disclosed?
Yes, research data are normally public records. They can be requested by the public, if held at Stockholm University whether at the department or the central archive.
Research data should be:
- stored securely at the department with the same protection whether it is used actively or not,
- organised and documented so if requested a confidentiality check can be carried out by the researcher or a colleague.
There is a presumption that records should be disclosed, unless there is an exemption in the Public Access and Secrecy Act (Offentlighets- och sekretesslagen) (2009:400) for keeping the information confidential. Confidential information can be redacted and the record disclosed.
Contact us
For questions about archiving, contact your local records manager or registrar in the first instance.