Archiving, preserving and curating

Once you have finished actively researching, researchers should consider how they will archive, preserve and curate their research outputs for the longer-term.

Towards the end of your research, you will need to start archiving your research outputs so they may be preserved for the longer-term. There are three steps to this process:

1. choose what to keep and prepare the items for deposit;
2. select an archive or repository;
3. deposit or upload for longer-term preservation.

Where can I archive data at UCL?

UCL Research Data Repository

All staff and research students have access to the institutional archive. This is an open archive providing immediate access to published research outputs. Users can assign a DOI (persistent unique link) to the item(s) they are publishing as part of a full data citation. Read more information on the UCL Research Data Repository.

For support, please contact researchdatarepository@ucl.ac.uk

UCL Records Office

When research has ended, hard copy (non-electronic) records which must be retained should be sent to the UCL Records Office. This is the only approved place of deposit for such UCL's administrative and research records.

Other repositories

Funders and publishers might also have their own repository or might direct you to deposit your research data in their chosen repository.

External repositories can be used to preserve your data, for example re3data.org is a searchable registry of international research data repositories.

A guide on software preservation and sustainability is also available.

What do I keep?

Choosing what to keep or curate can depend on a range of factors, (Whyte, A. & Wilson, A. (2010). "How to Appraise and Select Research Data for Curation". DCC How-to Guides. Edinburgh: Digital Curation Centre. Available online):

• How relevant are the data to the research, funder or institution? Are you perhaps legally bound to retain the data?
• How unique are the research outputs? Could the data be replicated? If not, you are advised to retain them.
• To what extent is the output reusable? Consider file formats and the potential for software to be become obsolete – you should try to use open formats where possible.
• Have you created and maintained sufficient metadata (documentation) to facilitate someone reusing the output?

Retention and disposal of all records and data (whether electronic or not)

The UCL Retention Schedule prescribes how long records and data should be held. Section 2 deals specifically with research records, including clinical trials.

Hard copy records: When research has ended, hard copy records which must be retained should be sent to the UCL Records Office. This is the only approved place of deposit for UCL's administrative and research records.

Clinical trial records: Where clinical trial records are concerned, the Records Office accepts only:

• UCL Trial Master Files
• UCL Site Files
• Site Files from UCLH NHS Foundation Trust, Royal Free London NHS Foundation Trust or Whittington Hospital NHS Trust where the Chief Investigator holds a substantive or honorary contract with UCL.

Storage of records which do not fit into these categories is controlled by local Standard Operation Procedure (SOPs) for UCLH and the Royal Free. The Joint Research Office's SOPs for the content of trial files and archiving should be followed where applicable. Sponsors' requirements for retention take precedence over UCL's rules, in which case archiving costs should be included in the full economic costing early in the approval process.

Confidential waste, CDs & DVDs

Hard copy confidential waste, CDs and DVDs, must be disposed of via UCL Estates.