Most documents in a research project are official documents (allmänna handlingar) and must therefore be registered. As a researcher, you are responsible for registering, disposing of and archiving the documents related to your research.
When an official document is registered, it is automatically archived; however, certain types of research data must also be submitted to the archive at the point of project completion.
Official Documents in Research Projects
A document always contains information of some kind. A document here means paper copy/printed text, e-mail message, image, tape recording, film or other information that has been saved and stored on, for example, a computer or USB stick. A document is official if it has been received by an authority or has been drawn up by an authority. The document must be saved and stored at the authority.
Here are some examples of official documents in research projects:
- Research application, all parts that the funding body requires
- Internal financial calculation
- Decisions from external funding bodies
- Signed original contract/agreement with funding body
- Any contract/agreement with project partners
- Application and decision, if any, on a research ethics review
- Project reports (both academic/scientific and financial)
- Financial documentation and follow-ups, such as audit certificates
- Important communication/correspondence with the funding body, coordinators and project partners
- Contract and budget changes
Keep in mind that you must be sure to file these documents electronically (diarieföra) and archive continuously throughout the project period. Anyone can request a document at any time that is part of your research.
Public or Confidential
The general rule is that official documents (allmänna handlingar) are public. For an official document to be classified as confidential, explicit legal support is required from the Public Access to Information and Secrecy Act (2009:400).
Administrative Documents
Examples of administrative documents are as follows: research applications, decisions from funding bodies, agreements, and scientific/economic project reports. These must be retained and archived by way of electronic registration.
Research Data
As a general rule, primary material should be retained permanently; however, in some cases it may be destroyed after ten years. Archiving is done by submitting to the archive.
Work material, such as sketches, notes and data sets that do not contribute to an understanding of the research results can be disposed of on an ongoing basis. Please note, however, that such material should also be retained if this is necessary for an understanding of the research context if it provides factual information or if it for other reasons facilitates an understanding of results. In these cases, archiving is done when documentation is submitted to the archive.
Research Data (Information in Swedish)
Scientific Publications
These must always be retained. Digital publications are archived by uploading them in DiVA.
In DiVA, you can choose whether the publication should only be archived or if it should also be published so that it can be seen externally. Please note that even if agreements with publishers prevent publication, an archive copy must always be stored securely at the University.
Printed publications are archived when copies are sent to the archive.
Scientific Publications (Information in Swedish)
The Law and Research Projects
The Senior Legal Advisor at the University can help with legal questions relating to your research project, such as agreements and questions about intellectual property rights that, among other things, deal with your rights to the results of your research.
Senior Legal Advisor Lena Gillström
lgl@du.se