José, II don't know about APA, but the following guide developed for the US Office of Research Integrity, http://ori.hhs.gov/education/products/clinicaltools/data.pdf , offers the following advice:
Data Retention How Long Should Data Be Kept? There is no set amount of time for which data should be stored. In some cases, the time period is at the discretion of the PIs; however, many sponsor institutions require that data be retained for a minimum number of years after the last expenditure report. For instance, the USDHHS requires that project data be retained for at least 3 years after the funding period ends. Other sponsors or funders may require longer or shorter periods. Continued Storage Once the minimum storage period has been met, the PI must decide whether to continue storing the data. Although data can be kept indefinitely, a PI must evaluate the benefits and risks of extended storage. On the one hand, one never knows when data might be needed. On the other hand, continued storage of confidential data increases the risk of possible violation. The monetary cost of retention and security are additional concerns. Destroying Data When the decision has been made to end data storage, data should be thoroughly and completely destroyed. Effective data destruction ensures that information cannot be extracted or reconstructed. Many document storage companies now offer onsite shredding and secure destruction of written and electronic records. For electronic data specifically, software products such as Eraser or CyberScrub are available. Miguel ----- Original Message ----- From: "José Ferreira-Alves" <[email protected]> To: "Teaching in the Psychological Sciences (TIPS)" <[email protected]> Sent: Monday, August 20, 2012 4:08:18 AM Subject: [tips] how long records must be kept Dear Colleagues I did an extensive survey on the population whose main results were already published. I wonder for how many time I must keep the original records of that survey. Do you know if APA has any recommendations about the time we must keep records from research? Thanks a lot in advance __________________________________ José Ferreira-Alves, Ph.D School of Psychology Departmento of Basic Psychology University of Minho Campus de Gualtar 4710-057 Braga Portugal www.psi.uminho.pt Tel. 351 253604233 Email: [email protected] --- You are currently subscribed to tips as: [email protected] . To unsubscribe click here: http://fsulist.frostburg.edu/u?id=466839.0421d1005414eed82340aa280e7ce629&n=T&l=tips&o=19879 (It may be necessary to cut and paste the above URL if the line is broken) or send a blank email to leave-19879-466839.0421d1005414eed82340aa280e7ce...@fsulist.frostburg.edu --- You are currently subscribed to tips as: [email protected]. To unsubscribe click here: http://fsulist.frostburg.edu/u?id=13090.68da6e6e5325aa33287ff385b70df5d5&n=T&l=tips&o=19883 or send a blank email to leave-19883-13090.68da6e6e5325aa33287ff385b70df...@fsulist.frostburg.edu
