Archive, register and protect information

Last changed: 09 June 2023

On this page we collect useful links and documents about information management at the department, such as archiving, registration of records in the system Public 360, and data protection.

Research material - management and archiving

A large part of the material that emerges in a research project is considered as a general act and should therefore be handled and filed in accordance with current rules.

The following documents must be registered and/or filed:

  • Administrative documents (eg applications, decisions, contracts, protocols, financial final reports), are kept permanently
  • Primary records/raw data (eg measurement data, interviews), are kept for at least 10 years or permanently
  • Publications (eg articles, reports, dissertations, books), are kept permanently 

More information, quick guides and templates are available under the heading with the same name below.

Data management plan - NEW!

In September 2022 the vice-chancellor adopted a new Policy on the management of and open access to research and environmental monitoring and assessment data at SLU, stating that all new projects in research and environmental monitoring assessment must write a data management plan.

When receiving funding for a new project, the project leader is responsible to:

  • fill in a Data Management Plan in DMPonline 
  • send the DMP to the department administration (marithe.lindelof@slu.se) for registering, when applying for a new project code.

Why should we do this?

The purpose is partly to ensure that collected information is handled legally and securely so that it does not disappear or end up in the wrong hands. Partly to facilitate sharing of information that can be disseminated to the public and the research community. This will enable more longitudinal and historical studies in the future.

Disseminating and making research material available is an important democratic issue. Universities have an important role in providing quality assured information that can provide support for new studies, policy decisions and investigations.

The work on managing and preserving research data gives all researchers the opportunity to reflect on issues related to methodology, ethics and information security:

  • Have you promised your informants that they should be anonymous? How do you ensure that information about the informants is not spread in ways that can harm them?
  • How would your research project be affected by the fact that your computer's hard disk crashes or is exposed to an IT attack so it becomes unusable?
  • How would you handle an article you wrote in 2011 being questioned and you need to report and verify raw data and analyzes that are behind your conclusions?
  • Could you benefit from a database of raw data from, for example, interviews conducted twenty years ago or historical source material?

Storage of electronic research data

- Can I use Dropbox to share and store data in my project?

No, private accounts on external cloud storage services like Dropbox or Google Drive, are not safe for storing research data since SLU cannot help you with any backups. Use Microsoft One Drive via your SLU account (not for storage of personal data), Sharepoint or a locked folder on Server P or U. Please contact David Halim if you need help with Server P or Sharepoint.

- What do we do when we collaborate with external parties and they suggest or require us to share data and work in a solution that is not on our list of approved tools?

Keep calm and resist. The forms of cooperation should be defined in the agreement with the external party. And the proposed new solution may have to be approved by them as well.

Deposit publications to the archive

Printed publications are submitted to the administration (Karen Gould Ekström).

Electronic publications are deposited directly in the current folder on the server P:\Till arkivet.

Educational material - management and archiving

Data protection

» Data protection manual for supervisors

Courses

A large part of the course material must be preserved for all future. At the end of the course, the administration sends a reminder to the course leader about archiving. Here are lists of course materials to be submitted for archiving:

» Undergraduate course materials to be archived (Word)

» PhD course materials to be archived (Word) 

Postgraduate education

PhD students' individual study plans and assessments (50% och 75%) will be registered and archived by the education administrator when the documents are submitted for reporting in Ladok.


Contact

Department administration

For applications, contracts, decisions, protocols etc:

Send an e-mail to: sol-diarium@slu.se

For educational documents and raw data from research:

Marlén Tälleklint, Education Administrator, send an e-mail to: marlen.talleklint@slu.se, +4618672671

For research publications:

Karen Gould Ekström, Departmental Assistant, send an e-mail to: karen.ekstrom@slu.se, +4618672688

Central functions at SLU

Link to the Data Management Support's websitesend an e-mail to: dms@slu.se

Link to the Archives, Information Governance and Records Unit's website

Data Protection, send an e-mail to: dataskydd@slu.se