One of the essential components of successful research data management is to establish a filing (or directory) structure for your records.
Researchers are advised to structure their folders (whether paper or electronic in form) to correspond to how the records were generated, to complement proposed or existing workflows.
One of the most common ways to group records is by function.
Because all records generated by the Harvard Medical School, the Harvard School of Dental Medicine, and the Harvard T. H. Chan School of Public Health must be retained for certain lengths of time (both to meet University recordkeeping requirements and satisfy grant-mandated retention periods), maintaining records functionally will enable retention periods to be assigned to groups of records.
Here are some tips:
Consult with the Archives and Records Management program when establishing your file directory!
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