Research data

Plan research data handover before the project ends

A student research project can leave more than a dissertation file. There may be collected observations, code, interview material, lab notes and derived results that somebody must retain, explain or remove. Discuss their destination before the final week so the project does not become dependent on a departing student's laptop or cloud account.

Leeds describes research data broadly and sets out end-of-project questions about ownership, retention and appropriate storage. Your project may have specific ethics, funder, participant or organisational conditions. Use the process below to prepare decisions with the supervisor or data owner; do not make independent disposal or publication decisions from a general checklist.

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Inventory the project outputs

List the kinds of material produced, including source data, processed files, scripts, documentation and physical records. Record their current authorised locations and the people responsible for them. Avoid copying sensitive content into the inventory itself. The list should identify what exists without creating another uncontrolled version of the data.

Check for overlooked locations such as recording devices, temporary exports or a collaborator's working folder. Ask authorised team members to confirm their part of the inventory. A final report may refer to material stored elsewhere, so follow those references and identify any missing or inaccessible component before the handover deadline.

Confirm who decides retention

Ask the supervisor which policies and project agreements apply. Record who owns the data and who can authorise retention, deletion or sharing. Different parts of the project can have different requirements. Do not assume that a useful future portfolio example is permitted simply because you personally collected or analysed the material.

Where instructions appear to conflict, raise the specific case with the responsible research or data team. Keep the question concrete: which version, which information and what proposed destination? Avoid replacing an unclear requirement with a guess. The purpose of early planning is to leave time for those questions to be resolved properly.

Choose the authorised destination

For material to be retained, confirm the institutional storage or repository and who will manage access. Check that it supports the file types and volume involved. Arrange the transfer through the project's approved route rather than an unrelated public file-sharing service. A destination must meet the project's conditions as well as hold the files.

Identify any continuing cost, account dependency or specialist software needed to use the archive. Raise those issues before departure. A dataset on a drive that only one former student can unlock or interpret is an incomplete handover. Record the authorised access process without placing secret credentials in an ordinary README.

Include enough context to reuse the work

Prepare an index that explains the folder structure, variables, processing steps and relationship between inputs and outputs. Include relevant version information and limitations. Keep documentation proportionate: another authorised researcher should understand what the files represent and which result they support without reconstructing months of private notes.

Ask the receiving person to open a representative set and follow one documented workflow. Resolve missing dependencies or ambiguous labels before confirming transfer. If some material cannot be reproduced, explain that limitation accurately. Do not label an archive complete merely because the copy operation finished without a visible error.

Close personal access appropriately

Once the authorised recipient confirms the handover, follow the project's instructions for remaining copies and access. Keep any permitted personal work distinct from material you must return or remove. Record completion in the form the university requires. Do not delete continuing project data before its destination and recoverability are checked.

If extra storage equipment is required, agree its suitability with the data owner before buying it. Capacity alone does not establish an approved research solution. The finished handover should have a responsible owner, understandable content and an appropriate location, with unresolved questions explicitly assigned rather than left on an old student account.

Your next steps

Inventory source data, outputs and supporting records.
Confirm who authorises retention and sharing.
Verify the receiving location and responsible owner.
Complete copy and access changes under project instructions.

Sources and further help

Sources were consulted on 5 September 2026. Provider terms and services can change; check your exact booking, product or university service.

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