Evaluating your research data ensures its quality and reliability, so then it can be archived to ensure its long-term availability for future researchers.

Quality assurance is the steps taken during the data collection process to ensure the data is of high quality and complete. 

Quality control is the subsequent process of checking that the data meets overall quality goals and criteria. Quality control should be conducted regularly throughout the project. This is essential to maintaining the integrity and viability of data.

• Plan how your data will be recorded, manipulated and stored. 
• Use tools that control the values that can be entered, such as lookup tables and drop-down boxes.
• If you edit, clean or modify your raw data, document how you have processed it. 

At the end of your project what data will be retained and what data will be destroyed? Research data needs to be kept for a minimum of five years and should be in a durable and retrievable format, stored in a safe and secure location. There is no requirement to dispose of research data.

You will need to prepare your archival data for long-term storage and use a repository to store it in. Speak to your supervisor or School about where to archive your data. Sensitive data will need special consideration.