How long do I keep personal information, consent forms, and raw data?

To respect the requirements of the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act (FIPPA), researchers need to indicate clearly, in the informed consent, the length of time for which any personal information collected (e.g., signatures on the consent forms, contact information, identifying information from audiotapes or in a dataset) will be kept in a secure location before being destroyed. Researchers also need to indicate that personal information will only be viewed by researchers directly involved in the study. Signed informed consent forms, raw data that contains identifying information, and any other personal data (contained in any format) should be retained for at least three years following: (a) the completion of the study, or (b) after a report of the work is published or otherwise publicly presented. Researchers might need to keep these records for longer periods depending on the requirements of individual funding agencies, psychological associations, or publishers. Anonymized datasets (i.e., with all identifying information removed) or anonymous datasets (i.e., where participants never provided identifying information) can be retained indefinitely. However, if researchers wish to utilize these data in the future for purposes beyond the initial intent of the study (e.g., educational purposes, secondary data analyses), this possibility must be clearly indicated on the informed consent.