Archiving

The RDMS WebInterface offers the possibility to archive a project once the data is not in use anymore or following a publication. In order for you to be able to start the archiving process, the data you want to archive needs to be stored in a project.

During the archiving process, there will be three different roles that will be active at different times. A single user can have any number of these roles assigned to them and/or multiple users can have different roles and work at different stages of the archiving process.

Owner/Admin: This role is responsible for assigning the data manager and metadata manager roles, starting the archiving process. Best practice here is to assign this role to a supervisor and/or to the person(s) that have access to the project folder the archive is generated from.

Data Manager: This role is responsible to verify that the data sent to the archive is complete and uncorrupted, and to give final approval of the archive. Best practice here is to assign this role to the person(s) that actively worked with the data.

Metadata Manager: This role is responsible to verify and complete the metadata information related to the archive. Best practice here is to assign this role to the person(s) that know the origin and scope of the data, along with the knowledge of other locations where the data is stored (knowledge about existing DOIs).

Active role: Owner When you start the archiving process, you will be prompted to select the folders or files you want to archive. In this step, you can decide if you want to archive the entire project folder or just a part of it. NB: Most of the time, you will select the entire folder. There are cases, however, where part of the archive needs to be deleted before the customary 10 years are up, due to privacy regulations. In such cases, we advise you to create two archives: one containing normal data that should be stored for 10 years, the other containing the sensitive data that needs to be deleted earlier. A good practice would be to label both archives in a way that makes it clear that they are interlinked and which one contains the sensitive data. This is best done in the project folder before the archiving starts.

Active role: Data Manager In this step, the data manager checks if the data contained in the project folder sent to the archiving stage is complete and uncorrupted. If the data manager gives the all clear, then the process creates a data package from the data contained in the project folder. The data is now frozen from this step onward and cannot be further modified. If multiple Data Managers are present in this stage, approval from just one of them is sufficient to go to the next step. Please consider that this is the first point of no return in the process.

Active role: Metadata Manager In this second step, the Metadata Manager is able to verify already existing metadata and add new metadata to complete the description of the archive itself or of single parts of the archive. Once the metadata is complete and approval is given by the Metadata Manager, then the archive is going to be moved to the next step, where metadata is once again verified (but new metadata cannot be added anymore) and the option is given to add an existing DOI to the archive. Here the Metadata Manager can send the archive back to the previous step, if the metadata is not complete, or approve it. Approval in this step freezes the metadata and moves the archive to the final stage of the procedure. This is the second point of no return in the process. NB: The RDMS does not generate a DOI for you yet, but we have it on our development road map.

Active role: Data Manager(??) The Data Manager can check the archive one last time before the procedure is final. Here both the data and the metadata can be inspected and approved. This is the final step and the last point of no return in the process. After approval is given here, all secondary products generated in the archiving process are removed and the final archive is generated. From this point forward the archive itself, as well as the data it contains, cannot be deleted anymore (except by a system administrator). What if there are issues either with the data or the metadata? Can the archive be sent back to the previous processes? That would make the previous points of no return not real points of no return. And if you can send it back, are the changes made during the archiving process kept? (I think so)