Retention and retirement rules for clinical research interview transcripts

Anchor retirement to approvals

Use the protocol, IRB/institutional requirements, consent commitments, funder policy and applicable law to define review dates.

Define disposal milestones and avoid presenting vault deletion as guaranteed media sanitization

Retire every derivative

Check exports, analysis copies, email attachments, transcription-service downloads and backups; deletion from one vault is not complete sanitization.

1. 01Identify the authority that sets each retention period.
2. 02Map every known derivative and service location.
3. 03Place a review date and accountable owner on each record class.
4. 04Suspend routine deletion when a lawful hold or approved research need applies.
5. 05Document verified deletion or approved long-term transfer for every location.

Leave evidence another custodian can follow

Maintain a disposition register containing record class, authority, location, owner, trigger date, decision and verification. Do not use the register as a substitute for the institution’s official records process.

Pause and review when

• The retention rule is described only as keep indefinitely.
• Former team members still control project copies.
• Backups and third-party downloads are omitted from the retirement plan.

Encryption does not decide permitted research use

Does not replace provider permissions, guaranteed backup, password recovery or enterprise identity management. Pseudonymized data can remain sensitive, especially when indirect identifiers or a usable code key exist. Technical protection must sit inside the approved research workflow rather than replace it.

Questions to resolve before acting