4.2.5 Comment on step 5

Step 5 - Determine what parts of the information are to be erased or archived when the processing is completed

Personal data may not be retained for longer than is necessary and should be erased when no longer needed. At the same time, there may be parts of the information that must be preserved to be able to substantiate the conclusions of the thesis work or because they are necessary for future processing. Therefore, before the practical work starts, it is important to decide what will happen to the collected personal data afterwards. What information is to be retained and what is to be erased? During the course of the work, there may be a need to rethink the original plan, but it is important that there is a basic plan, especially in order to answer questions from the data subjects.

Erasure or archiving

Normally personal data is used only as a basis for a degree project and, more rarely, in the final essay. For this reason, it is important to be able to determine which parts of the preparatory material are to be preserved and which ones to be erased. The basic principle of collected personal information is that it cannot be handled for longer than necessary, while at the same time it is important to be able to confirm the findings made in the completed work and it may therefore be necessary to preserve data in the form of personal data even after the essay is graded and published. What needs to be saved and what should be deleted should be determined in connection with each work. As a starting point, material gathered in connection with student essays should be erased. Information that is to be preserved should be archived and the rest should be erased unless any other treatments have been planned and agreed upon.