Hi Aaron, and thanks for contacting CTB.
The ultimate answer to your question depends upon the purpose of having collected the data in the first place. The best general rule of thumb is to keep the data until you are certain there is no more need to retain it.
For small classroom reserach projects, that may be after you have turned in the project report and received a grade.
For ,more formal projects, keep the data for a few years after reporting or publication, because you may need to go back to it if your results are challenged. Also, it is possible that a new but related question may come up that can be answered by analyzing the data in a different way.
I learned the hard way once how important it is to keep data, when I discovered during my own belated review that I had made an error, and it was too late to revise the published report. I corrected the error and published the correction, taking responsibility for my own error.
If the data contain identifying information about subjects - especially if the subjects are patients - state patient record-retention requirements and/or HIPAA privacy laws may apply. Generally, state laws require retention for seven years, but check with an attorney to determine how many years must pass before you can be sued for malpractice. You may need the data for legal defense, should that unfortunate situation arise.
Finally, the rules of your own educational institution may dictate length of record retention.
