Introduction

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There are some specific issues in the archival appraisal of research data:

1. Most literature on archival appraisal does not adequately address research data.
   
   
2. Appraisal decisions should proceed from a determination of specific projects or experiments in a laboratory that should be documented.
   
   
3. Observational data is usually impossible to reproduce and, therefore, has a higher degree of evidential value than experimental data.
   
   
4. Experimental data is generally less valuable for future scientific research because the data can often be recovered by running the experiment again.
   

5. The way experimental data is gathered can indicate something important about research methods. Experimental data can reveal what choices were made in the scientific and technological process. 
   
   

6. Exceptions might be made for experimental data if the answer to any of these questions is “yes”: 
   
   

1. Was the experiment controversial? 

2. Was the experiment time-consuming? 

3. Would the experiment be difficult to reproduce? 

4. Would the experiment be expensive to reproduce? 

Further reading

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Haas, Joan K., Helen Willa Samuels, and Barbara Trippel Simmons. "Appraising the records of modern science and technology : a guide." Cambridge, MA: Massachusetts Institute of Technology (1985).