Maintaining an audit trail involves several key practices:
- Documentation: Regularly documenting each step of the research process, including any deviations from the original plan. - Version Control: Keeping track of different versions of datasets and analysis scripts to ensure that changes can be traced. - Access Control: Restricting access to data and documentation to authorized personnel only, ensuring that any changes are logged and attributable. - Regular Audits: Conducting periodic reviews of the audit trail to ensure that it is complete and accurate.
