• To make data attributable, it’s essential to record who or what collected, generated, or updated it, its source, and when this happened, regardless of whether the process was automatic or manual.
• Attributability isn’t a technical hurdle since most systems, new and old, can track these details. The real challenge lies in implementing effective procedures and policies, like ensuring password integrity to prevent multiple users from using the same password, which compromises data attributability.

• Ensuring data legibility goes beyond simple readability, crucial for both manual and electronic records. While modern digital formats largely solve readability issues, the long-term understanding of data remains vital.
• Data must remain accessible and comprehensible, potentially years after its creation, making the avoidance of complex jargon and consistent use of clear language across an organization essential. Additionally, it’s important that all data, whether collected or updated, is permanent, ensuring its future usability.

• Recording data promptly when an action occurs is crucial. Contemporaneous means that data is current i.e. applicable at the time of its access and recorded in real-time. It means that there should not be any delay between data generation and data recording.
• Contemporaneous recording is particularly vital in manual record-keeping to prevent future-dated entries, which can lead to errors, omissions, and inaccuracies.
• Document should have date of creation, date of revision and effective by, date of recording, correction and review dates.

• Original means that data, once recorded, cannot be edited, altered, or erased
• Records must be original, not copies or transcriptions, especially in manual record-keeping. Writing information temporarily on unofficial mediums can lead to errors.
• Data should be initially recorded in its primary form, on paper or digitally, with measures in place to prevent alterations to original digital records. Analyses, reports, or calculations must trace back to their original data sources. Copies of original records need formal verification as true copies and must be clearly differentiated from the originals, which should also be preserved alongside any copies.

• Accurate means that data can be relied upon to be true, valid, and correct.
• Accurate records must truthfully represent events, free from errors, without altering original data in a way that obscures it. Necessary amendments should be documented clearly, preserving the original content.
• For electronic data, systems need accuracy checks and controls, alongside routine calibration of measuring equipment to ensure reliability. (e.g., a revised document shows edits alongside original entries).

Every piece of data, including original recordings and any modifications, must have an audit trail to ensure no deletion or loss, covering all forms of data and metadata (e.g., a log file tracking both initial data inputs and subsequent edits).

Data should be recorded in chronological order with appropriate date and time stamps, including changes to ensure sequence integrity (e.g., every edit to a document is timestamped to maintain historical accuracy).

Data must remain accessible and intact over long periods, necessitating reliable backup systems, disaster recovery plans, and cybersecurity measures (e.g., cloud storage with regular backups and strong encryption).

Data should be readily accessible and searchable, properly indexed and labeled for easy retrieval during its retention period (e.g., a digital database that allows quick searches by keyword or date).