Data auditing

Data auditing is the process of recording the alteration, addition, or removal of data by an application, database, or other software. Ideally, an application will offer the ability for the LIMS administrator to choose the desired level of data auditing (all data or specific data) as well as a method to easily alter the auditing level.

Data auditing can be controlled by the application itself or the data repository where the data is stored (so changes are tracked regardless of the source of the change). It is customary to record the old and new values of the data as well as who made the change and the time of the change.

Data auditing is often required to meet regulatory or client requirements. Audit data are also useful for reporting and trouble-shooting LIMS activity. In some systems, audit data can also be used to revert (or rollback) a group of changes (referred to as a transaction) intended to be atomic.

Data auditing may be performed manually, but such records may not be suitable for compliance and cannot be reported on.

The downside to data auditing is that it can consume considerable processing and data storage resources.