InfoGuides: Research Data Management Basics: Organize & Name Files

File Naming and Organization

File naming and organizing examples from Open Science Framework (OSF) support.
Electronic File Organization Tips (NIST)
Example of organized folders and files for a project (UK Data Service)
TIER Protocol suggestions for organizing empirical projects based in the social sciences, but can apply to other disciplines. (Teaching Integrity in Empirical Research)
- TIER clonable project template for use in the Open Science Framework (OSF)

File Extensions

Understanding File Extensions (GCF Learn Free)
File Formats and Conversions (DDSS' Working with Data Guide)

Bulk File Renaming

The Windows Explorer or,
Mac Finder will allow you to rename multiple files at once.
Other renaming utilities:
- Bulk Rename Utility (Windows)

Part of storing data during a project involves organizing directories and files. Consider how the data will be organized during the project.

Be consistent. Have standardized conventions for naming directory structure, folder names, and file names.

Always include the same information, such as date.
Format dates as follows: YYYYMMDD.
Use only one period and use it only before the file extension.
For example: name_paper.doc NOT name.paper.doc or name_paper..doc
Only allowable characters in the file name are the period, and use as indicated above.
Other allowable characters are the underscore _ or dash -.
Do not use special characters: &,*%#;()[]~"!@$?, etc.
Avoid using spaces in the file and folder names.

Be descriptive. Try to keep file and folder names to less than 32 characters. Within reason, include relevant information such as:

Unique identifier (Project Name, Grant #)
Project or research data name
Conditions (lab instrument, solvent, temperature, etc.)
Run of experiment (sequential)
For sequential numbering use leading zeros to allow for multiple versions. For example, a sequence of 1-10 should be numbered 01-10.
Date
Use application-specific codes in file extensions: .txt, .pdf, .mov

File Version Control Indicate software used. Follow these naming conventions for version control

FNL = final
DFT = draft
V2 = version of document

File name example: 201510_dscplanning_interviews.csv

The above example indicates that it is a file of data compiled from interviews conducted during October 2015 for Digital Scholarship Center (DSC) planning.

Version Control

Version control systems are a good way to manage your research code and files. These systems track differences between file versions. Here are two popular systems:

git - https://git-scm.com/
- The Office of Research Computing operates GitLab to store and share your code for all research-related projects. https://gitlab.orc.gmu.edu/users/sign_in
- GitHub is a web-based code repository which uses the git version control system. Used for managing and sharing projects.
Subversion (SVN) - https://subversion.apache.org/
- Mercurial - Mac and Windows
- TortoiseSVN - Windows based
Open Science Framework (OSF)
- The Open Science Framework has version control built into its system.