Working with Data

The below is repeated from the Organize and Name Files page of the Research Data Management InfoGuide

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_ddssplanning_interviews.csv

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