Research Data Management Resources

Good management of data files allows you to efficiently identify, locate, and use your data. You can:

• Manage large amounts of various data files.
• Locate and browse for files easily. 
• Distinguish different files and versions of files within a folder.
• Prevent confusion when working on teams or sharing files. 
• Prevent data loss by accidentally overwriting or deleting files.
• Provide context for retrieval and storage of data. 

File management encompasses:

• Structuring the hierarchical organization of file folders in a logical and clear way;
• Planning for the syntax and vocabulary of individual file names;
• Using agreed-upon conventions consistently.

• Consider all the types of files that you will handle during the course of the project.
• Develop a nested folder structure that makes the most sense for your project or team’s retrieval needs (think about categories and granularity).
• Name folders clearly, without special characters or floats, and avoid redundancy.
• Use a standard folder structure for each project or subproject (including making empty folders for files not yet created)
• Create a reference document that notes the purpose of different folders.

A key to well-organized data is a consistent file naming convention. Filenames can communicate much about a data file in less than 25 characters.

A filename is the chief identifier for a data file. (MANTRA)

• Keep the filename short (about 25 characters)
• Use consistent elements, consistently
• Use the standard format for dates and times (YYYY-MM-DD-THH-MM-SS eg. 1999-09-19-T12-54-32).
• Avoid special characters, spaces, and case dependency
• When numbering, use the number of leading zeros necessary for the scale of your project (eg. up to 999 files, start with 001) 
• Have a strategy for documenting versions
• Don’t overwrite file extensions

Filenames need to make sense for you and your project or team. Some elements to consider for a filename include: 

• Project name
• Name of file creator
• Project number
• Location
• File type
• Sequence ID
• Accession number
• Date of creation
• Version number

Example