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Better Data Management in 5 Practices

One ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure, take care of your data files now to minimize future headaches.

Why document?

Real scientist work hard to decipher even though movie scientist work can be saved in one simple thumb drive.

As familiar as we are with our own research, we could scratch our head in a year trying to decipher our own files, not to mention other people's research. Help yourself and each other by adding documentation to your data, every little bit can help.

How to document?

Refer to this awesome page on file documentation for more details, but for a starting point, here are some items to consider.

  • Maintain a current ReadMe file with a "last updated" date at the end
  • Explain naming and organization conventions
  • Include a(n) codebook and/or acronym lookup
  • Offer data circumstances/background/context
  • Record data collection parameters (e.g. hardware settings, software & OS versions)
  • Provide instructions to execute codes, such as the scope/limitations and errors/warnings
  • Include licensing information to use your data
  • Others_________________________

Research Data Librarian

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Michelle Zhai
Contact:
The Catalyst / 204 Parks Library
(515) 294-3669