Organising and naming files












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            During the course of a research project, a large amount of data is often generated; theref

            important to adopt a logical and consistent file naming and folder structure, which will a
            others to easily locate and use your data. Ideally, you should think of naming and structu
            before you start collecting the data.


            There are many ways to name your files “correctly” and it will always depend on the type o
            collect. Generally, file names should not be too long but they should include enough infor

            you to identify the file by its name. Here are some useful tips for file naming:
            • Use date in the YYYYMMDD format for chronological ordering

            • Unless you use a tool that enables versioning (e.g., OSF), it is useful to include the d
              in the name
            • Do not use special characters which may be used for specific tasks in different operatin

              as ! @ # $ % & *
            • If you work in a team, it may be useful to include the initials of the author of the doc
              author of the last change in the file

            • If you generate multiple types of documents, you may distinguish them by using identifie
              questionnaire, interview, test etc.
            • If you have multiple research participants, you may wish to identify individual particip

              using the participant’s initials or code number)
            • If you work on multiple projects at the same time, you may wish to identify the project 
              data relate

            • Decide on the order of the individual elements in the file name and the separator used (
              or hyphen)


            If you use abbreviations or codes in the file names, you should prepare a document that wo
            each abbreviation or code means.


            When organising and naming files, the most important thing is to be consistent and to ensu
            workers know how to name the files and in which directory to save them.