File Management

Effective file management of your data can play a key role in the success of your project. Organizing your files with a consistent system and file naming structure can make your data easier to understand, share, and preserve. A good 'rule of thumb' is to be consistent and descriptive in naming and organizing files. 

Folder hierarchy

There is no right or wrong way to organize files. One option is to use a folder hierarchy that matches the study or project.
Example:

Study Name
• [ Surveys ]
--- [ Survey Instrument 1 ]  |  [ Survey Instrument 2 ]
• [ Data ]
--- [ Raw Data ]  |  [ Processed Data ]
• [ Analysis ]
• [ Poster ]
• [ Paper ]

File naming conventions

Key components of a useful file name may include information such as: 

  • Date - use format: YYYYMMDD (ISO 8601)
  • Study/project name (or acronym)
  • Location information (if a multi-site project)
  • Initials of researcher
  • Version number

Best practices

  • Avoid special characters and spaces
  • Use capitals and underscores, or compound words “CamelCase”
  • Use no more than 32 characters, preferably much less
  • Use meaningful names
  • Include versioning information

Example of file naming 

H20Study_20100725_TrialData_FF_v2.csv

  • H20Study = Project name
  • 20100725 = Date of data collection
  • TrialData = Content of the file
  • FF = Researcher's initials
  • v2 = Version information

More information: