Sharing Best Data and Project Management Practices for Organising Data
and Avoiding Digital Clutter
4 February 2021
This week we had a
conversation to share best practices for organizing data, project management, and
avoiding digital clutter. If you, like many of us, are struggling with these
issues this blog doesn’t promise to have all the answers, but it lists all of
the advice, tips, and resources people offered and maybe it will give you some
ideas.
Before the session, an
article was shared that people found to be very helpful with useful, practical advice:
Wilson, G. et al. (2017) ‘Good enough practices in scientific
computing’, PLOS Computational Biology, 13(6), p. e1005510. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pcbi.1005510
If you find that
article helpful, then you may also want to look at this one by the same team:
Wilson G, Aruliah DA, Brown CT, Chue Hong NP, Davis M, Guy RT, et al.
(2014) Best Practices for Scientific Computing. PLoS Biol 12(1): e1001745. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pbio.1001745
Here are the advice, tips, and resources from our conversation:
- Name files with a date in the format YYYY MM DD followed by a short description is useful, because it allows people to find the data by date or by description.
- Keep the descriptions as short as possible
- DO NOT use special characters (? ß \ ö ä ü)
- DO NOT use spaces
- DO NOT engage in this classic file naming structure: http://phdcomics.com/comics/archive_print.php?comicid=1531
- Store files in a single location. Avoid the temptation to have multiple copies for any reason.
- One way of doing this is to adopt a Wiki style system of organization
- Zettelkasten is an official technique within this genre of organization developed by Niklas Luhmann
- Another, similar method, is to convert your file system to a website-type structure and to make use of hypertext in documentation
- An easy way to avoid multiple copies is to create a shortcut to the file instead of copying the file
- To identify and clean up existing duplicates, Mac users might find Washing Machine useful, but there are also tools for Windows Machines like a free trial of Beyond Compare
- Keep a log of everything you do, changes you make, and analyses conducted
- Manual documentation in a log book or similar document, even an Excel tab seems is one option
- Engineers get trained to keep a log of everything and maintain log books, so that if something happens in the future and they are inspected, they can say exactly what was done.
- Wilson (2017) highlights that it is time consuming, but worth it in the end.
- NVIVo, Atlas.ti, and Ethnograph are tools that can be used, as well.
- DCAD offer training in NVIVO
- Git is highly recommended
- ARC offer training in Git
- Keep different versions of things organized
- Use Archive folders to store older versions of things
- Sharepoint and OneDrive both have version control
- Git is useful for this, as well
- ARC offer training in Git
- When collaborating with others on an article or manuscript there are a few ways to keep track of versions
- Sharepoint and OneDrive are both useful for this
- But if collaborating in real-time using OneDrive, using it in a browser is recommended
- A less elegant solution that people use is to email back and forth, adding initials to the file name to indicate changes.
- For example, person AB might initially draft manuscript.docx. They email it to collaborators CD and EF. Collaborator CD makes changes, renames the document Manuscript_CD.docx then emails it to AB and EF. EF makes changes, renames the document Manuscript_CD_EF.docx and so on so that by the end there might be a dozen set of initials at the end of the file names, added as everyone takes turns editing and modifying the manuscript.
- Google Docs is another solution for collaboration
- The best way to avoid digital clutter is to minimize the creation of it in the first place.
- Minimize by having data management and organization plans from the start that avoids duplication of files.
- If you are writing a grant application, there are people who can help you develop a robust data management plan. Ask for help!
- When to delete the archive/old versions?
- For small files and projects it is easiest to just keep everything forever
- For large files and projects….???
Some final notes:
- If you
know of some useful, popular software not currently licensed by the university,
it is possible to apply for the university/CIS to acquire it
- Some
training is available through Advanced Research Computing (ARC) and DCAD, but suggestions for additional courses are welcome!
Michelle de Gruchy is
a postdoctoral research assistant on the Climate, Landscape, Settlement and
Society (CLaSS) Project in the Archaeology Department.
Caveat: The advice to 'Store files in a single location' is not advice against backing up data. Always back up your data!
ReplyDeleteBeyond Compare 4.4.0 Crack
ReplyDeleteAlso, you can compare files extensively with a byte-for-byte comparison technique.
My response on my own website. Appreciation is a wonderful thing...thanks for sharing keep it up.
ReplyDeleteAmcap Crack
cFosSpeed Crack
TeamViewer Crack
Beyond Compare Crack
Ammyy Admin PRO crack
Nice post! I wonder if such Data Management Solution can be built for Android and iOS smartphones.
ReplyDeleteNew NVivo 12 Full Version
ReplyDeleteNew Update Link Download NVivo 12 Full Version
dik.si/NNVivo
I guess I am the only one who came here to share my very own experience. Guess what!? I am using my laptop for almost the
ReplyDeletepast 6 years, but I had no idea of solving some basic issues. I do not know how to
Download Cracked Pro Softwares But thankfully, I recently visited a website named Crack Softwares Free Download
AMCap Crack
This is a very informative blog... Thanks for sharing this blog..
ReplyDeleteThis is a great blog and for me to visit it is really beautiful.Flexisign Crack
ReplyDeleteVery Nice article. This post is interesting and informative. Thank you for sharing the awesome post. Read about- software company in chennai
ReplyDelete