Researcher KnowHow: Research Data Management for PGRs

1. LRD team – based in Sydney Jones Library
Judith Carr – Research Data Manager
Gary Jeffers – Research Data Management Officer
Carly Rowley - Research Support Assistant
Liverpool Research Data is the Library’s
research data management
service. Providing advice, tools and support
to help Liverpool researchers manage their
data, prepare to share, and comply with the
University and Funders’ policies.

2. Today
What is RDM? Why it is important? How Liverpool
Research Data can help?
Organising your data
 Lego and the importance of a read me file and
metadata – a little bit about reproducibility!

3. “an explicit process covering the creation and
stewardship of research materials to enable
their use for as long as they retain value.”
Research data are
Research data management is
Any recorded information necessary to
support or validate a research project’s
observations, findings or outputs, regardless
of format.

4. Why manage? Why share?
Avoid drowning in irrelevant
information
Avoid duplication
Underpins integrity and efficiency
of research and enables you to
access data easily
Aids collaboration
Underpins data security and
preservation – back up!!
Plan to share
Impact and visibility of research
Increased citations
Data sharing and reuse efficient
Increase chances for collaboration
 University policy
Funders’ policies
Open research
Transparency
Preservation

5. Support and
guidance
LDR team
Beginning
Propose and plan
During
Manage and Store
End
Make discoverable
and archive
End
Disseminate and
publish
Data management plan
Costing
Records management
Data Storage
Back up
Liverpool Data Catalogue
Metadata
Data Repositories
Data statement
DOI
Data Citation
Copyright
ORCID
RESEARCH DATA LIFECYCLE

6. dmponline.dcc.ac.uk
Beginning
Propose and
plan
?
ASKS you the
right questions..
Gets you
thinking about
your data…

7. During
Manage and Store
Records management – label/tag – protocols
Collaborative tools -
http://connectedresearchers.com/online-tools-for-
researchers/
Data security - back ups
Storage31st March
World
Back Up
Day 3-2-1 Back Up Rule
How Toy Story 2 Almost Got Deleted

8.  Discipline specific repository
 Liverpool Research Data Catalogue
 DOI – use is data statements, social
media, when research data catalogue
is not original repository
 Metadata important READ ME file
 Get an

9. File naming conventions
Carly Rowley
Liverpool Research Data

10. Benefits of naming files correctly
• Better recall
• Long-term preservation
• Less chance of corruption
• Enabling sharing
• Less stress
Throughout, try to view your data from an outside perspective:
Could someone else understand my file naming conventions?
There are probably other pressing matters for you,
but if you sort this out now, your future self will thank you!
Guidance based on the University of Edinburgh Records Management
Service: https://www.ed.ac.uk/records-management/records-
management/staff-guidance/electronic-records/naming-conventions

11. Short but meaningful names
• Avoid using initials, abbreviations and codes that are not commonly understood.
Example:
Correct file name:
SausageMashCtteeRemit.rtf
Incorrect file name:
The_sausage_and_mash_committee_remit.rtf
Explanation:
Some words, like ‘the’ and ‘and’ add length to a file name but do not contribute towards the
meaning.
If the remaining file name is still meaningful within the context of the file directory, these
elements can be removed.
Where words have standard abbreviations, for example ‘cttee’ for ‘committee’, these can be
used in the file name.

12. Use capital letters to delimit words
• Avoid using spaces and underscores in file names. Some software packages have difficulty recognising file
names with spaces, this can be a particular difficulty for files when they are published on an external
website. Using underscores and hyphens in your file names also increases the length.
• Where capitalised acronyms are used in file names, the acronym should appear in capitals and the first
letter of the following word should also be capitalised.
Example
Correct file names:
RiskManagement.rtf
RAEInstructions.html
Incorrect file names:
Risk_management.rtf
Risk management.rtf
RAE_instructions.html
Research Assessment Exercise instructions.html
Explanation:
Removing the space or underscore reduces the length of the file name, and by using capital letters to differentiate between the
words the file name is still readily recognisable.

13. Numbers in file names
• The file directory displays file names in alphanumeric order. To maintain the numeric order when
file names include numbers it is important to include the zero for numbers 0-9. This helps to
retrieve the latest record number.
• Also include where applicable, 'Draft' or 'Final'.
Example
Correct file names:
OfficeProceduresV01
OfficeProceduresV09
OfficeProceduresV10
OfficeProceduresV11Final
(Ordered alphanumerically as the files would be
in the directory list)
Incorrect file names
OfficeProceduresV1
OfficeProceduresV10
OfficeProceduresV11
OfficeProceduresV9
(Ordered alphanumerically as the files would be
in the directory list)
Explanation:
This example shows the successive versions of an office
procedures document. If two-digit numbers are used, the
latest version will always be at the bottom of the list.
We’ve also clarified this with ‘Final’.

14. Dates in file names
• Dates should always be presented 'back to front', i.e. YYYYMMDD
• Giving the dates back to front means that the chronological order of
the records is maintained when the file names are listed in the file
directory. This helps when trying to retrieve the latest dated record.
Example
Correct file name
20040324Agenda.rtf
20040324Minutes.rtf
20040324PaperA.rtf
20050201Agenda.rtf
20050201Minutes.rtf
(Ordered alphanumerically as the files would be in the
directory list)
Incorrect file name
1Feb2005Agenda.rtf
1Feb2005Minutes.rtf
24March2004Agenda.rtf
24March2004Minutes.rtf
24March2004PaperA.rtf
(Ordered alphanumerically as the files would be in the
directory list)
Note: the most recent meeting appear at the bottom of the directory list.

15. Ordering elements correctly
• Dependent upon what the file contains, you should consider what
order of information is most appropriate for naming.
• For example, if files relate to a particular individual or case, this
should be listed first.
• Alternatively, if the files relate to an event, this should be listed first.
• Adhering to this will mean files become grouped together, whilst still
being labelled with the correct info.
• It involves more than organising files into particular folders: the file
name needs the correct info, particularly if it becomes displaced from
the folder.

16. Description (but not too much)
• Aids memory over time
Correct file name
/…/Planning/
Budget2003-2004V10.xls
Budget2003-2004V10.xls
(Ordered alphabetically as the files would be in the directory list)
Incorrect file name
/…/Planning/
2003-2004BudgetV10.xls
2003-2004BudgetV10.xls
(Ordered alphabetically as the files would be in the directory list)
Explanation:
The second example shows annual budget reports. Because the reports are annual and likely to be retrieved by the description rather
than the date, it is likely that it will be most appropriate for the description element to come first. Also remember that in some
cases it may be appropriate for the folder to be called “Planning2003-2004”, in which case the file names only need to include a
description.

17. Letters, emails and attachments
• Name of correspondent (sender or receiver as appropriate)
• Subject description (where it is not given in the folder title)
• Date of letter/email/memo
• If incoming correspondence, include ‘rcvd’
• If an attachment, the same info as above, with additional:
• 'attch' - to indicate the document is an attachment
• [2 digit number] of [2 digit number] - to indicate the number of attachments received with the same covering email
Correct file name
/…/Complaints/
BloggsJ20031205attch01of02.pdf
BloggsJ20031205attch02of02.pdf
BloggsJ20031205rcvd.txt
BloggsJ20040105.rtf
BloggsJ20040220.rtf
BloggsJ20040220.rtf
ThomasH20030610rcvd.txt
ThomasH20030710.rtf
(Ordered alphanumerically as the files would be in the
directory list)
Incorrect file name
/…/Complaints/
AttachmentFromHThomas10Jun03.rtf
Attachment1FromJBloggs.pdf
Attachment2FromJBloggs.pdf
EmailFromHelenThomas10Jun03.txt
EmailToJoeBloggs5Dec03.txt
LetterFromJoeBloggs5Jan04.rtf
LetterToHelenThomas10Jul03.rtf
LetterToJoeBloggs20Feb04.rtf
(Ordered alphanumerically as the files would be in the directory list)

18. Final tips!
• Avoid: * : / < > | " ? [ ] ; = + & £ $ , .
• Different Operating Systems recognise different characters.
• Only use the full stop that comes before the file extension: .txt
• Try to apply some of this thinking to your headings and columns within your data as well: are your
columns labelled clearly?
File naming case study:
https://library.stanford.edu/research/data-management-services/case-studies/case-study-file-
naming
Spreadsheet case study:
https://library.stanford.edu/research/data-management-services/case-studies/case-study-
spreadsheets

19. Data Sharing and Management Snafu in 3 Short Acts
Exercise:- the importance of a README file and metadata

20. THANKYOU
Any questions?

22. Liverpool’s Active DataStore