Use consistent and comprehensible file names and file structures.
Following proper file naming conventions makes it easier to navigate and find specific files, and allows other researchers to understand and reuse your dataset.
Queen's University Library (QUL) expects that dataset files are named consistently and comprehensibly. File naming is unique to each project, but there are some general guidelines for naming files which we recommend:
- Name files consistently
- Include contextual information (e.g., project name, type of data, name of creator, etc.)
- Do not use spaces
- Use capital letters, hyphens, or underscores to delimit words
- Do not use non-alphanumeric characters (e.g., @ # $ % &, etc.)
- Denote dates using the ISO 8601 standard YYYY-MM-DD (e.g., 2019-01-10)
Example: ProjectGalapagos_MarineIguana_Counts_SantaCruz_ST_20180122.csv
In addition to the general guidelines mentioned above, use filenames to:
- Indicate file versions (e.g., Filename_v1, Filename_v2, etc.)
- Organize your files and ensure names are descriptive enough to be understood without a folder structure
If files cannot be named using the above-noted guidelines, ensure your dataset documentation includes details for users to understand your filenames.
