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Alaska Region Interim Data Management User Guide
  • Alaska Region Interim Data Management User Guide
  • Background
    • Why Data Managment?
    • The Big Picture: Integrating Data Management with Project Management
    • Definition of Project and Product (aka Data Resources)
  • Four Fundamental Activities of Data Management
    • Establish Roles and Responsibilities
    • Quality Management
    • Security and Preservation
    • Documentation
  • Alaska Data Management 101
    • Workflow
    • File Organization and Best Practices
      • Best Practices in Naming Conventions
      • Best Practices for Version Control
      • Changelog Best Practices
    • Alaska Regional Data Repository
    • Data Management Policy
  • Plan
    • Why Data Planning?
    • Data Management Plan Templates
      • Data Standards in brief
    • Project & Data Management Integration
    • Considerations for Projects with External Partners
  • ACQUIRE
    • Common Data Types
      • Open Formats
      • Best Practices in Tabular Data
      • Best Practices in Databases
      • Best Practices in Geospatial Data
      • Best Practices with Collections of Similar Types of Data
      • Best Practices with Source Data
    • Quality Management Procedures
      • Incorporating Data Standards
      • Using Unique Identifiers
  • MAINTAIN
    • Update Metadata
  • Access & Share
    • Open Data Requirements
      • Obtaining a Digital Object Identifier (DOI)
      • Obtaining a URL
      • Sharing without a URL
  • Long-term Storage Options
    • Using the Regional Data Repository
    • Public Accessible Repositories
  • Records Schedule & Disposition
  • Data Management Actions Quick Guide
  • Glossary
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  1. Alaska Data Management 101
  2. File Organization and Best Practices

Best Practices in Naming Conventions

When naming the project folder (short title), files within, and even variable names (column headers in spreadsheets) there are some best practices in naming conventions to keep in mind.

  • Keep names short, but meaningful.

  • Use ISO date format: YYYY, YYYYMM, or YYYYMMDD. It ensures that files with the same name and different dates are sorted in order.

  • Avoid using “draft”, “version”, or “final” in file names. Use date (in ISO format, see above) to distinguish versions or use consecutive numbering live v1, v2, v3, ...

  • When using personal names, give the family name first, followed by the first name or initials (e.g. SmithMary or SmithMC).

  • Use only letters, numbers, dashes, “-“, and underscores, “_”. Do not use spaces or any other characters.

Examples of file names using the naming conventions:

  • 20201211_SmithMC_samplingdata.jpeg

  • ProjectReport_20201213.docx

  • 20201215_duckData-south.xlxs

  • PBear_2020_annualobservationv4.tiff

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Last updated 3 years ago

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