Data Management: Data Naming & Metadata

File Naming 

• File names should reflect the contents of the file and include enough information to uniquely identify the data file.
  • Name files so they group together. Use the project or investigator.
  • Include version.
  • Do not use spaces or non-alpha-numeric characters.
  • Usually dates written in these formats sort easily: yyyy_mm_dd OR yyyymmdd
• File names may contain information such as project acronym, study title, location, investigator, year(s) of study, data type, version number, and file type.
  • Sevilleta_LTER_NM_2001_08_17_v3.csv

Data labels

• Data within the file should be named and stored so that it is retrievable.
• Use data labels that are descriptive and use data table key.
• Provide the key when sharing the raw data.

DataOne has a good description of file name best practices.

Source: File Naming: a four-part video series from North Carolina Department of Cultural resources under a CC-BY license. 

Metadata - is data about data. It's structured information that describes content and makes it easier to find or use. A metadata record can be embedded in data or stored separately. Any data file in any format can have metadata fields.

• Metadata Standards Directory - provides a list of metadata standards by subject discipline.
• Metadata Standards by Discipline from the Digital Curation Centre (DCC).

At a minimum, create a readme.txt file that contains the basic information about the data, contact information, language, dates, file formats, etc.

More on metadata UCF Libraries Metadata guide