Every discipline will have its own best practices for file naming conventions, storage, metadata, documentation, and everything in between. The information in this guide can serve as a starting point to help you learn more about these data management practices. This page provides more general resources about data management, while the other subpages cover Metadata, File Organization and Naming, (Electronic) Research Notebooks, Data Storage and Security, and Documentation in more detail.

The following are some better data management practices to consider:

• Plan for the entire research data lifecycle (OSU Libraries guide on Data Management and Sharing Plans)
• Develop and use templates and protocols
• Document roles and responsibilities
• Organize files and folders
• Apply appropriate metadata and documentation
• Plan for data protection

These are some excellent resources to get you started with managing your research data: 

Schedule a Consultation with Dani Kirsch, Research Data Services Librarian.