Data Management 101 (2015)

Do You Still Have Your Data?

• What if your hard drive crashes?• What if you are accused of fraud?• What if your collaborator abruptly quits?• What if the building burns down?• What if you need to use your old data?• What if your backup fails?• What if your computer gets stolen?• What if…

Data Management 101

25 September 2015Kristin Briney, PhD

Why Data Management?

• Don’t lose data


• Don’t lose data• Find data more easily– Especially if you need older data



• Easier to analyze organized, documented data



• Easier to analyze organized, documented data• Avoid accusations of fraud & misconduct



• Easier to analyze organized, documented data• Avoid accusations of fraud & misconduct• Get credit for your data



• Easier to analyze organized, documented data• Avoid accusations of fraud & misconduct• Get credit for your data• Don’t drown in irrelevant data

Data Management Basics

• Introduction to a few topics in data management– Storage and backups– Documentation– File organization and naming– Future file usability

For each minute of planning at beginning of a project, you will save 10 minutes of headache later

grover_net, http://www.flickr.com/photos/9246159@N06/599820538/ (CC BY-ND)

STORAGE AND BACKUPS

http://www.theonion.com/article/heroic-computer-dies-to-save-world-from-masters-th-1963

Follow the 3-2-1 Rule

3 copies of your data

In 2 different locations

On more than 1 type of storage hardware

321

Storage

• How?– Computer– External hard drive– Shared drives/servers– Tape backup– Cloud storage*– CDs/DVDs– USB flash drive

Erica Wheelan, https://www.flickr.com/photos/reinventedwheel/5985479866 (CC BY)

*Cloud Storage

• Read the Terms of Service!• Eg. Google Drive

– “When you upload or otherwise submit content to our Services, you give Google (and those we work with) a worldwide license to use, host, store, reproduce, modify, create derivative works (such as those resulting from translations, adaptations or other changes we make so that your content works better with our Services), communicate, publish, publicly perform, publicly display and distribute such content. The rights you grant in this license are for the limited purpose of operating, promoting, and improving our Services, and to develop new ones”

Backups

• How?– Any backup is better than none– Automatic backup is better than manual– Your work is only as safe as your backup plan

Backups

• How?– Check your backups• Backups only as good as ability to recover data• Test your backups periodically

– Preferably a fixed schedule– 1 or 2 times a year may be enough– Bigger/more complex backups should be checked more often

• Test your backup whenever you change things

Example

• I keep my data– On my computer– Backed up manually on shared drive• I set a weekly reminder to do this

– Backed up automatically via SpiderOak cloud storage

DOCUMENTATION

Brady, https://www.flickr.com/photos/freddyfromutah/4424199420 (CC BY)

http://retractionwatch.com/2015/07/23/data-mismatch-and-authors-illness-pluck-finch-study-from-literature/

What would someone unfamiliar with your data need in order to find, evaluate, understand, and reuse them?

Documentation

• Why?– Data without notes are unusable– Because you won’t remember everything– For others who may need to use your files

Documentation

• How?– Take good notes• Capture as much detail as possible• Your coworkers should be able to understand

Documentation

• How?– Keep methods• Protocols• Code• Survey• Codebook• Data dictionary• Anything that lets someone reproduce your results

Documentation

• How?– README.txt• For digital information, address the questions

– “What the heck am I looking at?”– “Where do I find X?”

• Use for project description in main folder• Use to document conventions• Use where ever you need extra clarity

Example

• Project-wide README.txt– Basic project information• Title• Contributors• Grant info• etc.

– Contact information for at least one person– All locations where data live, including backups

FILE ORGANIZATION & NAMING

Dan Zen, http://www.flickr.com/photos/danzen/5551831155/ (CC BY)

https://twitter.com/CMBuddle/status/638800933598679040

File Organization

• Why?– Easier to find and use data– Tell, at a glance, what is done and what you have

yet to do– Can still find and use files in the future

File Organization

• How?– Pick a system• Maybe work out a system with your coworkers

– Get in the habit

File Organization

• How?– Any system is better than none– Make your system logical for your data• 80/20 Rule

– Possibilities• By project• By analysis type• By date• …

Example

• Thesis– By chapter• By file type (draft, figure, table, etc.)

• Data– By researcher• By analysis type

– By date

http://retractionwatch.com/2014/01/07/doing-the-right-thing-authors-retract-brain-paper-with-systematic-human-error-in-coding/

File Naming Conventions

• Why?– Make it easier to find files– Avoid duplicates– Make it easier to wrap up a project because you

know which files belong to it


• How?– Pick what is most important for your name• Date• Site• Analysis• Sample• Short description


• How?– Files should be named consistently– Files names should be descriptive but short (<25

characters)– Use underscores instead of spaces– Avoid these characters: “ / \ : * ? ‘ < > [ ] & $– Use the dating convention: YYYY-MM-DD

– Document your system!

Example

• YYYYMMDD_site_sampleNum– 20140422_PikeLake_03– 20140424_EastLake_12

• Analysis-sample-concentration– UVVis-stilbene-10mM– IR-benzene-pure

DATA SECURITY

https://www.flickr.com/photos/bilal-kamoon/6958578902/ (CC BY)

https://chronicle.com/article/UNC-Chapel-Hill-Researcher/124821/

Know Your Data Security Plan

• HIPAA, FERPA, FISMA, IRB, etc.

• If you have sensitive data, know the plan– Who has access?– What are the procedures?– Who’s responsible?

• Ask for help!

FUTURE FILE USABILITY

Ian, http://www.flickr.com/photos/ian-s/2152798588/ (CC BY-NC-ND)

http://retractionwatch.com/2013/07/19/jci-paper-retracted-for-duplicated-panels-after-authors-cant-provide-original-data/

Data Retention

• 3 years required by government• Better to do 5-10 years

lukasbenc, https://www.flickr.com/photos/lukasbenc/3493808772 (CC BY-NC-SA)

Future File Usability

• What?– Can you read your files from 10 years ago?– Data needs to be• Accessible• Interpretable• Readable

Future File Usability:Interpretable

• How?– Back up written notes• People always forget this one• Difficult to interpret data without notes• Options

– Digitally scan (recommended with digital data)– Photocopies

Future File Usability:Readable

• How?– Convert file formats• Can you open digital files from 10 years ago?• Use open, non-proprietary formats that are in wide use

– .docx .txt– .xlsx .csv– .jpg .tif

• Save a copy in the old format, just in case• Preserve software if no open file format

Future File Usability:Accessible

• How?– Move to new media• Hardware dies and becomes obsolete

– Floppy disks!• Expect average lifetime to be 3-5 years• Keep up with technology

WHERE TO GO FROM HERE

easylocum, https://www.flickr.com/photos/easylocum/2921542814 (CC BY)

Chris Hoving, https://www.flickr.com/photos/pcrucifer/2433274595 (CC BY-ND)

http://www.flickr.com/photos/72775875@N06/7729764370/ (CC BY-NC-SA)

Resources

• Data Services– http://uwm.edu/libraries/dataservices/• http://uwm.edu/libraries/dataservices/#videos

• Data Management Guide– http://guides.library.uwm.edu/data

• Data Services Librarian– [email protected]

Thank You!

• This presentation available under a Creative Commons Attribution (CC-BY) license

• Some content courtesy of Dorothea Salo – http://www.graduateschool.uwm.edu/research/researcher-

central/proposal-development/data-plan/boot-camp/ (CC BY)

Data Management 101 (2015)

Education

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