Managing Data
This section refers to the creation of a good data collection, which implies carefully planned management strategy, clean and straightforward data, and clear and easy-to-use documentation, all of which facilitate easy and quick access by the secondary user.
Management Strategy
For any data collection undertaking, data management covers both 'what to manage' and 'how to manage it'. 'What to manage' is important because data management applies not just to the data themselves, but to additional and accompanying information, chiefly documentation, code and command files, and metadata. [more...]
Creating Dataset
This section contains a set of summary descriptions of the best practices in the creation of data files. Following these suggestions from the very beginning will ensure that your dataset is going to be clean and easy to use, and the analysis and documentation processes, and later the archival process, are easier. [more...]
Documentation
Preparing high-quality documentation, or codebook, can be a time-consuming task. This section outlines the ideal elements of clear and comprehensive technical documentation for quantitative and qualitative data. [more...]
During Analysis
During this crucial period, the organisation and maintenance of the dataset is particularly important, as team members are working on the data and making changes, additions, and deletions to the dataset. For example version control, storage, file structures, back-ups, security, format conversion and preferred data formats need to be considered. [more...]