What is this guidance about…
This guide will describe This article describes the types of information that should be included within a README file . READMEs are useful documents that include metadata relevant to your research project and assist secondary users in understanding the contents and structure of your research materials.
What is a README?
A README is a text document that can be used to capture information about your research project. It should describe your research project, the materials (data, code, etc.), and how your files are organized. Additional information such as methodology, data cleaning, data citations, access instructions, and licensing or terms of use may also be included within a README.
Essentially your README is a place to store descriptive information about your research throughout the life of your project. With everything in one location it is easy to get a snapshot of your project and its files. It’s also simple to pull these details into a record within a data repository – just copy and paste the information from your README straight into the repository record!
What
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Should be
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Included in a README?
In general, a README for data management should include the following information:
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A README should provide enough information for a user to understand the contents of your project folder(s). We recommend creating a README at the very start of your project to capture these pertinent details. It will save you a lot of time in the end.
What
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Format is
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Recommended for a README?
Since the README is a text document, we recommend sharing the final version as a .txt or .pdf for long term preservation and access.
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