Folder Structure
Similar with file naming conventions, there is no ideal way to organize folders for a project and this will depend on the data There are, however, recommendations on how to organize files for a project. I will present my generic version that has been modelled after Briney et al. and Noble. The folder structure can be modified to the needs of the researcher. Here are some suggestions:
- Each project should have its own folder.
- The next level will be the framework of your project. For example, having a data, source code (src), documents (docs), and results. Other folders such as data exploration can be added here.
- The second level can be organized by date. Dating folders has some benefit. An experiment can take more than one day to complete with data being collected each day. Occasionally, there can be confounding factors based on the day, person, location, etc. Dating can help you figure out which data is valid or not.
- The third level is are the files that have been named according to your file naming convention.
- It's customizable! Add folders as you see fit. For example adding presentations or grant proposals under your docs folder.
References
Briney, K., Coates, H. & Goben, A. Foundational Practices of Research Data Management. Research Ideas and Outcomes 6, e56508 (2020)
Nobel, W.S. A Quick Guide to Organizing Computational Biology Projects. PLOS Computational Biology 5, e1000424 (2009)
