Data Management
D2 — Consistent, sortable file naming
final_final2 is where projects die. Name files so machines can read them: ISO dates, no spaces, zero-padded versions. They then sort correctly and a script can glob them.
2026-07-08_s01_congruent_v02.csv
2026-07-08_s02_incongruent_v02.csv
# not: final data (2)!!.csvD3 — Every dataset has a data dictionary
Data without metadata turns to noise. Ship a description of each field with the data: meaning, units, collection date, and who collected it. Skip it and your own spreadsheet baffles you within a year.
# data_dictionary.md
rt Reaction time, seconds
accuracy 1 = correct, 0 = error
subject Anonymized ID (s01..s40)D5 — 3-2-1 backup for irreplaceable raw data
Irreplaceable means irreplaceable. Keep three copies, on two kinds of media, with one off-site. Data you cannot recollect earns at least a primary plus one automated backup.
copy 1 /mnt/labshare/saccade primary
copy 2 external HDD weekly rsync
copy 3 institutional cloud offsiteD7 — Sensitive data documented and access-controlled
Law and ethics require it. De-identify personal data where you can, lock down access where you cannot, and write down how you handle it.
python deidentify.py raw/ -o safe/
chmod 700 safe/ # owner-only access