File Organization for Researchers
Why organize your files?
Lets face it, staying digitally organized can quickly get out of hand! Especially when you're diving into research collaborations, dealing with hefty data sets, and constantly sharing electronic files. It's not just you who needs to know where everything is hidden; your collaborators do too!
So, here's my proposal for a file organization structure that'll make your digital life a breeze to navigate and keep things accessible for everyone involved!
Figure 1: Blue boxes are folders and text with no boxes are specific files. Arrows represent sub-files nested within a larger file. ‘x’ represents specific project name files, there may be multiple ‘x’ files nested within each larger file.
How to set up an easy file organization as a biological researcher?
THE RESEARCH FOLDER:
The folder 'RESEARCH' holds immense importance as it serves as a comprehensive repository for all aspects related to past, ongoing, and upcoming research endeavors. Its purpose is to diligently encompass every facet of the research process, from the initial stages of planning and gathering information to the finalization and documentation of findings. With its well-organized structure and easy access, this folder proves to be an invaluable resource for researchers, allowing them to effortlessly navigate through their previous projects and draw insights for future undertakings. It acts as a hub that brings together the countless hours of intellectual endeavors, ensuring that no research effort is lost or forgotten.
THE PROJECT FOLDER
Within the ‘RESEARCH’ folder each project should be listed out by unique project name. The ‘Project’ folder should contain 3 folders entitled ‘DATA’, ‘WRITING’, and ‘PHOTOS’ and one file ‘Read_me’.
Read_me is a pdf file that contains a short description of the project, a list of co-authors/project assistants with contact information, project dates and deadlines, a figure with file organization (a figure similar to this but with more project-specific file layout) and any other information relevant to the project.
THE DATA FOLDER
Data gets messy and nothing is worse than digitally misplacing an important data sheet. Having an organized data folder and subfolders is essential. This is my proposed solution to cleaning up the clutter.
The data folder should contain all data for a specific project. The data folder has three nested folders ‘LOG_BOOKS’, ‘EXPERIMENTS’, and ‘METHODS’.
LOG_BOOKS is a folder that contain an ongoing log of project experiment this includes all date and times that experiments were run, who ran each experiment, and how data was collected and stored.
METHODS is a folder contain a list on current methods, protocols, and experimental designs for the project. This file may have additional sub-folders nested within based on project needs linked to each ‘EXPERIMENT’ folder (see ‘EXPERIMENT’). Methods and protocols documents should be created before any data is collected and potentially reviewed by relevant co-authors.
‘EXPERIMENT’ is/are folder(s) that contains all project active and finalized data for each experiment.Examples of ‘EXPERIMENT’ folders include ‘microbial’ and ‘sequencing’ or any type of experiment run within each project. Each ‘EXPERIMENT’ folder has three folders nested within it labled ‘DATA_SHEETS’, ‘FIGURES’, and ‘CODE’. ‘DATA_SHEETS’ had all data for project including folders nested of ‘Raw’ and ‘finalized’ for raw data and finalized data respectively*.The ‘FIGURES’ folder has all figures and the ‘CODE’ folder has all necessary code and analysis for the project with folders ‘Working’ and ‘PreviousV’ nested within each of the folders. ‘Working’ folders contain all active and finalized versions and ‘PreviousV’ contain all previous or prior versions of code and figures. Additional folders may be required for to fit specific project needs.
*note: data sheets should be labeled with dates and leading zeros for accessibility.
THE WRITING FOLDER
Writing is one of the most important yet challenging parts of being a biological researcher. The best writing always comes from the most editing. With vast edits, this can cause a build-up of precious first drafts and previous versions.
The writing folder should contain all written work for the presentations. This folder has 4 sub-folders nested within it, ‘PROPOSALS’, ‘MANUSCRIPTS’, ‘PRESENTATIONS’, and ‘REFERENCES’.
PROPOSALS is a folder that contain all project proposals. Within this folder there may be additional sub-folders for each proposal application characterized by ‘grant name’ if creating more than one proposal for a project or applying to multiple grant funding resources. Within each ‘grant name’ folder there should be a ‘Working’ for active/finalized versions and ‘PreviousV’ for previous versions.
MANUSCRIPTS is a folder that contain all manuscripts/publications. Within this folder there may be additional sub-folders characterized by ‘manuscript name’ if creating more than one manuscript/publication for a project . Within each ‘manuscript name’ folder there should be a ‘Working’ for active/finalized versions and ‘PreviousV’ for previous versions.
PRESENTATIONS is a folder that contains all presentations. Within this folder there may be additional sub-folders for each proposal application characterized by ‘presenation name’ if creating more than one presentation for a project or multiple conferences. Within each ‘presentation name’ folder there should be a ‘Working’ for active/finalized versions and ‘PreviousV’ for previous versions.
THE PHOTOS FOLDER
A picture is always worth a thousand words! Pictures are always needed for PowerPoint presentations, poster sessions, or even to show off to your friends. I always find myself wishing I took a couple of extra seconds to snap some more pictures during my fieldwork, and then when I do take those photos I spend hours trying to find them all! Having a photos folder that includes all project photos is an easy way to have them all on hand. It is suggested that photos are captured of project setup, locations/field site, project members in both ‘action shots’ and team photo. Additional sub-folders may be necessary for specific project needs.
