When a new collaborator enters your project, they need to come up to speed on your project quickly. Others may also be inspired by your project and want to know how it was created. In both cases, your project decision making process and workflow are important. This process also helps other understand how you put your project together to reproduce similar results. Part of a project is the documentation about choices that were made along the way. Think of this as the methods section of your research project.
- Consider how to name your files to simplify the organization of your files and locate your files with ease, as well as making it easier for others to understand and reuse your data.
- Metadata:
- Are you describing your research materials in a way that brings people to your project?
- How are you describing your materials?
- Be sure to choose a standardized vocabulary and method for describing materials that all project members will use.
- How did you scope your project?
- What materials did you decide to include and why? What have you not included as a result?
- What worked and what didn't work? Not everything works in digital projects and some experimentation is needed and should be documented.
- How did you decide to organize your project and why?