Documentation in Action

Now that we’ve gotten a sense of how documentation looks in the wild, we can now start completing a README for the project that we’ll be working on throughout the program. We’ll begin by opening the README-template.txt document that was downloaded from OSF. If you haven’t yet done this, or are having issues finding it, please see the session “Block 1 - Introduction to OSF”, for instructions, or ask your program instructor.

Quick Link to README Template

Here is a quick link to the template for you to quickly download, if needed: README template

A few things to note:

You may notice that the document looks a bit jittery and isn’t the friendliest thing to read. This is because it is a plain text document, meaning that it has none of the formatting of a Microsoft Word document, but can be opened by any operating system. It might take a little bit of getting used to, but using plain text is an important factor in making our work FAIR.
It’s also possible that you might not be able to complete every section of a README at the start of a project - and that’s ok! This should be a living document that is regularly updated, and it’s good to think of how you might implement an update schedule, either by yourself or among your project collaborators.
This will be the place that you can write down your naming convention and folder structure that you created. If things change during a project, it’s no problem! This is where the updating schedule comes in handy, and we’ll be returning to the README throughout the series to update it accordingly.

Let’s jump in and start filling it out!

Update the DMP

Once you have finished completing as much of the README as you can at this point, return to the DMP Assistant and updated the following questions:

Section 1: Data Collection
- Does the data you will be working with contain sensitive information that requires data protection considerations? For example: (Select all that apply)
Section 2: Documentation and Metadata
- What documentation will be created for the data to be read and interpreted correctly in the future?
- How will you make sure that documentation is created or captured consistently throughout your project?
- Do you plan to use a metadata standard and/or tools to document and describe your data? If so, please list here.
Section 7: Sensitive Data and Legal Compliance