Health science measurement, case study

A best practices checklist from a JYU case study in health measurement, conducted in 2021.
  • Agree among the research team on a systematic naming convention for master files, individual files, and different versions. 
  • Create a Readme.docx file in the data directory root and all key subfolders that contains the description. directory naming conventions and a brief explanation of the contents of each folder and file. 
  • For each master folder, create a file named METHODS_ folder name .txt that contains the link. a description of the methods used to collect, process and document the data set.
  • Include a description of the standards of procedure, measurement equipment, and analysis scripts in the method description. Example: Key information about data from wearable sensors includes sensor name, location, mounting method, recording duration, and resolution.
  • Also save and describe the syntax used for statistical data processing.
  • For each master folder, create a folder named ABOUT_ folder name .txt that contains a link to the metadata record created for JYU's Converis. The Converis metadata record contains basic description information about the data (including title, abstract, authors, rights holders, project, publications, keywords, distributor, license, planned lifecycle, planned data archive of published data, last modified date, MIME type, and file format). Instructions for describing Converis can be found here (in Intranet Uno).
  • Electronic Laboratory Diaries (ELNs) are a common tool for daily documentation. You can compare products on the market, for example, from a table maintained by Harvard Medical School.

Also check the RDMKit Documentation Guide in the for Health and Natural Sciences, by ELIXIR.