Formats more likely to be accessible in the future are:

• Non-proprietary
• Open, documented standard
• Common usage by research community
• Standard representation (ASCII, Unicode)
• Unencrypted
• Uncompressed
• Software agnostic = can be used with many different software, not just one
• If you have to use proprietary formats, export or convert them to open file formats at the end of your project

Consider migrating your data into a format with the above characteristics, in addition to keeping a copy in the original software format.

Examples of preferred format choices:

• PDF/A, not Word
• ASCII, not Excel
• MPEG-4, not Quicktime
• TIFF or JPEG2000, not GIF or JPG

Library of Congress' recommended file formats.

Tips:

Do not go more than 2 folders deep

Each folder should have a README with contextual information

Choose an organization strategy that works for you (thematic grouping/by file type/by analysis)

Simmon's College guide.

NYU's guide. 

MIT's guide.

Example:

• -Project
  • --src (source files)
  • --data (raw data (should be read only))
  • --results (processed data)
  • --docs (text docs and codebooks)

Directory structure naming 

When organizing files, directory top-level folder should include the project title, unique identifier, and date (year). The substructure should have a clear, documented naming convention; for example, each run of an experiment, each version of a dataset, and/or each person in the group.

File naming

• Reserve the 3-letter file extension for application-specific codes, for example, formats like .wrl, .mov, and .tif.
• Choose SHORT file names that are recognizable to humans + machines
• Prefix your files with a date in YYYY-MM-DD
• Avoid special characters!
• Avoid spaces in filenames - use an underscore _ instead
• Identify the activity or project in the file name

Use free tools to help you:

http://www.bulkrenameutility.co.uk

http://renamer4mac.com

http://www.powersurgepub.com/products/psrenamer.html

File naming conventions for specific disciplines

DOE's Atmospheric Radiation Measurement (ARM) program