{"id":106,"date":"2021-07-06T13:27:11","date_gmt":"2021-07-06T10:27:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sites.uef.fi\/rdm\/?page_id=106"},"modified":"2026-02-09T11:45:46","modified_gmt":"2026-02-09T09:45:46","slug":"documentation-and-metadata","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/sites.uef.fi\/rdm\/documentation-and-metadata\/","title":{"rendered":"3. Describing research data (documentation, metadata)"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

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From the beginning of the research project a careful description <\/strong>of research data is important. It ensures the comprehensibility of the research data both for yourself and for others. It also decreases the risk of false interpretation and significantly promotes the findability and reusability of your data. Without proper description, research data are just a collection of random files, numbers, and characters, which can make it difficult to use and reuse the data. Describing research data is therefore key to implementing the FAIR principles in practice.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Investing time in describing your data during the research project will also save time when you are publishing the dataset. Sharing the descriptive information is always recommended to increase the visibility of the research, even in situations where the research material itself cannot be opened for some reason. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Descriptive metadata can be generated automatically, for example from the instruments used, but in all research, metadata must be actively planned and created. Descriptive information can be recorded in laboratory or research notebooks, systematically compiled files and directories, or informal notes.<\/p>\n\n\n\t

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