Exercise 3
a) Fill out the ReadMe file template based on one aspect of your collected data. How far do you get? What do you notice? How could this template be used for qualitative data?
Example ReadMe Template (Humboldt University Berlin)
Source: ReadMe-Template based on Humboldt Universität Berlin, 2022, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0
b) You have already learned about various metadata sets and a ReadMe template. Now, create your own ReadMe template that fits your current thesis or research project. If necessary, conduct further research online.
Proposed Solution
Solution Proposal for Part a):
- The first four sections of the ReadMe template can be filled out without any issues.
- The sections on “Software” and “Software code” may not be applicable, as qualitative research data collection does not always involve software.
- “Additional documentation files” such as codebooks, lab notebooks, or questionnaires are primarily used in quantitative data collection methods.
- This ReadMe template appears to be primarily used for quantitative research but can also be applied to data documentation in the qualitative research context, though it would need to be modified beforehand.
Solution Proposal for Part b):
- A clear example of a template from OstData OstData – Research Data Service for Central, Eastern, and Southeastern European Studies can be found at: https://zenodo.org/records/6956989.