README files

Overview

A README file is a document that introduces and explains a project, helping colleagues and your future self navigate through a past project (Briney, 2014).

Developing

README files contain information about the other files in a directory or folder. The concept comes from programming but is also very useful for research projects. It is usually a simple plain text file called README in capital letters.

A good README includes information that helps the reader understand what the project is about, including helping them do basic navigation through the subfolders (Briney, 2014).

Skilled

README files can be used to record data provenance. They are important for capturing metadata related to research projects and datasets.

Helpful resources

Here are some good resources and templates used for creating README files so that you know what information you should include about your project:

README editor

Make a README

These are more detailed guides on what to include in a README file for a research project, with links to templates:

Research Data Management: Guide to writing “readme” type metadata

Guide to writing "readme" style metadata

Briney, K. (2014, February 25). README.txt. Data Ab Initio: Managing Research Data Right, from the Start. http://dataabinitio.com/?p=378