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Manage Data Organising File formats

Recommended file formats

For archiving and sharing research data, we recommend using formats that are non-proprietary or widely used (e. g. MS Office). Such formats are most suitable for collaborative work, secondary analysis and long-term archiving.

Below, you can find a list of recommended and accepted file formats for different types of data:

Please note: Files cannot be encrypted. Your file should not block any particular function either, such as copying or printing.  

Please contact us if you are using any other formats than the ones listed

1. Quantitative data (statistics software formats)

Datasets should principally be transmitted in a way that they can be processed with a widely used statistics package (SPSS, Stata, R or SAS). Several options are available:

  1. Proprietary formats of commonly used statistics programmes so-called system files (e.g. SPSS System File).
  2. Software-specific portable file formats (e.g. SAS transport file).
  3. Text-based format:comma-separated values (CSV), tab-separated values (TSV). Those files require setup or syntax files for delivery to pertinent statistics programmes.

Preferred formats:

Accepted formats:

2. Text files

Preferred formats:

Accepted formats:

Please note: Materials in PDF format need to be unrestricted because they can otherwise not be edited or migrated to other formats.

3. Images

Preferred formats:

Accepted formats:

4. Audio

Preferred formats:

Accepted formats:

5. Video

Preferred formats:

Accepted formats:

 

last update: 07.07.2017

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