This set of Frequently Asked Questions and responses is intended to be migrated to the archive system when it becomes available.
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How does the system handle a change to a version of a data file?
Versioning of data (and metadata) is a very important issue. If a dataset is made available to other scientists and then a change is made it is essential that there are mechanisms to refer to each version and that the precise details and time of the change are recorded. Since the significance of a change can vary greatly it is difficult to create a single rule for managing changes. However, the following general principles are applied:
- Minor changes to metadata records associated with a dataset should be recorded but allowed by the system as long as the dataset has not yet been published with a DOI (Digital Object Identifier).
- A minor change to a data file (such as a correction of a formatting issue) should be recorded but allowed by the system as long as the dataset has not yet been published with a DOI.
- If a dataset has been published with a DOI then the Data Centre has a duty not to change the data. In such cases a new version of the dataset should be uploaded and published. The new version should be clearly labelled with a version number and descriptive information to explain why and how it differs from the original version.
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What output file-naming convention should be used?
There is no file-naming convention for the files themselves. This is because the metadata records associated with the files should contain all the information required to understand the files. You are therefore free to name files as you think is most appropriate.
