Research data includes inputs, datasets, logs, results, checkpoints, and the records needed to understand them. The main approved copy is the version and location that the project owner treats as authoritative.
Goal: choose main approved, working, temporary, and final locations for a research project before large files are created.
Prerequisites: the project's supervisor/information owner and intended compute environment are known.
Execution context: planning exercise. Do not move or delete real data while completing it.
For the assessed fictional exercise, follow the Passport lesson. This companion supports private project planning; its extra packet/map is not another public submission. Keep real people, paths and records private.
Scenario Inventory#
For each file or result, choose a location and justify it:
| File or result | Questions to answer |
|---|---|
| Python source and tests | Who reviews it? Does it belong in GitHub? |
| Raw dataset | Is it published, internal, confidential, or restricted? |
| Processed training data | Can it be recreated? Does computation need fast I/O? |
| Model checkpoints | Which are temporary and which support a result? |
| Logs and metrics | How long are they needed and who reads them? |
| Final figures/tables | What must be preserved for a thesis/publication? |
| Software tokens | Which credential store handles them? |
| Temporary job files | What happens when the job or scratch lifetime ends? |
Complete The Location Map#
Information owner:
Classification:
Source code:
Main approved raw data copy:
Euler working data:
Temporary data:
Checkpoints:
Logs and metrics:
Final results:
Long-term handover/archive:
Backup and restore owner:
Retention/cleanup date:
Use system choices, the NAS guide, and Euler storage.
Add Repository Boundaries#
Review .gitignore. It should normally exclude local secrets, data,
checkpoints, caches, environments, and generated output while keeping source,
tests, configuration examples, and documentation visible.
Do not add a broad pattern such as *.csv if small source-controlled test
fixtures legitimately use that extension. Prefer project directories such as
data/local/, checkpoints/, or results/generated/.
Verification#
Ask the supervisor/information owner to confirm:
- the classification and approved services;
- the main approved raw-data copy;
- which working locations are backed up;
- which temporary locations may be purged;
- the required files and results for final handover.
Common Failures And Safe Recovery#
- Large file already committed: stop pushing, notify the repository owner, and move it to approved storage before coordinated history cleanup.
- Only copy is in scratch or Blade
D:: copy and verify it in approved durable storage immediately. - Collaborators need write access: use the approved group/ACL procedure; do not make the directory world-writable.
Understand Before Accepting AI Output#
- The agent did not infer data classification or ownership.
- I verified storage behavior from current policy/source documentation.
- I know which files are the main approved copies and which are disposable.
- No secret value appears in the location map.
Evidence#
For real project follow-up, review the approved map, relevant safe .gitignore
diff and recovery explanation privately with the information owner. The fictional
Passport mission submits its declared choices, not a real project map.
Ask For Help When#
Classification, licensing, consent, ownership, approved cloud use, or retention is unclear.