The CSA Archive: Requirements for Documentation
Important notice: The CSA web site was re-designed in August of 2010. Some documents then available were out of date; so they were not included in the re-design and were not updated. This is one of those documents. Information about dates of posting and revision remains here, but there will be no revision of any kind after August, 2010.
Pages concerning CSA archival activities may seem to imply that CSA continues to do archival work. However, all archival projects under CSA's oversight have been terminated. Scholars interested in archiving digital files may wish to contact the Archaeology Data Service in York, England; Archaeological Research Institute at Arizona State University; or the Digital Archaeology Record.
Crucial data about digital files must accompany those files if they are to be useful to other users. The following lists indicate minimum requirements for data to be deposited in the CSA archive, though not all projects will use all categories. (For a lengthy discussion of indexing and these categories, see CSA Newsletter article entitled "Where is the Information," from the Fall, 1997, issue. Those who are considering depositing data should start here to begin preparing the necessary documentation, but consultation with CSA personnel is recommended. Please write to CSA Director, Harrison Eiteljorg, II, CSA, Box 60, Bryn Mawr, PA 19010 (email: user-name nicke at (@) domain-name csanet.org; tel.: 484.612.5862).
Basic Information for indexing:
- Project name, subject, and brief description
- Project type (excavation, survey, catalog raisonné, etc.)
- Project location
- Subject location (if subject has been moved from project location)
- File name or database name
- File formats included
- Software used, including version numbers
- File creator(s), including contact information
- Dates of creation (beginning and ending)
- Dates of subject (beginning and ending)
- Language of creation and character coding standard (ISO with number, ASCII, Unicode)
- Project sponsors (institutions, foundations, corporations)
- Related resources
- Instructions or other text documentation
- Permissions for use and other copyright information
Extended documentation for users and to aid migration - for CAD models:
- Layer naming system used and list of all layers
- Related CAD file(s), if any
- Related data file(s), if any
- File names and formats [a lengthy history may be necessary here if the project has involved multiple programs for creating the CAD file(s) and/or migration of the data]
- Software used, including version numbers
- Significance of colors or line types, if any (a practice not recommended by CSA)
- Related script files or macros
- Stored views or user coordinate systems, if any
- Measurement units employed
- Data gathering methods and precision, probably including a lengthy discussion of both practical fieldwork issues and the impact of those matters on achievable precision
- Review processes
- Instructions or other text documentation
Extended documentation for users and to aid migration - for images:
- File name (or schema for group of names if applicable)
- File format
- Related file(s), if any
- Instructions or other text documentation
- Camera, lens, film, and exposure information, if any
- Image history - original format or medium; methods of transformation, if any; file format of original file [lengthy history may be necessary here if the project has involved multiple programs for creating the file(s) and/or migration of the data]
- Color, b&w, or gray-scale and number of colors or shades of gray; color table, if any
The following documentation notes were originally created for data tables to be archived by the Archaeological Data Archive. Although the Archaeological Data Archive has ceased active operation, these notes have been retained for historic interest and as potentially useful advice.
Extended documentation for users and to aid migration - for data tables (for each table in a multi-table database or for the only table in a flat file) or for spreadsheets:
- File name (or table name within database file)
- File format
- Related file name(s)
- File format of original file [lengthy history may be necessary here if the project has involved multiple programs for creating the file(s) and/or migration of the data]
- Names of all fields (columns)
- Related script files or macros
- Instructions or other text documentation
- For each field (column):
- Definition of field (column) content
- Data type (text, number, date, etc.)
- Limitation(s) on entries, including data dictionaries, if applicable
- Units used, if applicable
- Relationships to other tables, if applicable
Extended documentation for users and to aid migration - for multi-table databases:
- File name if a single file contains all tables
- File format
- Related file name(s), if any
- Explanation of file relations and overall database structure
- Related script files or macros
- Instructions or other text documentation
- File format of original file [lengthy history may be necessary here if the project has involved multiple programs for creating the file(s) and/or migration of the data]
- Known violations of normalization rules, if any
- Known problems, if any, with data entry procedures or data gathering procedures that may have affected data integrity
About this document:
- Title: The CSA Archive: Requirements for Documentation
- File name: archivedoc.html
- Author: Harrison Eiteljorg, II and the staff of CSA, Box 60, Bryn Mawr, PA 19010 (e-mail: user-name nicke at (@) domain-name csanet.org; tel.: 484.612.5862)
- Revision history: This document was first posted in July, 2000. It was updated in October of 2002. Address and cosmetic changes made: December, 2005. Minor appearance modifications in August 2010.
- Internet access: This document is maintained at csanet.org by CSA and Harrison Eiteljorg, II. Note that there may be changes in computer addresses that are beyond the control of CSA.
- Long-term availability: This document or its successors will be maintained for electronic access until for the foreseeable future. Prior versions will not be archived.
- Citation permissions and copyright information: This document is copyrighted by CSA. Citations should include the date of the document cited.
