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- Data Archiving & Preservation
Data Services: Data Archiving & Preservation
This guide provides information on managing data and obtaining secondary data for research.
File Types
Long after some software packages are gone, reading your data files may be difficult or impossible. You can help reduce the obscelence of your data files by using file types that are designed for long-term access. The following file types are preferrable over proprietary software-specfic file types:
A. Text Files
PDF/A
TXT
XML
RTF
Not: MS Word
B. Numerical Files
CSV
ASC
Not: MS Excel
C. Video Files
MPEG-4
Not: Quicktime
D. Image Files
TIFF
JPEG2000
Not: GIF, JPG
E. Audio Files
WAV
Not: mp3