In order to be understood and used by other researchers, your data should be prepared appropriately. This includes:

• data should be clearly labelled and documented;
• research procedures, fieldwork methods and the context of the research should be explained;
• variables, codes and fields should be self-explanatory;
• the documentation of data collection may include user guides, questionnaires, technical reports, publications, working papers, etc.;
• in case of interviews, informed consent may need to be obtained for data to be shared and reused;
• data may need to be anonymised (best practices on how to anonymize quantitative and qualitative data are provided for example by the UK Data Archive)

For more information, please read our "Best practices for the preparation of data for submission".