CSV Template

The csv template is customized for each registration template and template version. This means that an updated template must have a new csv file generated for it in order for the registrations to be uploaded.

General Layout

The CSV template (see table below) is structured with columns representing specific information and rows representing individual registrations. 

The first row includes keys or identifiers that are used by the system to read the csv file and should not be altered. The second row includes the registration ID in the first column and the individual registration questions. Registration information begins on row 3. The table below illustrates the general layout.

CSV Fields 

The fields within the CSV template are designed to align exactly with the specific registration template. Several columns require information for the csv to be uploaded. The system will not upload the files if any of the cells in the column are empty or formatted incorrectly. These columns are shown in the table below.

CSV Column Name Required?
Title ✔
Description ✔
Admin Contributors ✔
Read-Write Contributors
Read-Only Contributors
Bibliographic Contributors ✔
Category ✔
Affiliated Institutions
License ✔
Subjects ✔
Tags
External ID
Project GUID
Registration Questions if applicable

Field Formatting

Registration ID"

Each registration template and template version has a unique ID. This ID must match what’s available in the system. Registration IDs that are no longer available in the system will result in an “Invalid schema ID” error.

Description

The description column is where a brief, high-level description of the project/study can be provided and is viewable only by the registration’s contributors. This column is free-text and accepts most characters.

Admin, Read-Write, and Read-Only

These three columns are where the registration contributors are listed and given specific permissions. Typically, Admin contributors should accept or reject registrations within 48 hours of their submission via email that is sent to their OSF affiliated email account. A detailed list of contributor permissions can be found here.

This Admin contributor approval workflow can be bypassed; however, it is recommended that this not be enabled so researchers have the opportunity to remove themselves since registrations are permanent.

Contributors are added by the format below. 

Format
Name <email>;
Example
Coosje Lisabet Steere Veldkamp <coosje@email.com>; David Thomas Mellor <david@email.com>; Marjan Bakker <marjan@email.com>; ….

There isn’t a limit on the number of names that can be used. For example, the name Jane Elizabeth Short Musgrove will be accepted by the system.

OSF affiliated email addresses must be used for the registration to be accessible through a user’s account. Email addresses that are not in the system will be sent an email so they can claim and set up an account.

Bibliographic Contributors

Bibliographic contributors are contributors whose names are associated with and listed on the registration (see the right hand column in the image below). Note the names in blue are contributors with an OSF account and those in black do not have an account.

Format
Name <email>;

Example
John Smith <john@email.com>; Jane Doe <jane@email.com>; Adriana Van Houte,  <adriana@email.com>; Cosme Stojanovski <cosme@email.com>; 

Category

Categories provide additional structure within the project. Blank cells will be labelled as uncategorized since it is the default value. Categories include the following:

Analysis Procedure
Communication Project
Data Software
Hypothesis Uncategorized
Instrumentation
Methods and Measures

Affiliated Institutions

Affiliated Institutions are enabled by a separate OSF product, where organizations can set up a single sign-on to access the OSF and associate their faculty/staff’s OSF work with their institution. Only affiliated institutions of the Admin contributor can be included on the registration.

License

A list of licenses is available here and the licensing text within the cell must match this list. 
Only one license can be applied to a registration.
Most licenses follow the format below.
Format
License name
Example
CC0 1.0 Universal
No License, BSD 3-Clause “New”/”Revised” License, and MIT licenses require the year and the copyright names and must adhere to the format below.
Format
License name; year; FirstName LastName, FirstName LastName, etc.
Example
No License; 2021; Jane Doe, John Doe

Subjects

The OSF platform uses the bepress Three-Tiered List of Academic Disciplines to associate subjects (ie. disciplines) with registrations.
Enter the lowest level of the taxonomy that should be associated with the registration. For example, a registration with “Arts and Humanities” as it’s subject will only be associated with Arts and Humanities. However, a registration associated with “Graphic Design” will be associated with “Arts and Humanities”, “Art and Design”, and “Graphic Design”. 

Single Subject

Format
Subject
Example
Graphic Design

Multiple Subjects

Each registration can have different subjects associated with it. For example, a registration about neuroscience can be associated with both life science and medicine and health sciences. 
Enter the lowest level of the taxonomy that is to be associated with the registration, separating the different subjects with a semicolon.
Format
Subject; Subject
Example
Cognitive Neuroscience; Neurosciences

Tags

Tags improve discoverability by associating other keywords outside of what’s already required within the system with a registration. 
Tags are entered through free text and separated by semicolons.
Format
Tag; Tag
Example
Algorithms; Reproducibility

External ID

The External ID is where you can enter the registration ID that you have in your own system. This ID is used only to help communicate which registrations could not be uploaded due to an unanticipated anomaly. Leave blank if you do not have your own IDs.
External IDs are free text. Semicolons are not allowed. 

Project GUID

The Project GUID is where you enter the project’s unique 6-character identifier and is found through the project’s url link. For example, the project located at https://osf.io/6whry/ has the GUID 6whry.
Registrations without a Project GUID will have a project created for them upon submission. Project GUIDs that do not match our system will result in an Invalid Project ID error.
Note, that registrations cannot be moved between projects. Registrations that are associated with the wrong project will need to have their registrations withdrawn (see help guide) and resubmitted.

Questions

Questions are associated with a Q# in the first row and the question itself in the second row for system and human readability, respectively. Required questions must have a response or the system will provide an error. Section headers are not included in the csv. 

Free Text Questions - Free text responses do not have a character limit.

Option Questions - Questions with selectable options must match what’s available in the system, exactly.

Single Select Questions - Single select questions allow only a single response.
Multiple Choice Questions - Multiple choice questions allow more than one response and are separated by semicolons.
Upload Files - Files are currently not supported by the upload system.