Skip to content

Getting Started — Choose Your Format

Overview

Questions:

  • What is the difference between CSV and YAML?
  • Which format is right for me?

Learning Objectives

By the end of this chapter, you will be able to:

  1. Explain in plain terms what CSV and YAML files are
  2. Select the format that best matches your technical background
  3. Navigate to the correct walkthrough chapter

Time: 5 minutes

What format do I need to choose?

The AIRBDS metric is available in two file formats. Both ask exactly the same 28 questions and produce the same grade — the only difference is how you open and fill in the template.

CSV stands for Comma-Separated Values.

It is a plain-text table that opens directly in Microsoft Excel, Google Sheets, or any other spreadsheet program. Each row is a question; you type Yes or No in a column.

You do not need to install any software or use a terminal. If you can use a spreadsheet, you can use the CSV format.

Example of what it looks like in Excel:

question_id weight question answer
ACM-1 Important Can the dataset be accessed in its entirety? Yes
ACM-4 Critical Is the dataset provided with a clear data-use license? No

YAML stands for YAML Ain’t Markup Language.

It is a structured plain-text format widely used in scientific computing and software development. You open it in a text editor (VS Code, Sublime Text, nano, vim) and edit fields by hand. You also use a terminal to copy files, validate them, and submit via Git.

You need basic familiarity with the command line (e.g. cp, git add, git push).

Example of what it looks like in a text editor:

ACM-1:
  answer: "Yes"
  comments: "Dataset available via FTP."
ACM-4:
  answer: "No"
  comments: "License not clearly stated."

Which format should I use?

Recommendation

Never used a terminal or command line? → Use CSV (Chapter 2).

Comfortable opening a terminal and running commands? → Use YAML (Chapter 3).

Both formats produce an identical review. You can always switch later.

:::cards cols=2

  • title: “📊 CSV — Beginner” content: “Open in Excel or Google Sheets. Type Yes/No in a table. No installation required. Recommended if you are new to this workflow.” url: chapter_02_csv.md

  • title: “🗂 YAML — Intermediate” content: “Edit in a text editor. Submit via Git. Requires basic command-line familiarity. Recommended for researchers comfortable with version control.” url: chapter_03_yaml.md

:::

What you will need

  • The review_template.csv file (download from the repository)
  • Microsoft Excel, Google Sheets, LibreOffice Calc, or equivalent
  • The dataset you want to evaluate (its landing page / documentation)
  • Git installed on your machine
  • A plain-text editor (VS Code, Sublime Text, nano, vim, or similar)
  • Python 3 (for YAML validation — run python3 --version to check)
  • The dataset you want to evaluate

Ethics questions (ACM-24 to ACM-28)

Five of the 28 questions cover ethics, privacy, and security. These apply only to datasets containing human or animal subject data. If your dataset has no such data, you answer “Yes” and mark them as not applicable. Both tutorials explain this step clearly.

Ready? Jump to your chapter: