Data Horror Escape Room

Escape the Haunted Lab

FIND YOUR BACKUP DATA...or else...

START

Welcome to the Haunted Lab Escape Room

Can you make it out with your data intact?Don't forget to register for the workshop Tales from the Data Crypt: Lessons from real research nightmares to continue your research data management learning journey (a link will be available when you exit the escape room)

It's a dark and stormy night...

You’re working on your research late at night. Just as you finish saving your research project, a bolt of lightning flashes and then... darkness. Your laptop emits a final hiss and dies. You have to submit the data to your supervisor in the morning.You have no choice; you must go to the lab to find the backup copy.

The hallway behind you fades into darkness as you step into the main lab. Suddenly, a gust of wind slams the door shut behind you. Somewhere in this haunted lab, your data may be hidden. Where do you go first?

To begin your search, you enter the main lab. As you shut the door behind you, a ghostly voice cackles: What backup strategy is recommended to protect your files?

3-2-1 rule: 3 copies on 2 media types 1 copy offsite

USB key on your keychain to have access at all times

Emailing yourself the latest version

Before you can login to the lab computer a drawer creaks open. The drawer is labelled “lab stuff/backups”.

Lab stuff/ backups

Click and drag objects to find the backup

Lab backup

The ghostly voice speaks to you again before you can check the contents of the USB key you just found. "Which of the following is not a secure location to store research data?"

Sharepoint or OneDrive storage

Research data repository

USB key

Your heart pounds as you stare at the USB key in your hand. You know it's not a reliable backup method—too easy to lose, too prone to failure. But in this haunted lab, it's your only lead.

Lab backup

You plug the USB into the computer

You search frantically search through the folders of the USB key, but you cannot find your files. You try to remember what system your supervisor had used. What is a good practice for organizing your files and folders?

Store all your files on the desktop for simplicity

Keep all raw and processed data in the same folder for easy access

Create separate folders based on project stages, data types, dates

The USB key still works! You click into it to view the backed up files. You hear a scream. You realize it’s your own voice. The files are named "FinalFinal_v2_REAL_THISONE.docx." Which of the following would be the best file naming convention?

Data1.csv, Data2.csv, Data3.csv

2025-09-22_ProjX_ Test1.csv

FinalFinal _v2-THIS-ONE.docx

In the end, you cannot find the right files on the USB key or lab computer. There might be a copy in the office downstairs, but it is locked - you need to find a key. You approach the dusty lab table. Scattered papers rustle as if moved by an unseen hand. Beakers clink softly though no one can be seen.

Investigate the papers on the table

Click and drag objects to find the key

This is not correct...

Although having easy access to your data can be great, it may be easy to lose or break your USB key. USB keys tend to be less secure and stable than other media types.

This is not correct...

Sharepoint, OneDrive, and research data repositories tend to be secure locations for backing up data.

This is not correct...

Important documents can easily be lost in an inbox. It's not the recommended way to safely store a backup copy.

This is not correct...

USB keys are small and portable, which makes them easy to lose or damage. Your data could be lost or corrupted.

This is not correct...

This file naming convention is not very descriptive. It would be difficult to find the right file at a glance, or without any prior context.

This is not correct...

Will you create a FINAL FINAL FINAL version of this document if you need to make further changes? This file naming format tends to be confusing and could lead to data loss.

This is not correct...

Keeping all the files on the desktop can make it difficult to navigate, leading to confusion or errors in analysis.

This is not correct...

Keeping raw data separate from processed data ensures they remains unaltered and not accidentally overwritten, preserving its integrity.

Inventory

A chill runs through the room. You now have the key to the locked office, but the mystery deepens.

You step deeper into the locked office. The space appears empty, yet it feels like you’re being watched. You turn around slowly...

Someone is there! Suddenly, a shadow shifts. From behind a shelf, your lab mate emerges—eyes glinting in the dim light.

“You shouldn’t be here after hours” they whisper, voice low and strange. “Not unless you’re ready to answer… What is metadata?”

Summary of research findings

A type of backup file

Data about data

Your lab mate nods and asks another questions. “Why is metadata important in research data management?”

It reduces the file size and makes it easier to backup

It helps you and others understand and reuse your data

It makes your data look more professional

Your lab mate nods and asks another questions. “What is the purpose of a README file?”

To document folder structure, file contents, and details about your project

To convert data into a secure format preventing unauthorized access

To store data in a compressed format

Your lab mate vanishes into the shadows without a sound. The room falls silent—too silent.

You glance around, heart pounding, and notice something strange on the far end of the lab table. Beneath layers of dust and scattered notes lies a brittle, yellowed scroll. Its edges are singed, and across the top, scrawled in faded ink, are three haunting letters: DMP

D M P

What does "DMP" stand for?

Data Mapping Protocol

Digital Metadata File

D M P

Data Management Plan

A ghostly voice whispers: "Many researchers have vanished… and so have their data. Only those who plan wisely survive." What is the purpose of a DMP?

To organize lab equipment and track usage

D M P

To plan how data will be collected, stored, shared, and preserved

To help write the literature review, and cite articles properly

The scroll trembles in your hands, then begins to glow with an unnatural light. Symbols shift and rearrange themselves, revealing hidden text beneath the surface. Lines about storage and backup shimmer into view. One line pulses brighter than the rest: “A copy remains… on the lab server.”

3 copies, 2 media type, 1 offsite location

Metadata is a way to future-proof your data. Ten years from now, will you be able to answer a specific question about your data without metadata and documentation?

A copy remains...on the lab server

File naming conventions and folder organisation are an excellent way to prevent confusion and loss of data

Don't trust USB keys....

You hear a ghostly voice say “Are you brave enough to enter the server room and retrieve what was left behind? Beware… not all data wants to be found.” Before turning to dust, a final message appears on the scroll. It's the code to the server room door: 321

3 copies, 2 media type, 1 offsite location

Metadata is a way to future-proof your data. Ten years from now, will you be able to answer a specific question about your data without metadata and documentation?

Server room code: 321

File naming conventions and folder organisation are an excellent way to prevent confusion and loss of data

Don't trust USB keys....

This is not correct...

Try again, if you dare...

Inventory

Before venturing into the server room, you need to enter the code...

321

Enter the code to the server room

Enter the password

Only those who understand encryption may unlock the backup. What is encryption?

Saving a password in a password manager

You find a piece of paper taped to the side of a server, written in blood red ink.

A method to compress large files to save space

Converting information into a code to prevent unauthorized access

A type of computer virus

You turn on the server's terminal. A low hum grows louder as the server groans to life. Cold air rushes past you and suddenly the screen flashes:

ACCESS GRANTED

A hidden directory appears: /ghost_data/recovered_files You click into the directory and the missing file materializes glowing faintly with energy.

You can view your data file, but something is wrong. The columns are there. The numbers are there. But the meaning is lost. What is missing?

Variable metadata

Password

Data processing scripts

Suddenly the lights dim again. A lock appears on the sever interface, glowing red. To retrieve your metadata file and restore your dataset to life, you must answer one final question: What is the purpose of variable-level metadata?

To encrypt the file for security and prevent unauthorized access

What is the purpose of variable-level metadata?

To explain what each variable means and how it was collected

To show analysis steps to replicate results

The server hums louder, then falls silent. The red lock vanishes. A new folder appears: /metadata/restored_truths

You click on the folder.

Suddenly, the ghostly voice returns: "You have done well. Your data files have been recovered. The nightmare ends."

Before you leave, a final message appears on the screen.

To avoid future data disasters, visit the library’s Research Data Management team. Contact us: rdm.library@queensu.ca

Congratulations, you've escaped

Enter your name and email in the form to be entered to win a prize: https://forms.office.com/r/1ctvauxCVk

Prizes will be awarded at the workshop "Tales from the Data Crypt: Lessons from real research nightmares" Register here: https://booking.library.queensu.ca/event/3941247?hs=a

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