There is information about a device that should be recorded and which should be availiable regardless of hardware. The attributes to be recorded as a basis for determining the device associated with the data collected are:
Device Information
Device models come in a wide variety and even within a devices model, there can be variants and versions that make a subtle difference to the data that can be collected. As much details on devices make, model and even the firmware version used can be key to understanding differences in multiple sources of large data sets.
Measurement Information
Measurements can be the basics like a simple ambient temperature, or a complex ratio of wildlife numbers in a given area. Without knowing the units and metric you are recording the numbers within a given data set are almost useless. Data acquisition is also important to note because data from devices can unfortunately be intermittent, but a baseline of the intended rate of data collection can help weed out errors in data and show quickly and clearly which data sets have the most comprehensive data.
Calibration Information
Calibration is key to knowing that data collected is not offset in some way as well as giving reassurance that the device used is in proper working order.
