diff --git a/.gitignore b/.gitignore
index cac109b..7df4764 100644
--- a/.gitignore
+++ b/.gitignore
@@ -188,3 +188,8 @@ ipython_config.py
 # Remove previous ipynb_checkpoints
 #   git rm -r .ipynb_checkpoints/
 
+# User Added:
+
+data/**
+!data/**/
+!**/.gitkeep
diff --git a/data/raw/.gitkeep b/data/raw/.gitkeep
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..e69de29