Definition of research data

Research data is “any information collected, stored, and processed to produce and validate original research results” [DeWitt Wallace Library]. There is no consensus on the definition, as it varies depending on disciplines and research funders.

Common data types in microbiology

Data types in microbiology include the following:

• Crystallographic data
• Geospatial data
• Image data
• Linked genotype and phenotype data
• Linked Open Data (LOD)
• Macromolecular structures (e.g. electron microscopy data)
• Microbiome data (e.g. physical microbiome interactions)
• Nucleic acid sequences (e.g. raw sequencing data (reads or traces), genome assemblies, annotated sequences, sample metadata) such as:
  • DNA sequences
    • (Meta)genomes
    • Genetic polymorphism
    • Genomic features
    • Genomic organization
  • RNA sequences
    • 16S, 18S and ITS ribosomal RNA sequences
    • Functional genomics / gene expression data (e.g. ribosome profiling)
    • RNA-protein interactions
    • Small RNA (sRNA)
    • Transcriptomes
• Protein sequences
  • Protein-protein interactions
  • Proteomes
• Quantitative and predictive food microbiology
• Sample and project (meta)data
• Scientific texts
• Semantic data
• Species interaction data (e.g. physical microbial interaction data)
• Standardized bacterial information
• Vertebrate-virus network