How to format your data
Experimental data is often shared in a variety of formats. Carefully choosing a data format is a great way to extend the impact of your research, by ensuring others can use it in the future (see Raw Data vs Results for a deeper discussion of this concept). In the table below, we’ve provided a quick reference table for different types of data that you might be sharing:
Assay | Preferred file formats |
RNA-seq | .fastq.gz, .bam, .cram |
microarray | platform dependent (e.g. .cel, .idat) |
whole-genome sequencing | .fastq.gz, .bam, .cram |
whole-exome sequencing | .fastq.gz, .bam, .cram (.vcf, .maf acceptable with justification) |
methylation data | Platform dependent: .idat for Illumina arrays, .fastq.gz for sequencing |
western blotting | Individual images or final figure (e.g. samp1.png or samp1.tif) |
microscopy | Microscope’s native imaging format (e.g. nd2, abi), OME-TIFF, lossless image files (e.g. .tif, .png) separated by channel |
In vitro drug screening data | A .csv/.tsv file following this template (see instructions) |
In vivo tumor growth experiments | A .csv/.tsv file following this template (see instructions) |
PK/PD data | .csv/.tsv file - no template exists |
proteomics | platform dependent |
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