The White House Office of Management and Budget in Circular A-110 provides the following definition:
"Research data is defined as the recorded factual material commonly accepted in the scientific community as necessary to validate research findings."
In the course of answering a research question, researchers collect a wide variety of forms and formats of data. Research data can reside in:
- Spreadsheets
- Digital images
- Video and audio files
- Survey responses
- Slides and specimens
- Models and software code
These are only a few examples.