Data Submission Introduction

This page reviews the background information needed to submit data, and an overview of the steps to complete the process.

The major steps in the data submission process are as follows:

For details on each data submission step, please see: Data Submission Process Guide

Data Submission is a step in the overall process of data curation and sharing in ImmPort. The goal of submitting data through ImmPort is to publicly share the data and help advance scientific discovery in the immunology research community.

For additional questions on Data Submission, please contact the ImmPort team: ImmPort_Helpdesk@immport.org

What is an ImmPort Study?

A study is a collection of data generated based on a research or clinical study protocol. A study may be focused on data referenced in a manuscript and should be sufficient for the data consumer to fully understand the conclusions presented in the manuscript and conduct a reanalysis.

What Type of Data is in ImmPort?

ImmPort currently hosts studies across various immunology-related research focuses and assay methods. For a breakdown of the types of studies currently shared in ImmPort, please explore our Shared Data site: ImmPort Shared Data

How is ImmPort Data Stored?

ImmPort metadata and data is shared in a relational database model. Our current data model can be viewed here: Data Model

The model depicts mulitple related tables which capture metadata and data on an ImmPort study. Many tables also incorporate terms from clinical and research ontologies. The information in these tables is captured in ImmmPort Submission Templates, which are downloaded as Excel or tablular(.txt) files, completed by the user, and then uploaded to ImmPort. ImmPort also supports uploading non-ImmPort template files to provide additional data. Therefore, to provide information for a study, a user typically uploads several completed submission templates and non-template files based on their type of study.

Templates and descriptions of the templates are available for download here: Submission Templates

What Format of Metadata and Data is Uploaded?

Study metadata is captured as row-based entries using the ImmPort Excel templates. The templates may also be completed as tabular (.txt) files, however the user-friendly excel templates are recommended for new users. The Basic Study Design Template is also available to be completed in an online form-based interface.

Results data for ELISA, ELISPOT, HAI, Neutralizing Antibody Titer, RT-PCR, Flow Cytometry, HLA, KIR, Gene Expression, RNA Sequencing, Genotyping, MBAA, and non-sample based assessments are recommended to be uploaded using ImmPort templates, but may also be uploaded as non-ImmPort template files. Other study types, including Mass Spectrometry and Image Histology, require a non-ImmPort template results file to be uploaded. ImmPort supports uploading common file types such as .pdf, .doc(x), .xls(x), .txt, as well as scientific file types such as .fcs files. For additional questions on supported file types please contact the ImmPort team: ImmPort_Helpdesk@immport.org

If your study’s data is currently shared in another repository, you can still create a study in ImmPort without duplicating the data from the other repository. ImmPort allows you to upload metadata in the ImmPort format and then link the results data from the other repository via a URL field in the ImmPort templates.

How much data should be uploaded to ImmPort?

The data and metadata shared should align with the NIH’s FAIR policy for making data Findable, Accessible, Interoperable, and Reusable (NIH FAIR Data Sharing Policy). Overall, the contents of the data and metadata shared should be sufficient to fully understand the results of the linked publication.