Sharing metabolomics data

Sharing metabolomics Data

Metabolomics data from even a small study is HUGE. It can also be very complex. But there are ways of sharing it with the wider scientific community (and indeed the public) without toooo much trouble.

⚠️ It is not enough to just write a data availability statement pr share graphs or even a peak table.

Metbolomics data can be analysed in lots of different ways so it is important to comply with the FAIR principles:

  • Findable
  • Accessible
  • Interoperable
  • Reusable

Institution-based data repositories are one option but they often require extra levels of support to submit large datasets and there is no guarantee that anyone would look for your data there.

Much better to use a field-specific repository where your data will be with lots of other relevant data sets. What’s more, these repositories will guide you to formatting your data in an appropriate way allowing it to form part of a larger data set of metabolite information. Some journals will have specific guidelines on which repository to use.

⏰ Set aside time at the start of your project for submitting your data to a repository. It’s not optional!