Content Type Definitions

Browsing	Searching	Database Fields
The Collection Citation	Content Type Definitions	Subject Category Definitions
DOE Scientific User Facilities

Computer Models/Simulations

These are computer generated simulations that can be viewed or interacted with online or downloaded to run on a user's computer. A "model" is similar. Collections of codes and software do not belong in the DOE Data Explorer, although some may be mixed into a collection of models or simulations. Computer-generated animations for viewing, not for interacting with, may also fall in this category if they are intended to "simulate" results achieved during a specific experiment.

Figures/Plots

These collections showcase data diagrams, charts, drawings, and data plots. Links to published papers in which some of this material occurs may also be present, but the figures and plots are stand-alone items and recognized for their own importance.

Interactive Data Maps

These are more than "map images." They are maps where the user can change views or manipulate data and receive entirely new sets of information. These maps are often developed with GIS tools.

Multimedia

This content type includes animations or video, live or stored, from scientific experiments. It does not include video tours of facilities, live cams of weather monitoring sites, educational or promotional videos, etc.

Numeric Files/Datasets

These may include data in ASCII flat files, Postscript, Excel files, or data formatted into tables presented on HTML pages. The data may be raw or processed or both. The criteria is that the collection in question should have numeric data as its primary content. All other content is secondary and supporting.

Scientific Images

These are static images, not videos or animations. They are not drawings, nor do they include collections that are strictly images of machinery or buildings. Scientific images are images of cells, molecules, structures of nanomaterials, etc. that are typically taken with electron microscopes, images captured during an accelerator run, images from astronomy, etc.

Specialized Mix

There are several databases with this kind of content. "Genome" databases are an excellent example. Typically included in the "genome" database are sequence data about the gene, taxonomies, published papers or the links to those papers, images or figures, status of projects relating to the particular genome, etc. The key factor is that the content of the collection was designed to be a "specialized mix" and that's what makes it unique. It didn't become a mixture of "stuff" listed on a Web page. It has structure, organization, search and retrieval capability, and the way the information is put together is what gives it meaning. The information does not exist elsewhere except in pieces. Also, non-text information must be included in the mix for this resource to be picked up by DOE Data Explorer.