recorded factual material (data) commonly accepted in the scientific community as necessary to validate research findings.

Research data covers a broad range of types of information (questionaires, raw data of test responses, images, spectra, ....) and digital data can be structured and stored in a variety of file formats.

Source: NC State University Library (2022). Defining Research Data. Online: https://www.lib.ncsu.edu/do/data-management/defining-research-data