Research Data - IB Biology - Scientific Investigation (first assessment 2025)

Databases

This page has links to research data that can be used for your Individual Project in the field of:

DNA, Amino Acid, SNPs, & Genes
Environmental Data from Satellites
Migrating Marine Mammals
Ocean Research
Ornithology - eBird Database
Paleobiology, Paleoecology, and Paleomammalogy

You can find datasets from many disciplines, including environmental and social sciences, as well as government data and data provided by news organizations, in:

Amazon Web Services Open Data Program
Earthdata (NASA Earth Observation Data)
Google Dataset Search
IPUMS (Integrated Public Use Microdata Series)
National Center for Health Statistics
National Centers for Environmental Information

DNA, Amino Acid, SNPs, & Genes

You can find DNA sequences, amino acid sequences, SNPs (single nucleotide polymorphisms). genes, and other related databases in the links below. Most are from the National Center for Biotechnology Information, part of the U.S. National Library of Medicine.

BLAST
The Basic Local Alignment Search Tool (BLAST) finds regions of local similarity between sequences. The program compares nucleotide or protein sequences to sequence databases and calculates the statistical significance of matches. BLAST can be used to infer functional and evolutionary relationships between sequences as well as help identify members of gene families. Presented by the National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI), part of the National Library of Medicine.

dbSNP
Database of single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) and multiple small-scale variations that include insertions/deletions, microsatellites, and non-polymorphic variants.Presented by the National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI), part of the National Library of Medicine.

Gene
This database integrates information from a wide range of species. A record may include nomenclature, Reference Sequences (RefSeqs), maps, pathways, variations, phenotypes, and links to genome-, phenotype-, and locus-specific resources worldwide. Presented by the National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI), part of the National Library of Medicine.

Genetic Testing
This curriculum unit from the Northwest Association for Biomedical Research explores how bioinformatics is applied to genetic testing. Specifically, the bioinformatics tools of BLAST and Cn3D are used to investigate the genetic and molecular consequences of a mutation to the Breast Cancer Susceptibility 1 (BRCA1) gene. Major collaborators include Digital World Biology, EdLab Group, and Shoreline Community College.
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Cn3D ("see in 3D") is a helper application for your web browser that allows you to view 3-dimensional structures from NCBI's Entrez Structure database. Cn3D simultaneously displays structure, sequence, and alignment, and also has annotation and alignment editing features.

Genome
This resource organizes information on genomes including sequences, maps, chromosomes, assemblies, and annotations. Search by taxonomic name or ID, Assembly name, BioProject, BioSample, WGS or Nucleotide accession. Presented by the National Center for Biotechnology Information, part of the National Library of Medicine.

Nucleotide
The Nucleotide database is a collection of sequences from several sources, including GenBank (an annotated collection of all publicly available DNA sequences), Reference Sequence (RefSeq - a collection of sequences, including genomic DNA, transcripts, and proteins), TPA (tissue-type plasminogen activator) and PDB (Protein Data Bank). Presented by the National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI), part of the National Library of Medicine.

Protein
The Protein database is a collection of sequences from several sources, including translations from annotated coding regions in GenBank, RefSeq and TPA, as well as records from SwissProt (a protein sequence database), PIR (Protein Information Resource), PRF (Protein Research Foundation database of amino acid sequences of peptides and proteins), and PDB. Protein sequences are the fundamental determinants of biological structure and function. Presented by the National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI), part of the National Library of Medicine.

RCSB Protein Data Bank
This resource is powered by the Protein Data Bank archive-information about the 3D shapes of proteins, nucleic acids, and complex assemblies that helps students and researchers understand all aspects of biomedicine and agriculture, from protein synthesis to health and disease. The Research Collaboratory for Structural Bioinformatics (RCSB) Protein Data Bank (PDB) curates and annotates PDB data. The RCSB PDB builds upon the data by creating tools and resources for research and education in molecular biology, structural biology, computational biology, and beyond.

Environmental Data from Satellites

NOAA Comprehensive Large Array-data Stewardship System (CLASS)
The data search page for the Comprehensive Large Array-data Stewardship System (CLASS), NOAA's online system for managing environmental data. Click the '+' by 'Environmental Data from Geostationary Satellites' to see links to environmental data from GOES (Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite) satellites. GOES takes the pictures of clouds used by the National Weather Service to watch out for severe storms and carries instruments to measure atmospheric temperature and moisture, monitor the particles and fields around the spacecraft, help search and rescue operations, and echo remote data collection platforms (e.g., buoys). Click the '+' by 'Environmental Data from Polar-Orbiting Satellites' to see links to aww linka to POES data.

Migrating Marine Animals

Oceans of Data Institute (ODI)
ODI (a division of the Education Development Center (EDC)) has compiled a list of data activities, lessons, and resources for the classroom, sorted by grade level, including high school and postsecondary.

Ocean Tracks
Ocean Tracks provides access to authentic data collected by migrating marine animals, drifting buoys, and satellites, along with tools that allow you to display and analyze these data to investigate broad-scale effects of climate and human activities on top predators in ocean ecosystems. Using the Ocean Tracks interactive map and data analysis tools, students will explore and quantify patterns in the migratory tracks of marine animals in the northern Pacific Ocean and relate these behaviors to fluctuations and trends in physical oceanographic variables. The Ocean Tracks website was created by EDC's Oceans of Data Institute and Stanford University.

Global Tagging of Pelagic Predators (GTOPP)
The Global Tagging of Pelagic Predators (GTOPP) program is an international, multidisciplinary collaboration among biologists, engineers, computer scientists and educators, which will allow users to view and interact with animal tracking data, as well as oceanographic datasets, to marine life observation. By combining data from a diverse number of highly migratory species, and overlaying them with oceanographic data, it is possible to glimpse the processes that influence how open ocean ecosystems work. The GTOPP program builds on the accomplishments of the Tagging of Pacific Predators (TOPP) program, one of the original field research projects of the global Census of Marine Life.

Ocean Research

NOAA Data in the Classroom
NOAA Data in the Classroom makes data from several federal environmental agencies available online for use in studying El Niño, sea level, water quality, ocean acidification, and coral bleaching.

Northwest Association of Networked Ocean Observing Systems (NANOOS)
NANOOS ) is the Pacific Northwest regional ocean observing system of IOOS (Integrated Ocean Observing System). NANOOS has data on fisheries, shellfish, ocean acidification, climate change, and harmful algal blooms.

NANOOS Visualization System (NVS)
NVS is the data portal for NANOOS. It provides easy access to a wide range of data and visualizations for observations and forecasts.

SOCCOM data access portal
Portal for accessing the data from the Southern Ocean Carbon and Climate Observations and Modeling project (SOCCOM), an NSF-sponsored program focused on unlocking the mysteries of the Southern Ocean and determining its influence on climate. SOCCOM has deployed thousands of autonomous floats to measure temperature and salinity in the world’s oceans. The SOCCOM project is augmenting conventional Argo floats with biogeochemical sensors to measure carbon (pH), nutrients (nitrate), and oxygen.

Global Tropical Moored Buoy Array
The Global Tropical Moored Buoy Array program designs, develops and sustains moored buoy observing systems in the tropics for climate research and forecasting through collaborative multi-national efforts. You can find real-time and historical data from tropical Pacific, Atlantic, and Indian Oceans, as well as data displays and information about climate variations like El Niño and La Niña. The arrays are a program of the Pacific Marine Environmental Laboratory, part of NOAA.

University of Washington ARGO Profiling Drifter Data
Ocean drifter data collector floats have been deployed as the beginning step in the US ARGO program. ARGO is an international program for deploying profiling drifters in the world oceans. The data shown on this site are from floats prepared and deployed by the University of Washington.

Ornithology - eBird Database

The Cornell Lab of Ornithology is a leader in the study, appreciation, and conservation of birds. Through their programs they aim to advance the understanding of nature and to engage people of all ages in learning about birds and protecting the planet. They host the eBird databse, in collaboration with organizations, regional experts, and users ("eBirders") all over the world.

eBird is the world’s largest biodiversity-related citizen science project, with more than 100 million bird sightings contributed each year by eBirders around the world. eBird data document bird distribution, abundance, habitat use, and trends through checklist data collected within a simple, scientific framework. Birders enter when, where, and how they went birding, and then fill out a checklist of all the birds seen and heard during the outing. Access this database by creating an account with a username and password. eBird includes population data from The Great Backyard Bird Count, maps of citizen-created bird habitat from Habitat Network. bird songs and calls from Macaulay Library, nest camera data from NestWatch, and sightings at bird feeders from Project FeederWatch. These citizen science projects at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology provide a way for people to learn about birds, habitat, science, and conservation while contributing to real scientific studies.

Great Backyard Bird Count
Participants are asked to count birds for as little as 15 minutes (or as long as they wish) on one or more days of the four-day event and report their sightings online at birdcount.org. Each checklist submitted during the GBBC helps researchers at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology and the National Audubon Society learn more about how birds are doing, and how to protect them and the environment we share.Citizen scientists count for as little as 15 minutes in their own backyards to help Audubon expand their understanding of birds

Macaulay Library
An extensive scientific archive of natural history audio, video, and photographs. Although the Macaulay Library is best known for its collection of bird songs and calls, the collection also includes amphibians, fishes, and mammals, and the library preserves recordings of each species’ behavior and natural history.

NestWatch
Volunteers help scientists at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology by collecting data on the successes and failures of nesting birds by tracking nests, clutches, broods, and fledglings. NestWatch is a nationwide monitoring program designed to track status and trends in the reproductive biology of birds, including when nesting occurs, number of eggs laid, how many eggs hatch, and how many hatchlings survive.

Project FeederWatch
Project FeederWatch is a winter-long survey of birds that visit feeders at backyards, nature centers, community areas, and other locales in North America. FeederWatchers periodically count the birds they see at their feeders from November through early April and send their counts to Project FeederWatch. This data helps scientists at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology track broad-scale movements of winter bird populations and long-term trends in bird distribution and abundance.

Another resource available on the Cornell Lab of Ornithology website:

Students as Scientists: Nature-Based Inquiry
Students as Scientists: Nature-Based Inquiry is the K-12 education program of the Cornell Lab of Ornithology. It is differentiated into two age groups: Grades K-5 and Grades 6-12. They take an inquiry-based approach to science curriculum that engages kids in scientific study and real data collection through the Cornell Lab of Ornithology’s citizen-science projects. Look through the Students as Scientists curriculum resources for teachers for Grades 6-12 for ideas for your scientific investigation.

Paleobiology, Paleoecology, and Paleomammalogy

Neotoma Paleoecology Database
An online hub for data, research, education, and discussion about paleoenvironments. Users can find information efficiently by searching the database on spatial, temporal, and metadata criteria; interactively browse and visualize live data and metadata; get data and information in a variety of useful formats (e.g., downloads, reports, graphics).
The Paleobiology Database
The Paleobiology Database is a public database of paleontological data that anyone can use, maintained by an international non-governmental group of paleontologists. You can explore the data online in the Navigator, which lets you filter fossil occurrences by time, space, and taxonomy, and displays their modern and paleogeographic locations; or you can download the data to your own computer to do your own analyses.

Amazon Web Services Open Data Program

Amazon Web Services Open Data Program
Amazon Web Services has over 560 free data sets in its open data registry. You can download these data sets and use them on your own system or you can analyze the data on the Amazon Elastic Compute Cloud (Amazon EC2). Amazon also has various tools that you can use such as Apache Spark, Apache Hive, etc. You can access the data sets for free but you need a free AWS account before doing anything else. Click the 'Explore the Catalog' link to view these same free datasets on the AWS Data Exchange.

Earthdata (NASA Earth Observation Data)

Earthdata
The Earthdata site, from the Earth Science Data Systems (ESDS) Program, provides full and open access to NASA’s collection of Earth science data. Use the Data Pathfinders links to help you chart a path through the process of selecting data products and learning how to use them.

The Earthdata page has datasets and other resources on many areas in science, including:

Air Quality
Agriculture and Water Management
Biological Diversity and Ecological Conservation
Disasters
Diseases
Greenhouse Gases
Sea Level Change
Water Quality

Global Health Observatory

Global Health Observatory
The Global Health Observatory (GHO), compiled by the World Health Organization (WHO), serves as a comprehensive resource for health-related statistics worldwide. It offers access to over 1,000 indicators across various health topics, including mortality, disease burden, non-communicable diseases, and risk factors. The data repository covers areas such as maternal and child health, HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis, and environmental health. Users can explore charts, maps, and country-specific data on the GHO website.

Google Dataset Search - link on top

Google Dataset Search
Dataset Search is a search engine for datasets.

Using a simple keyword search, users can discover datasets hosted in thousands of repositories across the Web. If your query is too broad, you can use search engine operators like site: and - to further tailor your search.Filter your search results by 'Last Updated' (in the last month, year, or 3 years), 'Download Format' (table, text, image, or other download formats), 'Usage Rights', 'Topic', or 'Free' (whether the data set is free to use). Datasets can be saved. Once you follow the link of a dataset to an external site, you can explore and download the data, cite it, and share it with others.

Google's Google Dataset Search is a search engine for datasets. Using a simple keyword search, users can discover datasets hosted in thousands of repositories across the Web.

Google believes that this project will have the additional benefits of a) creating a data-sharing ecosystem that will encourage data publishers to follow best practices for data storage and publication and b) giving scientists a way to show the impact of their work through citation of datasets that they have produced.

As more dataset repositories use schema.org and similar standards to describe their datasets, the variety and coverage of datasets that users find in Dataset Search, will continue to grow.

IPUMS

IPUMS (Integrated Public Use Microdata Series)
IPUMS provides census and survey data from around the world integrated across time and space. IPUMS integration and documentation makes it easy to study change, conduct comparative research, merge information across data types, and analyze individuals within family and community contexts. Data and services available free of charge. Hosted by the University of Minnesota.

National Center for Health Statistics

Public-Use Data Files - National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS)
Downloadable public-use data files through the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) FTP file server. Users of this service have access to data sets, documentation, and questionnaires from NCHS surveys and data collection systems. Downloading instructions are available in “readme” files.

Datasets that can be accessed on this page include:

Longitudinal Studies of Aging (LSOA)
National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES)
National Health Care Surveys (NHCS)
National Health Interview Survey (NHIS)
National Immunization Survey (NIS)
National Survey of Family Growth (NSFG)
National Vital Statistics System (NVSS)
State and Local Area Integrated Telephone Survey (SLAITS)

National Centers for Environmental Information (NCEI)

Weather and Climate Quick Links - National Centers for Environmental Information (NCEI)
This page has links to many of NCEI's climate and weather datasets, products, and various web pages and resources.

Datasets that can be accessed from the NCEI quick links page include:

U.S. Local Climatological Data
Global Historical Climatology Network (GHCN)
Integrated Surface Database (ISD)
Comparative Climatic Data (CCD)
Global Summary of the Day (GSD)

IB Biology - Scientific Investigation (first assessment 2025): Research Data