The Experiment tables contain information about the actual experimental protocols, descriptive information about the sample source, and image scanning and quatification parameters. A greater detail view can be viewed in Figure 1 (Sample Description) and Figure 2 (Image Parameter Information).

Information about the Platform used for the gene expression experiment and how these tables relate to a physical experiment can be seen in Figure 3 (Platform Tables).

Raw data for gene tags are related back to the Platform and Protocol set of tables as in Figure 4 (Raw Data).

The "Imp" suffix throughout refers to tables in which views are used to map more descriptive names to similar types of information, tailoring the information for a platform or protocol of interest. An example of views can be seen at Figure 5 (Table View Example).

Finally, the Meta Data set of tables track analyses of the Raw Data as in Figure 6 (Processed Data/Algorithm Tables). They also provide a way to for data management, but this capability is outside of the scope of this overview. A separate manuscript is in preparation detailing the data management/analysis issues.

Note: The figure of the microarray experiment was taken from: David J. Duggan et al. (1999) Expression Profiling using cDNA microarrays. Nature Genetics 21: 10-14