Microbiome Frequently Asked Questions
- Why should I use BioRankings Microbiome Hypothesis Testing?
- What types of files are accepted?
- Is my data safe?
- How do I handle taxa that do not match across groups?
- What happens to samples that have low total reads?
- How do I read/interpret a PI Plot?
- What does the ‘Other’ taxa mean in the PI plot and PI estimated data results?
- What does “Your Data Summary” tab represent?
- Can more than 5 microbiome groups be compared?
- How do I view my results?
- Can I used rarefied taxa count files?
- When will I know when my analysis is complete?
- Can I run a data from a time series study?
- How do I start an analysis?
- What is the link to create an account?
| Why should I use BioRankings Microbiome Hypothesis Testing?
The hypothesis testing tool provides almost instant, intuitive results that tests whether the microbiomes between the multiple groups are the same (the NULL hypothesis).
| What types of files are accepted?
Currently only '.csv' files are accepted. These files need to be non-rarefied taxa count data that consist of the same taxonomic level across groups.
| Is my data safe?
Yes. Our software is integrated with Amazon Web Services to provide all security and features provided through Amazon. AWS supports both server-side encryption and client-side encryption for data uploads and flexible security features to block unauthorized users from accessing your data and results once uploaded. All files deleted from the AWS once your analyses are complete and no archives or backups are kept. To ensure you don’t accidently lose your results, it is recommended that you download your results provided through email immediately.
| How do I handle taxa that do not match across groups?
Our algorithm will format all microbiome groups to account for taxa that do not match. For example, if group 1 has the taxa Bacilli but group 2 does not, then Bacilli will be created for group 2 with a taxa read count of 0.
| What happens to samples that have low total reads?
Our algorithm will omit any samples that have a total read count less than 1,000.
| How do I read/interpret a PI Plot?
Check out the Hypothesis Testing Results Guide
| What does the ‘Other’ taxa mean in the PI plot and PI estimated data results?
Rare taxa are collapsed together into a group labeled ‘Other’ to reduce clutter in the results.
| What does “Your Data Summary” tab represent?
Check out the Hypothesis Testing Results Guide
| Can more than 5 microbiome groups be compared?
Yes, but our software is currently limited to 4 groups. Please contact us to compare 5 or more groups.
| How do I view my results?
Check out the Hypothesis Testing Results Guide
| Can I used rarefied taxa count files?
No. Our algorithim handles the differences in read counts across samples and produces more accurate results this way.
| When will I know when my analysis is complete?
You will receive an email once your results are ready. From there you can directly download your PDF and csv files or you can review your results in the user interface by clicking on ‘results dashboard’. You can also check the Results Page
| Can I run a data from a time series study?
No, our current software assumes independance between samples. Please contact us to run non-independant group comparisons.
| How do I start an analysis?
Check out the Hypothesis Testing Analysis Guide
