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Review and Comparative Analysis of Databases for Speech Emotion Recognition

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  • Salvatore Serrano

    (Laboratory of Digital Signal Processing, Department of Engineering, University of Messina, 98122 Messina, Italy
    National Inter-University Consortium for Telecommunications, Research Unit at University of Messina, 98122 Messina, Italy)

  • Omar Serghini

    (Laboratory of Digital Signal Processing, Department of Engineering, University of Messina, 98122 Messina, Italy
    National Inter-University Consortium for Telecommunications, Research Unit at University of Messina, 98122 Messina, Italy)

  • Giulia Esposito

    (Laboratory of Digital Signal Processing, Department of Engineering, University of Messina, 98122 Messina, Italy)

  • Silvia Carbone

    (Dipartimento di Scienze Politiche e Giuridiche, University of Messina, 98122 Messina, Italy)

  • Carmela Mento

    (Department of Biomedical and Dental Sciences and Morphofunctional Imaging, University of Messina, Via Consolare Valeria, 1, 98125 Messina, Italy)

  • Alessandro Floris

    (Department of Electrical and Electronic Engineering, University of Cagliari, Via Marengo, 2, 09123 Cagliari, Italy
    National Inter-University Consortium for Telecommunications, Research Unit at University of Cagliari, Via Marengo, 2, 09123 Cagliari, Italy)

  • Simone Porcu

    (Department of Electrical and Electronic Engineering, University of Cagliari, Via Marengo, 2, 09123 Cagliari, Italy
    National Inter-University Consortium for Telecommunications, Research Unit at University of Cagliari, Via Marengo, 2, 09123 Cagliari, Italy)

  • Luigi Atzori

    (Department of Electrical and Electronic Engineering, University of Cagliari, Via Marengo, 2, 09123 Cagliari, Italy
    National Inter-University Consortium for Telecommunications, Research Unit at University of Cagliari, Via Marengo, 2, 09123 Cagliari, Italy)

Abstract

Speech emotion recognition (SER) has become increasingly important in areas such as healthcare, customer service, robotics, and human–computer interaction. The progress of this field depends not only on advances in algorithms but also on the databases that provide the training material for SER systems. These resources set the boundaries for how well models can generalize across speakers, contexts, and cultures. In this paper, we present a narrative review and comparative analysis of emotional speech corpora released up to mid-2025, bringing together both psychological and technical perspectives. Rather than following a systematic review protocol, our approach focuses on providing a critical synthesis of more than fifty corpora covering acted, elicited, and natural speech. We examine how these databases were collected, how emotions were annotated, their demographic diversity, and their ecological validity, while also acknowledging the limits of available documentation. Beyond description, we identify recurring strengths and weaknesses, highlight emerging gaps, and discuss recent usage patterns to offer researchers both a practical guide for dataset selection and a critical perspective on how corpus design continues to shape the development of robust and generalizable SER systems.

Suggested Citation

  • Salvatore Serrano & Omar Serghini & Giulia Esposito & Silvia Carbone & Carmela Mento & Alessandro Floris & Simone Porcu & Luigi Atzori, 2025. "Review and Comparative Analysis of Databases for Speech Emotion Recognition," Data, MDPI, vol. 10(10), pages 1-58, October.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jdataj:v:10:y:2025:i:10:p:164-:d:1771204
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    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Yuri Matveev & Anton Matveev & Olga Frolova & Elena Lyakso & Nersisson Ruban, 2022. "Automatic Speech Emotion Recognition of Younger School Age Children," Mathematics, MDPI, vol. 10(14), pages 1-19, July.
    2. Liu, Yu-li & Huang, Luyan & Yan, Wenjia & Wang, Xinghan & Zhang, Ruochen, 2022. "Privacy in AI and the IoT: The privacy concerns of smart speaker users and the Personal Information Protection Law in China," Telecommunications Policy, Elsevier, vol. 46(7).
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