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I have used "described in the text" in the past to refer to data items represented in written text. If you mean actual database data in a text field (e.g. of the type "TEXT"), you can say it just that way: "in a text field". Then again I have also used that phrase to mean just what you say, in both writing and
speaking. It really depends on the context.
However, many of my readers in recent years are non-native English speakers, some non-English speakers altogether---they relate best with jargon since that's what they were trained for. I tried prettying something up---turning it from jargon into English---and it was unparseable by half my audience.
I wouldn't waste too much skull sweat on it..
Jane Carnall wrote:
> The SME for a database project keeps saying that some data are "represented
> textually". The phrase gets around 250 hits on Google, mostly on techie
> sites, and from context means "data in the form of text".
>
> I don't like the phrase (it looks like unnecessary jargon) and it doesn't
> seem to be in sufficiently common use outside database-maven circles that
> means I have to use it. (The documentation is not aimed at database-mavens.)
>
> Would appreciate feedback on the phrase itself or any acceptable
> substitution.
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