1. A method comprising: irradiating a sample containing a sample microorganism with substantially monochromatic radiation; obtaining a Raman data set based on radiation scattered from said irradiated sample; first searching a database in accordance with the Raman data set in order to identify a first known Raman data set from said database, wherein said database contains a plurality of first known Raman data sets, and wherein each first known Raman data set is associated with a known sessile form of a corresponding known microorganism; and identifying a sessile form of the sample microorganism based on the first known Raman data set identified by said first searching.