Structure and star formation in disc galaxies - I. Sample selection and near-infrared imaging

We present near-infrared imaging of a sample of 57 relatively large, northern spiral galaxies with low inclination. After describing the selection criteria and some of the basic properties of the sample, we give a detailed description of the data collection and reduction procedures. The K_sλ= 2.2-μm images cover most of the disc for all galaxies, with a field of view of at least 4.2 arcmin. The spatial resolution is better than 1 arcsec for most images. We fit bulge and exponential disc components to radial profiles of the light distribution. We then derive the basic parameters of these components, and the bulge/disc ratio, and explore correlations of these parameters with several galaxy parameters.