America’s most wanted
This document summarizes several top US government data resources: - Data.gov catalogs raw data, tools, and geospatial data in various formats from the executive branch. It integrates with search.usa.gov and supports data mashups. Improvement areas include more downloads, broader agency coverage, and subject variety. - Geodata.gov allows searching for and saving geographic data and metadata from multiple producers. It focuses on metadata but could better clarify its relationship to Data.gov. - American FactFinder provides access to Census Bureau data including new American Community Survey estimates and tools for enhanced data exploration and mapping. - Other sources covered are the Bureau of Labor Statistics, National Center for Education Statistics, and Data Fer
America’s most wanted
- 1. Top US Government Data Resources Lynda Kellam Data Services & Government Information Librarian The University of North Carolina at Greensboro
- 2. Questions to consider: What is it and why is it a top source? What are the newest features (if any)? What are areas for improvement? Sources: data.gov, geodata.gov,American FactFinder, Bureau of Labor Statistics, NationalCenter for Education Statistics, Data Ferrett
- 3. data.gov
- 5. Three catalogs (raw data, tools, geodata) Variety of data formats (xls, xml, csv, kml, etc.)
- 6. Types of files available Raw Data Catalog Entry
- 7. Integrated search with search.usa.gov Site for mash ups Mash up using ozone and visibility readings with geographic information about sites of those readings. More info: http://data- gov.tw.rpi.edu/wiki/Demo:_Clean _Air_Status_and_Trends_-_Ozone
- 8. GEOViewer
- 9. Uses: Great focus on environmental data Good free portal for finding data sources Improvement: Needs more data downloads and fewer links out Go beyond executive branch data More variety of subjects Glitches need to be fixed
- 10. Geodata.gov
- 12. User account allows saving search criteria and maps Email alerts for saved search criteria Content is from variety of producers Focus is on metadata records Possible to search for data by geography
- 15. Uses: Another free portal for tracking down sources Great focus on geographic searching Improvement: Needs clarification on how will work with data.gov Integrate map searching into data.gov?
- 18. Search by topic, geography, population group, or industry code Enhanced table features Rearrange rows and columns Sort data in a column Bookmarking tables New mapping feature available Check http://factfinder2.census.gov
- 19. American Community Survey data releases 2005-2009 ACS 5 year estimates released in early December State population counts released on December 31, 2010 The Director’s Blog: http://blogs.census.gov/2010census/
- 20. Bureau of Labor Statistics
- 23. RSS feed for major numbers Flash and html tutorials http://www.bls.gov/tutorial/home.htm
- 24. Revamped search engine State & county mapping tool
- 25. NationalCenter for Education Statistics
- 27. RSS for announcements DataTools page
- 28. Data Ferrett
- 30. Relatively easy to use interface for complex data Options for mapping, graphing and downloading Good variety of data files Support for beta is unclear
- 31. Lynda Kellam Email: [email protected] Twitter: @lyndamk Gtalk: [email protected]
Editor's Notes
- #6: Three catalogs for searching Raw data catalog for searching “raw” data (xml, csv, etc) = download data Tool catalog = links to a mixed bag (rss feeds, reports, widgets, databases for extracting data) Geodata catalog = geocoded data and shapefiles for GIS; Preview is new feature that allows you to preview data before downloading a shapefile