Data.gov Provides Showcase for Public Data

Obama's Open Government Initiative Project Has Promising Debut

May 26, 2009

Data.gov, which provides access to public data both as raw data and in formats generated by data extraction tools, lets users obtain previously unavailable information.

On May 21, 2009 Data.gov opened for business. A product of President Barack Obama's Open Government Initiative, Data.gov aims to increase public access to data generated by the executive branch of the federal government. Users can access Data.gov’s search results either in raw data format or as generated by various extraction tools.

Purpose of Data.gov

As stated on the White House’s Open Government Initiative website, Data.gov attempts to combat the proprietary format of much public data by providing a platform for citizens to locate, access and download such data. Data.gov also intends to assist users to create new web applications that will help individuals, communities and businesses use public data.

Initial Offerings of Data.gov

Data.gov's initial offerings included only 47 federal datasets and 27 data tools although more were in development. Users can also fill out a suggestion form on the website to have other datasets included.

Searching Data.gov

Users can search Data.gov’s home page by specifying the category of the data they want and the name of agency providing the data. For example, searching the “population” category without specifying any agency limits results in the retrieval of two data extraction tools - the Census Bureau’s American FactFinder and DataFerret, the tool used to access a variety of public data sources available through TheDataWeb.

The Data.gov home page also provides access to Data.gov’s advanced search function. Advanced searching allows users to qualify a raw data search by adding both keyword and format searches to category and agency searches. A raw data advanced search for data in the CSV/TXT format, for instance, produces eleven hits on topics including earthquakes, energy consumption, clean air, social security benefits, and even water levels on the Colorado River.

Raw Data Formats Accessed by Data.gov

Raw data formats accessed by Data.gov include XML, CSV/TXT, KML/KMZ for geospatial data, ESRI for mapping applications, maps, and “other.” Only the CSV/TXT format and maps are immediately retrievable through a browser interface.

Data Tools Accessed by Data.gov

Data.gov classifies the tools included in its debut version as either data extraction tools or widgets. The FBI widget entry, for instance, links to a collection of six different widgets that provide photos of the “10 Most Wanted,” generate “FBI News” or supply information on “Predators and Missing Persons.”

Data extraction tools link to resources that are quite broad in scope. The previously mentioned American FactFinder generates fact sheets on any U.S. city that include social, economic, housing and demographic characteristics. American FactFinder also provides this data in tabular, narrative, and map form. Likewise, DataFerret allows users to generate maps, tables and graphs from data they locate on TheDataWeb.

Evaluation of Data.gov

Data.gov’s early offerings were admittedly limited. However, judging this site requires a consideration of its purpose as well as its initial content. Data.gov has stated its commitment to opening up the closed world of access to public data. Given the vast quantity of such data, one cannot expect that such a task will be immediately achieved.

Other Public Data Access Initiatives

The need to improve access to public data has spurred the development of two other recent projects, both launched on April 28, 2009. On that date Google released Google Public Data, which permits Google users to create charts showing comparative data on unemployment rates and population for U.S. cities and states; and Stephen Wolfram introduced the Wolfram Alpha Computational Knowledge Engine, which uses public data to generate quick answers to user questions.

Citation

The copyright of the article Data.gov Provides Showcase for Public Data in Internet is owned by Carol Thomas. Permission to republish Data.gov Provides Showcase for Public Data in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.