How to find data

Edited directories

One of the largest directories of open data repositories is provided by the Open Access Directory. Its collection is mostly focused on scientific or research data and is curated by topic area. Topics covered in the directory include archaeology, astronomy, biology, chemistry, computer science, energy, environmental sciences, earth sciences, linguistics, marine sciences, medicine, physics and social sciences.

CKAN is a directory that largely works through wiki-like edits. Some of the benefits of CKAN are that it has well developed client libraries that enable you to programmatically access information about each of the datasets within its directory. For example, it is easy to ask it to tell you which datasets have been released into the public domain.

Quora has actually become a great source of information about where to find data on specific topic areas. It has several questions related to this topic which are being continually updated. Some examples include:

• What are some free, public data sets?
• Where can I get large datasets open to the public?