This short library video will introduce you to the basics of open data. You will learn what open data is, how it is formatted and who makes it available.
What is Open Data?
Open data is data that is openly available and free for you to use. This means that someone or an organization has already taken care of the technical and legal considerations that are needed to allow the data to be freely used, reused and shared by anyone, anytime, anywhere.
Typically open data is structured. This means that the data is already organized so that computer software can read it easily.
How Open Data is Formatted
Most open data is in a machine readable format. These are some common formats: Comma separated Value files or CSV files, JavaScript Object Notation or JSON, Application Programming Interface or APIs. Shapefiles, eXtensible Markup Language or XML/
Sometimes Open Data is presented in other formats such as PDFs and HTML pages. These formats make it difficult and sometimes impossible for a computer to read the data. With machine readable data computer software can re-purpose, synthesize and model the data to analyse and generate insights.
Who makes it Available
A lot of people and organizations use open data to develop apps.
Open Data covers a range of subject areas including Arts & Culture: Data about collections held by galleries, libraries, archives and museums. Science: Data generated from scientific research from agriculture to zoology. Environment: Data generated from the environment including level of pollutants, levels of precipitation, temperatures, and much more.
Now that you know about open data, how it is formatted and who makes it available. You can consider using this data for your own research or making your own data open and available for others to use.
For more information about open data or for help locating open data, contact the Library’s Data Resource Centre.
Need Help? Get help via chat or email via the Library website, phone us at 519-824-4120 ext 53617 or visit the AskUs Desk
