PSYC 751: Open Data: Strategies

• Define the specific elements of your question:  time, geography and subject matter.
• Include methodological terms to search for data obtained by particular tests or procedures, e.g., Beck Depression Inventory II; fMRI; EEG; eye-tracking; etc.  Be aware, though, that researchers may not use terms this specific in study abstracts--you might need to search full text for very specific terms.
• Consider what organizations might pay for data collection on your topic.
  • government (international, national, state, local...)
  • trade associations
  • non-profits
  • academe (directly from a researcher or indirectly from a repository)

Many such organizations offer data freely on their web sites, although historical data may not be available.

• Read the literature for possible sources, but beware that sources noted in articles may not be openly available.
• Will data be costly in terms of money or time to obtain? 
• Do you have the requisite knowledge to clean/analyze it?  Or do you need statistics rather than data?

You may not be able to find exactly what you'd like.  Be prepared to be flexible on one or more of your question elements.

• Read the technical documentation!
• Consider the purpose for which data were collected, and their limitations.
• Ask the experts (both about finding and understanding data).

Our How to Cite Data guide provides guidance on how to construct a citation for data, from key components to include in the citation to examples for numeric and GIS data.