Research Guides @ Fordham: Open Data: Introduction to Open Data

Introduction to Open Data

Welcome to the Open Data research guide at Fordham University Libraries. Open data is used in a range of academic disciplines to offer insights about the world including Science & Technology fields, Business & Economics, Journalism, Education, Social Work, Political Science, Humanitarian Studies, Urban Studies, History, and more. This guide aims to assist Fordham researchers with understanding the open research data landscape, from finding data for computational research to exploring digital tools and research methods.

If you are looking for statistics or reports rather than data sets for download, try the Demographic Data & Statistics guide.

If you have questions about finding a particular open data set or have general questions, contact one of the librarians listed on this page for assistance.

This guide is currently under revision. Please check back for updates.

What is Open Data?

SPARC defines Open Data as research data that:

Is freely available on the internet;
Permits any user to download, copy, analyze, re-process, pass to software or use for any other purpose; and
Is without financial, legal, or technical barriers other than those inseparable from gaining access to the internet itself.

For more information, see "Open Data." SPARC. Accessed February 24, 2023. https://sparcopen.org/open-data/.

Introductory Handbooks & Resources

Open Data Handbook
Offers guides, case studies, and resources for government & civil society on open data from the Open Knowledge Foundation in London.

Open Data Terminology

Machine readable? API? Shapefile? CSV? JSON? RDF? XML?

→ Try the resources below to learn the terminology of open data and computational research:

Open Data Glossary via NYC Open Data
Short glossary from the City of New York.

Glossary via the Open Data Handbook
Available in over 20 languages from the Open Knowledge Foundation in London.

Selected Books

The World of Open Data [electronic resource] : Concepts, Methods, Tools and Experiences by Yannis Charalabidis et al.
Springer International Publishing, 2018.
The Future of Open Data by Pamela Robinson & Teresa Scassa (eds.)
University of Ottawa Press, 2022.
Call number [RH Stacks] JF1525.A8 F88 2022
Open Cities, Open Data [electronic resource] : Collaborative Cities in the Information Era by Scott Hawken
Palgrave Macmillan, 2020.

Library Liaison for Open Data

Tierney Gleason

she/her/hers

Contact:

Rose Hill Campus | Walsh Family Library | Room 129
tgleason11@fordham.edu

718.817.3574

Subjects: Library & Information Science

Library Liaison for Open Data

Jane Suda

she/her

Contact:

Rose Hill Campus
Walsh Family Library
Room 128

jsuda@fordham.edu

718-817-3587

Subjects: Library & Information Science

Reference & Instruction Department

Reference & Instruction Department
Fordham University Libraries

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