open data: Features of open data

Open data helps create a lot of public datasets that you can access to make data-driven decisions. Here are some resources you can use to start searching for public datasets on your own:

• The Google Cloud Public Datasets allow data analysts access to high-demand public datasets, and make it easy to uncover insights in the cloud.
• The Dataset Search can help you find available datasets online with keyword searches.
• Kaggle has an Open Data search function that can help you find datasets to practice with.
• Finally, BigQuery hosts 150+ public datasets you can access and use.

Public health datasets

1. Global Health Observatory data: You can search for datasets from this page or explore featured data collections from the World Health Organization.
2. The Cancer Imaging Archive (TCIA) dataset: Just like the earlier dataset, this data is hosted by the Google Cloud Public Datasets and can be uploaded to BigQuery.
3. 1000 Genomes: This is another dataset from the Google Cloud Public resources that can be uploaded to BigQuery.

Public climate datasets

1. National Climatic Data Center: The NCDC Quick Links page has a selection of datasets you can explore.
2. NOAA Public Dataset Gallery: The NOAA Public Dataset Gallery contains a searchable collection of public datasets.

Public social-political datasets

1. UNICEF State of the World’s Children: This dataset from UNICEF includes a collection of tables that can be downloaded.
2. CPS Labor Force Statistics: This page contains links to several available datasets that you can explore.
3. The Stanford Open Policing Project: This dataset can be downloaded as a .CSV file for your own use.

A CSV file makes it easier for data analysts to examine a small part of a large dataset, import data to a new spreadsheet, and distinguish values from one another.