The 2015 edition of the Global Open Data Index was published this week. From what I've seen it's the result of an enormous volunteer effort and there's a lot to celebrate. For example, the high ranking of Rwanda resulting from ongoing efforts to improve their open data publication. Owen Boswarva has also highlighted the need for the … Continue reading Improving the global open data index
Category: Open Data
We have a long way to go
Stood in the queue at the supermarket earlier I noticed the cover of the Bath Chronicle. The lead story this week is: "House prices in Bath almost 13 times the average wage". This is almost perfectly designed clickbait for me. I can't help but want to explore the data. In fact I've already done this before, … Continue reading We have a long way to go
How can open data publishers monitor usage?
Some open data publishers require a user to register with their portal or provide other personal information before downloading a dataset. For example: the recently launched Consumer Data Research Centre data portal requires users to register and login before data can be downloaded access to any of the OS Open Data products requires the completion of a form which … Continue reading How can open data publishers monitor usage?
Who is the intended audience for open data?
This post is part of my ongoing series: basic questions about data. It's intended to expand on a point that I made in a previous post in which I asked: who uses data portals? At times I see quite a bit of debate within the open data community around how best to publish data. For example should … Continue reading Who is the intended audience for open data?
Managing risks when publishing open data
A question that I frequently encounter when talking to organisations about publishing open data is: "what if someone misuses or misunderstands our data?". These concerns stem from several different sources: that the data might be analysed incorrectly, drawing incorrect conclusions that might be attributed to the publisher that the data has known limitations and this might reflect … Continue reading Managing risks when publishing open data
Fictional data
The phrase "fictional data" popped into my head recently, largely because of odd connections between a couple of projects I've been working on. It's stuck with me because, if you set aside the literal meaning of "data that doesn't actually exist", there are some interesting aspects to it. For example the phrase could apply to: … Continue reading Fictional data
What is a data portal?
This post is part of my ongoing series of basic questions about data, this time prompted by a tweet by Andy Dickinson asking the same question. There are lots of open data portals. OpenDataMonitor lists 161 in the EU alone. The numbers have grown rapidly over the last few years. Encouraged by exemplars such as data.gov.uk they're usually … Continue reading What is a data portal?
“The woodcutter”, an open data parable
In a time long past, in a land far away, there was once a great forest. It was a huge sprawling forest containing every known species of tree. And perhaps a few more. The forest was part of a kingdom that had been ruled over by an old mad king for many years. The old king had refused … Continue reading “The woodcutter”, an open data parable
Basic questions about data
Over the past couple of years I've written several posts that each focus on trying to answer a simple question relating to data and/or open data. I've collected them together into a list here for easier reference. I'll update the list as I write more related posts: What is a dataset? What is a dataset? … Continue reading Basic questions about data
What is Derived Data?
A while ago I asked the question: "What is a Dataset?". The idea was to look at how different data communities were using the term to see if there were any common themes. This week I've been considering how UPRNs can be a part of open data, a question made more difficult due to complex licensing issues. One … Continue reading What is Derived Data?
Lost Boy 