One of the most common challenges researchers and students face is finding quality data to support innovative research ideas. While having a brilliant concept is essential, without the right data to analyze, your project may stall before it begins. We’ve compiled this resource list to help you locate valuable data sources for your analytical work.
Why This Matters
At Simsi, we regularly encounter talented analysts with excellent research questions but limited access to incident data. Whether you’re studying crime patterns, public health issues, or community development, having access to comprehensive datasets is crucial for meaningful analysis.
Aggregation / List Sites
These directories serve as excellent starting points to discover various data repositories:
- List of Open Government Data Sites (Wikipedia) – Comprehensive global listing of government open data initiatives organized by country and region.
- Case Western Reserve University Data Sets – Curated collection of open datasets organized by field of study, ideal for academic research.
- Free GIS Data – Extensive collection of free geospatial data categorized by theme and region with regular updates.
- World Bank Data Tools – Tools and APIs for accessing global development data covering economics, health, education, and more.
- UK Data Service Open Data Resources – Curated list of international open data resources with a focus on social and economic data.
- Open Data Soft Portal List – Collection of 1,600+ open data portals worldwide with methodology on how they were identified.
- State Open Data Portals – Comprehensive list of U.S. state-level data portals with links to each state’s resources.
- Awesome Public Datasets (GitHub) – Community-maintained list of public datasets organized by topic, regularly updated by contributors.
- Registry of Open Data on AWS – Thousands of datasets available for analysis in the AWS cloud, including satellite imagery, climate data, and genomic information.
- Google BigQuery Public Datasets – Large public datasets accessible through Google’s BigQuery platform, allowing analysis without downloading.
- Carleton University GIS Data Repositories – Curated list of international GIS data repositories with academic focus.
- Data Catalogs – Searchable registry of open data portals from around the world with filtering capabilities.
- Data.gov – The U.S. government’s open data portal with over 200,000 datasets spanning all federal agencies.
- Data.gov.uk – The UK government’s data portal with thousands of datasets from all government departments and many public bodies.
- Data Commons – Unified platform integrating public datasets from various sources with standardized formats and APIs.
- Kaggle Datasets – Thousands of datasets with community discussions, documentation, and example analyses for data science projects.
Commercial Entities with Publicly Accessible Data
Several commercial platforms provide free access to valuable datasets:
- Koordinates – Geospatial data platform with many free layers, particularly strong for New Zealand, Australia, and global environmental data.
- ArcGIS Hub – Esri’s platform for open data with thousands of geospatial datasets from organizations worldwide.
- SafeGraph Open Census Data – Enhanced U.S. Census data with geographic components and points of interest information.
Environmental & Spatial Data
Specialized resources for environmental and spatial analysis:
- SAGE Data and Models – Environmental datasets focused on sustainability, agriculture, and ecosystem services.
- Natural Earth Data – Public domain map dataset available at various scales for creating custom cartography.
- OpenTopography – High-resolution topographic data and tools, including LiDAR data for terrain analysis.
- USGS Data Products – Comprehensive earth science data including hydrography, land cover, elevation, and geological surveys.
- OpenStreetMap Data – Crowdsourced global mapping data with detailed instructions for extraction and use.
- Copernicus Data Space – European Union’s earth observation program providing satellite imagery and environmental monitoring data.
- Forest Observatory – Detailed forest data and analytics with high-resolution imagery and change detection capabilities.
- Natural Earth Data – Free vector and raster map data at 1:10m, 1:50m, and 1:110m scales, perfect for creating custom basemaps.
- FAO Geospatial Data Catalog – Global agricultural, forestry, fisheries, and food security data from the UN Food and Agriculture Organization.
Want to Build Your Own Portal?
For organizations looking to share their own data:
- DKAN – Open-source data portal platform based on Drupal, used by many government agencies worldwide.
- CKAN – Leading open-source data management system powering many national and regional data portals.
- ODI Data Publishing List – Open Data Institute’s guide to publishing open data with best practices and tools.
Open Data Blogs
Stay informed about new data sources and best practices:
- Spatial Reserves Blog – Regular updates on geospatial data resources, standards, and best practices for data management.
Beyond the List
Remember that this list is not exhaustive. Many local governments, universities, and organizations maintain their own data portals not captured here. Additionally, consider:
- Contacting local agencies directly – Many have data available upon request
- Exploring academic repositories at universities
- Checking professional organizations in your field of study
- Networking with other researchers who may have access to specialized datasets
Share Your Discoveries
This is intended to be a living document. Have you found valuable data sources not listed here? Let us know so we can continue to build this resource for the research community!
Need help analyzing your data once you’ve found it? Simsi’s analytical platform can help you transform raw data into actionable insights. Contact us to learn more about our solutions for researchers and analysts.