How to find official data

Andrew Ba Tran | @abtran

Data scavenger hunt

Start out with a question

How many traffic accidents are there in Connecticut?

Data scavenger hunt

Ask yourself

Who would have that data?

Data scavenger hunt

Ask Google:

"Traffic accidents, Connecticut"

Data scavenger hunt

Clues: News sites and government sites (that end with .gov)

Where's the data in the news story sourced from?

Search for

  • "according to"
  • "reported"
  • "said"

Data scavenger hunt

Find a government agency who might have the data.

  • Complicated.
  • Because like bureacracies, government websites can be difficult to navigate.

Tips

  • Go to main page (home)
  • Look for the press contact (Usually under Contact Us or Directory)
    • If that doesn't work, search for press releases
    • Usually a press contact's phone number and email will be listed on the press release
  • Use advanced Google search techniques
  • whatever data you want plus site:agencysite.gov. (For example, “accidents site:portal.ct.gov”)

Data scavenger hunt

80 percent of the time, getting data is as simple as asking someone at some department or agency if the data you are looking for exists.

The other 20 percent?

Freedom of Information Act

A popular Government without popular information or the means of acquiring it, is but a Prologue to a Farce or a Tragedy or perhaps both. Knowledge will forever govern ignorance, and a people who mean to be their own Governors, must arm themselves with the power knowledge gives.

-James Madison

  • Enacted in 1966
  • Passed by a California Congressman, John Moss
  • After Watergate in 1974, the FOIA law was amended to force greater agency compliance
  • Lawmakers have tried to weaken it ever since

FOIA

Federal agencies are required to disclose any information requested under the FOIA unless it falls under one of nine exemptions which protect interests such as personal privacy, national security, and law enforcement.

Exemptions

  • Information that is classified to protect national security.
  • Information related solely to the internal personnel rules and practices of an agency.
  • Information that is prohibited from disclosure by another federal law.
  • Trade secrets or commercial or financial information that is confidential or privileged.

Exemptions

  • Privileged communications within or between agencies, including
  • Information that, if disclosed, would invade another individual's personal privacy.
  • Information compiled for law enforcement purposes that could interfere with an ongoing case
  • Information that concerns the supervision of financial institutions.
  • Information on wells

More FOIA tips

  • Before requesting, check to see if the data is already available elsewhere or requested by others
  • Plan ahead to save time. Because submitting a formal request takes time to respond to, you can maximize your time by researching while the request is pending.
  • Check the rules about fees
  • Ask for electronic documents to avoid copying and posting costs

More FOIA tips

  • Start simple then add more questions after getting initial information.
  • Keep it focused
  • Think inside the filing cabinet.(Like if you have a form police fills out after accidents)

More FOIA tips

  • Be specific
  • Submit multiple requests
  • Anticipate the exemptions
  • Ask for access to the files
  • Keep a record of everything

More FOIA tips

  • Go public
  • Ask for raw data
  • Don't start out adversarial
  • Keep bugging them. They want you to give up.

FOIA resources