Insight

Finding the right data: What happens when 2+2 = 6?

[vc_row][vc_column width=”1/1″][vc_row_inner][vc_column_inner width=”1/1″][vc_column_text]Ok, so picture this you work for a company committed to the environment, you want to create an infographic about the risks of the global warming. Maybe you are asking yourself, “how bad are the greenhouse emissions in the UK?” but then you don’t know where to start looking or do you![/vc_column_text][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][vc_single_image image=”2626″ img_link_target=”_self” img_size=”full”][vc_column_text]Image: CC BY jwyg[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]

You will be surprised how much data is publicly available, including information about greenhouse emissions. But gathering all this open data takes time and practice as it can be tricky finding the right dataset, it can sometimes be like trying to find a needle in a haystack!

The most important thing to keep in mind is asking the right question/s. If you know exactly what you want to find out and how this helps you or your organisation, we will be able to find this information and look for the best way to communicate it.

At organisations such as the BBC, they are aware of the importance of having good questions. In fact, they make a very clever use of Freedom of Information requests because they always know what to ask, and then they manage to get the juicy data. For example, this story about British submariners punished for drunken misconduct was published because they were able construct the right question. Keep this in mind and think about what do you exactly need before looking for information.

But what is a right question? Let’s use an example to explain it. If you work for a charity committed to tackling child poverty and you are worried about the impact of the cuts on public services you might wonder how many social workers were made redundant in a local authority. This is the right question and we can find this data for you even if it is not public.

As a rigorous team, we use a broad range of sources when gathering data to ensure it’s from a trusted and accurate source.

Below are just a small selection of sources with open data where we can find the information you might be looking for:

• National and local government (data.gov.uk, ons.gov.uk, data.london.gov.uk…)
• Regulatory bodies (Ofcom, Ofsted…)
• Charities and NGOs (The Children’s Society, Greenpeace…)
• Academic and scientific institutions (University of Oxford, University of Bristol…)
• International organisations (Eurostat, World Bank, UN…)
• FOI requests (WhatDoTheyKnow…)

If there is open data is out there, give us a shout @infogr8 and we will find it for you![/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column width=”1/6″][vc_tweetmeme type=”horizontal”][/vc_column][vc_column width=”1/6″][vc_facebook type=”standard”][/vc_column][vc_column width=”1/6″][/vc_column][vc_column width=”1/6″][/vc_column][vc_column width=”1/6″][/vc_column][vc_column width=”1/6″][/vc_column][/vc_row]