How to Use Data.gov Tutorial

The following are some detailed instructions that will help you make the most of Data.gov.

Navigate to the three catalogs

You can easily navigate to the Data.gov catalogs from the homepage by clicking on their respective icons.

Using the Data Catalog

1. Three Types of Data Catalogs: Data.gov includes access to data in three ways: "raw" data catalog, tool catalog, and the geodata catalog. Each of these catalogs can be accessed via the tabs on the catalog page
1. "Raw" Data Catalog: Data.gov features a catalog with instant view/download of platform-independent, machine readable datasets in a variety of formats.
2. Tool Catalog: Data.gov features a tool catalog to provide the public with simple, application-driven access to Federal data with hyperlinks. This catalog features widgets and data-mining and extraction tools, applications, and other services.
3. Geodata Catalog: Data.gov features a geodata catalog that includes trusted, authoritative, Federal geospatial data. This catalog includes links to download the datasets and a metadata page with details on the datasets, as well as links to more detailed Federal Geographic Data Committee (FGDC) metadata information.
2. Search the Catalogs:  You may search the data catalogs in a few different ways and each catalog has their own specific search criteria relative to the catalog:
1. View All Data: If you don't enter in any search parameters in the search box, and click submit, you will receive all of the records in the data catalog.
2. Search by Keyword: You can search the "raw" data catalog and the tools catalog by keyword.
3. Search "raw" data by file type: You can search the "raw" data catalog by file type (e.g., XML, CSV/Text, KML/KMZ, ESRI, Other)
4. Search by single/multiple category: You can search by either a single category or by selecting multiple categories.
5. Search by single/multiple agency: You can search by either a single agency or by selecting multiple agencies.



3. Data Catalog Results: After searching, you can view the data for analysis and download. You may navigate to the various pages in your results and choose to view a different number of search results. You will also see the total number of results that your search yielded. If you want to get descriptions of the different types of file formats, mouse over the column headers to see a description. Columns can also be sorted by clicking on the header text.
4. More Details about the Data: Clicking on the dataset name provides quick access to the more detailed metadata and information about using the dataset. You will find links to download the data and data descriptions, as well as links to the agency and more. Also on this page, you will be able to download the datasets and/or tools, rate the data, and even comment on the data.