CalOpenData Portal Homepage
This is the homepage of Cal Open Data Portal with a search bar that can filter open data sets using keywords that the user chooses.
How has this data resource been critiqued or acknowledged to be limited?
bmvuongIn the “about” section of their website, GovOps acknowledges that they must still continue to work with open data sources, making datasets more accessible to Californians.
What is this data resource called and how should it be cited?
bmvuongGovernment Operations Agency. California Open Data Portal. 2015. https://data.ca.gov/
What steps does a user need to take to produce analytically sharp or provocative data visualizations with this data resource?
bmvuongThe main page on the site immediately directs you to a search bar where you can search for a state agency, topic, or keywords. There is also a guidebook and a public open data training video for a user to learn how to find data and produce data visualizations.
What data visualizations illustrate how this data set can be leveraged to characterize environmental injustice in different sett
bmvuongThis figure shows a smaller window open within the California State Water Resources Control Board page on Cal Open Data Portal, providing straightforward access to an Excel document displaying a dataset within the state 2019 water quality status report that sampled 1,2,3-trichloropropane, a drinking water contaminant.
What visualizations can be produced with this data resource and what can they be used to demonstrate?
bmvuongEach federal state organization has the number of open datasets listed below them, and is also available to click on to discover those datasets.
What can be demonstrated or interpreted with this data set?
bmvuongCal Open Data Portal demonstrates that it is able to bring together different datasets from various government agencies. It also allows for open data to be linked across different existing datasets.
How scales (county, regional, neighborhood, census tract) can be seen through this data resource?
bmvuongCal Open Data Portal draws data from state agencies. Census tracts can be searched for, for example, searching for Census Tract Disadvantaged Communities 2018, opens a synopsis and map showing each tract and its attributes. However, some of these data sets are linked to GIS programs, meaning they could be layers that are created to add to a map, making it difficult for non-GIS users to navigate and understand. In an attempt to provide assistance with this measure, the website provides a guidebook and a public open data training video for a user to learn how to find data and produce data visualizations.
What data is drawn into the data resource and where does it come from?
bmvuongCalifornia Open Data Portal is designed to host open data from more than one state agency and aims to link all existing state portals in order for California's open data sets to be easily searched for from https://data.ca.gov. Open data or public data is collected through the state's routine business activities and is published in a way that is simple to search for, download, and combine with other data. Open data does not include private or confidential information on individuals.
This figure shows some of the categories that Cal Open Data Portal has on their website, all from existing federal agencies, that the user can click on to further filter their dataset searches.