Open Data and Open Tools: The Global Impact Study Inventory and Web Application

View/ Open
Date
2012Author
Rothschild, Chris
Sey, Araba
Tulinsky, Alex
Metadata
Show full item recordAbstract
What is Open Access to Research Data?
Is it free and open access to raw data? Access to data collection tools and
instruments? Access to data with tools to organize and analyze? These are the
types of questions the Global Impact Study is considering as we develop an open
approach to our research on the impacts of public access to information and
communication technologies (ICTs). The approach we have adopted includes
developing an open-access web application to enable meaningful sharing of the
data in our inventory of public access ICT venues. Users can query, export, and
map data on the location and characteristics of venues. In addition, the study is
making public all source code used for the web application. This poster illustrates
the types of data accessible through the application, query and visualization tools,
and sample outputs. The green boxes call out some of the primary open data
issues associated with the application’s main features. Based on what the web
application allows, to what extent do you think our data platform achieves open
access goals and principles?
Global Impact Study
Goal: To investigate the impacts of public access to ICTs in venues such as libraries,
telecenters, and cybercafés.
Timeline: 2007–2012
Primary Research Questions:
1. What are the social and economic impacts of public access to ICTs?
2. What is the magnitude of these impacts and how can we measure them?
3. What is the relationship between the costs and benefits of providing and using
public access ICTs?
Inventory
Why: To capture the magnitude and distribution of the venues studied in the project
What: Address, venue type, and venue characteristic data
Where: Bangladesh, Brazil, Chile, Lithuania, Philippines
How: Through publically available, administrative data
Open data: Tapping all sources
We know that there are limitations to our data collection
methods and users may find inaccuracies or gaps in some
of our data. However, public users can currently only
download data. How can we enable users to correct and
supplement our data and at the same time maintain the
integrity of the data?
This
Collections
- TASCHA Repository [310]