Finding the Needle in the Haystack:

US Government Information on the Web

Beth Pfeffer

iFISH

November 2012

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Agenda

Introduction What types of information? Where to find the information?

– Agency sites– Government Portals– Gov 2.0

Some useful government links

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Which information needs are met by government information?

Statistics (Census, Dept. of Transportation, etc.)

Current research (stem cells, Mars mission) Laws and regulations (FDA, FCC, etc.) Trade, treaties, commerce Market research

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As a resource, government information is…

Highly reliable Primary source material (high level of

accuracy, not second hand) Current and up-to-date (mostly) Copyright free (mostly) Free of charge (mostly)

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What do you need to know about the US Government?

How is it structured? Who is in charge of what?

(Federal/State/Local)

Uncle Sam wants YOU…to know

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The Federal Government

Separation of powers System of checks and balances

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State, Local, and Tribal Government

Distribution of power:

Shared powers: make and enforce laws, tax, and borrow money.

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Domain names for US Gov’t Information Online

Federal:.gov, .mil, (also .fed.us, .edu, .org …)

State: .gov, .state.st.us (www.state.nj.us), .com…

Local:.gov, .org, .ci.name.st.us, .co.name.st.us

Only .gov and .mil are restricted to government.

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Types of government information

1. Reports, analyses, publications: prepared by experts in various agencies.

Examples: Demographics: The Older Population: 2010

Economic Statistics: Economic Indicators

Market Research: Medical Devices and Equipment: Competitive Conditions

Industry Overviews: U.S. Wine Industry

Statistical Analysis by Subject: The Statistical Abstract of the USA (R.I.P.)

2. Datasets and statistics: accessible via various tools, apps and report generators.

Examples: Census FactFinderCensus Data FerrettData.gov

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Where is the information?

A search for information on soybean production in the US

1. Identify the Agency Dept of Agriculture (USDA)2. Go to the USDA website 3. Search for “soybeans” and “oil crops”4. Note the agency for statistics NASS for farming FSA for research ARS for economic research ERS

economics, stats, marketing ESMIS 5. Use the sub-agency’s search engine6. With any luck, you will find this: Soybeans and Oil Crops7. Consider contacting the subject expert directly

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Where is the information?

The Technology Industry:– Federal Communications Commission (FCC)– National Institute for Standards and Technology (

NIST)– National Science Foundation (NSF)– National Institutes for Health (NIH)– Food and Drug Administration (FDA)– Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTC)

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www.usa.gov

Main US Government portal Lists government agency websites including sub-

agencies, quasi-governmental agencies, individual reports, and bills (over 10,000 links)

Takes a broad subject approach Searches sites containing government information, not

only .gov and .mil

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The future is now: Open Data

“The way to make government responsible is to hold it accountable. And the way to make government accountable is make it transparent so that the American people can know exactly what decisions are being made, how they’re being made, and whether their interests are being well served.”

Barak Obama

President Obama launched the “Open Government Initiative” on his first day in office, January 21, 2009.

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Open Data (or Gov 2.0)

“Government as a platform and not a portal.” Allows applications to be developed and operated using shared

datasets. No more fragmented channels, redundant interfaces and

custom applications to share information. A cultural change based on open access, reusability,

optimization and social enrichment through communities.

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Federal Open Data initiative:

www.data.gov

Only Executive Branch data are included in the first version. Descriptions of the Federal datasets, information about how to access

the datasets, and tools to access them. Growing from 47 datasets in 2009 to nearly 450,000 datasets today,

across 172 federal agencies. The interface is changing:

– Current interface: www.data.gov– Next generation interface: explore.data.gov

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The Data.gov catalogs:

"Raw" Data Catalog: includes instant view/download of platform-independent, machine readable data (e.g., XML, CSV, KMZ/KML, or shape file formats).

Tools Catalog: features widgets, data mining and extraction tools, applications, and other services.

Geodata Catalog: includes trusted, authoritative, Federal geospatial information and tools.

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The US Census

www.census.gov

The Census Bureau serves as the leading source of quality data about the US people and the economy

Demographic data collected from households. Economic data from businesses.

Census 2010 – Data is currently being released The American Community Survey (ACS) is replacing the 10-

year census for socio-economic data. Data from the ACS appears in the New American Factfinder.

Example

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The US Economic Census

www.census.gov/econ/census07

Prepared every 5 years (years ending in 2 & 7) Based on businesses (not households) Data are published for more than 1,000 industries, 15,000

products, every state, 3,200 counties, 10,000 cities and towns, and the Island Areas.

Industry snapshots summarize the data: www.census.gov/econ/census/snapshots_center

Example

Sample Form

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Export Portal

www.export.gov

provides online trade resources for businesses exporting from the US.

Commercial Guides for 120 countries. Market Research for US registered companies only.

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Trade Leads and Gov’t Contracts

www.fedbizopps.govFedBizOpps.gov is the single government point-of-entry

(GPE) for Federal government procurement opportunities over $25,000.

www.usaspending.gov– Includes all government contracts, grants, spending– Includes subcontracting data (never collected before)

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Rules and Regulations

www.sba.gov - small business guides: good source of information

on Laws and Regulations

www.regulations.gov - includes federal regulations in the

pipeline (does not include public laws)

www.nist.gov - National Institute of Standards and Technology

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Statistics and Technical Information

Official US Statistics : Reference Center www.usa.gov/Topics/Reference_Shelf/Data.shtml

Open Government access to Executive Branch Datasets: www.data.gov

Statistical Abstract of the US www.census.gov/compendia/statab/

Contains a collection of statistics on social and economic conditions. Selected international data are also included.

Loss of funding: Termination of program October 1, 2011 but it is still useful to find the sources of the information.

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Sources for Research Reports

U.S. International Trade Commission www.usitc.govAn independent federal agency determining import injury to U.S.

industries supporting policymakers through economic analysis and research on the global competitiveness of U.S. industries.

National Technical Information Service www.ntis.gov

The largest central resource for government-funded scientific, technical, engineering, and business related information.

OpenCRS http://opencrs.com/A project which provides citizens access to Congressional Research

Service reports already in the public domain. Note that the CRS strongly believes that its sole purpose is to directly serve Congress and not the public.

Questions?

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Thank You

Beth Pfeffer

Information Specialist