Top Websites for Free Datasets to Fuel Your Next Project

Finding the right data set for your project can be challenging and time-consuming. Luckily, several websites offer a wide range of free datasets for projects. This article will look at the top websites for free datasets to fuel your next project. Whether you're working on a research project, creating a machine learning model, or just looking for some interesting data to explore, these websites have something for everyone. So, let's get started and see what these websites offer!

What is a Dataset?

A dataset is a collection of data organized in a meaningful way. Datasets can analyze trends, find patterns, and predict future events. Datasets are often used in data science because they provide a wide range of information about a specific topic.

Individuals or organizations, such as governments or corporations, can create datasets. They can also be created from publicly available information sources like government agencies, newspapers, scientific journals, and other publications.

1. Google Dataset Search

Google Dataset Search is a great way to find datasets available on the web. You can search by keyword or filter based on the type of data and other factors. Once you find an exciting dataset, click through for more information, including its source and license. When you are ready to download it, click "Request dataset" and follow the instructions to download it.

2. Datahub

This site is a great place to find datasets on all sorts of topics, including demographics, climate change, and economics. Using the search bar at the top of the page allows you to search by keyword or category. If you're browsing, you can click on any collections to see what is available in that category.

3. Kaggle

Kaggle is a platform for data scientists to share datasets, collaborate, and compete in machine learning. It boasts an enormous collection of datasets you can use to train your algorithms and build your projects.

Kaggle also offers a free tier that allows you to upload one monthly dataset and access its community of users. You can also submit your datasets for review by Kaggle staff before they're made public.

4. Data.Gov

Data.gov is a project of the US government to foster open data and transparency. The site offers access to over 2,000 datasets from all branches of government, including the Department of Transportation, the Department of Labor, and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).

Data.gov offers an easy way to find public data on various topics, including social security, climate change, health care, energy usage, and more.

5. EarthData

EarthData is a free, open-source collection of data sets used by scientists and engineers to model the Earth system. The site includes data from public research projects worldwide, including NASA, NOAA, USGS, and more.

EarthData also has a tool called "Earth Engine," where you can access data from anywhere in the world. In addition, you can use their tools to visualize your data or create custom maps based on your needs.

6. UCI Machine Learning Repository

UC Irvine's Machine Learning Repository contains datasets and data sets available for use by both academic and commercial researchers and students. It includes all types of data, from images to text to graphs, and is classified into different categories so you can easily find what you're looking for.

7. Global Health Observatory Data Repository

The Global Health Observatory Data Repository (GHODR) is a project of the World Health Organization (WHO) that aims to make high-quality, freely available data on health open to all. The GHODR provides access to hundreds of datasets, including disease data from the WHO's Global Burden of Disease (GBD) study, information about health systems in countries around the globe, and much more.

8. British Film Institute

The British Film Institute (BFI) is a non-profit organization that promotes, preserves, and distributes British films. It also provides funding for several film festivals in the UK.

The BFI offers access to its data via its website, which includes information on box office takings, audience demographics, and more. The dataset is updated weekly with new data on films released since the previous update.

9. CERN Open Data Portal

The CERN Open Data Portal is a data repository from Switzerland's European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN). The portal has datasets related to physics, nuclear research, and other fields. It may be helpful when searching for a dataset related to particle physics or high-energy physics.

10. FBI Crime Data Explorer

The FBI Crime Data Explorer is an excellent resource for anyone interested in studying the relationship between crime and other factors, like geography or time. The site lets you explore crime data at various levels—from the city down to individual addresses—and then you can use the data to create charts and graphs showing how crime rates have changed over time. You can also use the data explorer to make maps of your own, which is helpful if you're interested in seeing where certain types of crimes are most common in any area.

11. Data.world

Data.world is a crowd-sourced data platform for professionals and scientists to share, discover, and reuse data. It's designed to help you find the information you need, not just what's online.

It's free to join and use, and the site is powered by a community of over 300,000 people passionate about data sharing and collaboration. So if you're looking for datasets related to your industry or project, there's no better place to start than data.world.

12. NYC Taxi Trip Data

The NYC Taxi & Limousine Commission (TLC) is a city agency that regulates taxis and other for-hire vehicles in New York City. They have an open data program, which makes the vast majority of their public data available to the public, including taxi trip data. The trip data includes information on the fare, pickup and dropoff times, and locations of each trip.

The TLC also provides an API that allows you to access the same data through an application programming interface (API). This means you can use their datasets in your applications or web applications without downloading them first.

13. Awesome Public Datasets on GitHub

You can access data from many of the projects it hosts because GitHub is the industry standard for collaborative and open-source code repositories online. Awesome Public Datasets is a project created exclusively for public datasets.

Like Kaggle, the GitHub datasets are a bonus feature of the website's primary function. However, in the case of GitHub, this goal is to serve as a code repository service first and foremost. As a result, you may need to use ingenuity. It won't have as many options as Google or Kaggle because it's not a data repository designed for dataset discovery.

Conclusion

You've made it through this list of our top 10 free datasets sources, and now you know how to find the perfect dataset for your next data analytics project.

In addition, hopefully, you have gained a better understanding of the value of ensuring your data is as high quality as possible—it's the difference between a good analysis and a great one. So, don't let the search for data hold you back – start exploring these websites today and see what you can discover!

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Article originally posted on Medium: https://medium.com/@HassanFaheem/the-top-13-websites-for-free-datasets-to-fuel-your-next-project-16b7f7965439