News

How to access Queensland Government data for your research

 

19/11/2019

Did you know that you can request Queensland Government open data not currently in the public domain via the government’s Open Data Portal?

Simply go to the portal’s “Data requests” webpage and complete the workflow form. You will need to log in as a registered user of the portal but it’s free and anyone can sign up.
 
The state government has recently improved the open data request process to provide greater transparency and to better facilitate the publishing of new datasets that are expected to provide value to the Queensland public.
 
Prior to making a data request, search the Open Data Portal using keywords or filter datasets to ensure the data you require isn’t already in the public domain. You can also review the existing data requests as other users may have made requests for similar data.
 
Requests made last month include data about air quality, traffic, oceanography and employment figures.
 
Open data is non-sensitive data that is freely available, easily discovered and accessed, and published in ways and with licenses that allow easy reuse.
 
The Queensland Government has committed to following the International Open Data Charter principles, which include being open by default and making its non-sensitive data accessible, usable, timely and comprehensive.
 
The government’s objectives in publishing open data are to:

• Stimulate economic activity and innovation by making government data available for commercial reuse
• Improve public services by using and sharing government data to support evidence-based policy and program design
• Increase transparency, accountability and public trust in the Queensland Government. 

The Open Data Portal currently has more than 2,700 datasets and 11,200 resources, including those on the Queensland Globe, a free, online interactive tool that visualises physical, geographical and spatial data into a more traditional mapping experience.
 
Recently, a University of Queensland civil engineering research team used data, including open data, from Queensland’s Department of Transport and Main Roads to investigate the community structure in Brisbane’s urban transport network.
 
The team’s in-depth look into how people and vehicles travel across Brisbane could provide the government with new opportunities to improve infrastructure, roadways and public transport allocations. (Read this case study in full, and visit the Open Data Portal’s “Case studies” webpage for more articles.)

QCIF’s Data Curator

The Queensland Government commissioned QCIF and the Open Data Institute Australian Network to develop a tool to improve the quality of open data.
 
Data Curator helps users describe, validate and share open data. It also helps data consumers interpret and use published open data.
 
Data Curator was launched on 1 March 2019 as part of the International Open Data Day celebrations and is a free-to-download CSV data file editor that is compatible with both PC and Mac computers.