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What is Open Data?

Open Data is a realtively new concept within the global scientific community which is gaining momemtum at a rapid rate.

Open Data is defined in the Global Open Data Handbook as,

Data that can be freely used, re-used and redistributed by anyone - subject only, at most, to the requirement to attribute and sharealike.

Features of Open Data​

Open data is not just about sharing any data, there are several features which classifies the shared data as Open Data,

  • Fidable
  • Accssible
  • Interoperable
  • Reusable
  • Machine readable

Findable​

The data should be categoried with proper metadata. The data and the metadata should be properly indexed and searchable.

Accssible​

The shared data and metadata should be freely accessible using an open protocol. For example the Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP) which we access the internet on a daily basis.

Interoperable​

The data and metadata should be interoperable, where they provide qualified refereces to other data and metadata.

Reusable​

The data and metadata should be released in license that do not restrict reuse and redistribution of the shared data and metadata.

Machine Readable​

The shared data should be reusable by endusers for use and analysis with minimal effort and processing. Therefore, the data should be shared in a format which is easy for progrmas to use. An example for these file formats include JSON, XML.

Data shared in a format that is not machine readable are not qualified as open data, these formats include PDF documents, images etc.