Government Information By Beth Pfeffer - Ifish Forum meeting November 2012

1. Finding the Needle in the Haystack:
US Government Information on the Web
Beth Pfeffer
iFISH
November 2012

2. Agenda
 Introduction
 What types of information?
 Where to find the information?
– Agency sites
– Government Portals
– Gov 2.0
 Some useful government links
Beth Pfeffer

3. 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
Beth Pfeffer

4. 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)
Beth Pfeffer

5. 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
Beth Pfeffer

6. The Federal Government
 Separation of powers
 System of checks and balances
Beth Pfeffer

7. State, Local, and Tribal Government
 Distribution of power:
 Shared powers: make and enforce laws, tax, and borrow
money.
Beth Pfeffer

8. 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.
Beth Pfeffer

9. 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 FactFinder
Census Data Ferrett
Data.gov
Beth Pfeffer

10. 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 engine
6. With any luck, you will find this: Soybeans and Oil Crops
7. Consider contacting the subject expert directly
Beth Pfeffer

11. 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)
Beth Pfeffer

12. 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
Beth Pfeffer

13. 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.
Beth Pfeffer

14. 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.
Beth Pfeffer

15. 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
Beth Pfeffer

16. Beth Pfeffer

17. 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.
Beth Pfeffer

18. Beth Pfeffer

19. Beth Pfeffer

20. 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
Beth Pfeffer

21. 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
Beth Pfeffer

22. 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.
Beth Pfeffer

23. Trade Leads and Gov’t Contracts
 www.fedbizopps.gov
FedBizOpps.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)
Beth Pfeffer

24. 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
Beth Pfeffer

25. 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.
Beth Pfeffer

26. Sources for Research Reports
 U.S. International Trade Commission www.usitc.gov
An 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.
Beth Pfeffer

27. Questions?

28. Thank You
Beth Pfeffer
Information Specialist
Beth Pfeffer