Discover datasets

Overview

Datasets are the core entity on Redivis, and finding the dataset(s) you want to work with is generally one of your first steps. All datasets are either uploaded by an organization or a user. If a user has uploaded a dataset they will need to share it with you directly, but you can browse datasets upload by any organization on their home page.

1. Find your organization

There are many ways to find your organization. If you know what you're looking for you can type it into the "Go to" bar on the top of the page. To browse all organizations you can go to the Organizations tab of your workspace where you can Find organization.

If your organization is part of an institution (such as Stanford or Columbia) you can also go to the institution page to browse all organizations in that institution.

Note that some organizations may be hidden from public view, in which case you will need to contact someone at the organization to get the direct link.

2. Browse available datasets

On the organization home page you can see all of the organization's datasets that you have at least Overview access to. If you're looking for a dataset you expect to be here and you don't see it, you might need to contact the organization administrators to get access.

You can see the datasets that this organization has featured on the left section of the page, type a term into the search bar, or click the Datasets tab to browse everything. By default these datasets are sorted by popularity but you can reorder them however you'd like to find what you want.

You can also click the Projects tab to see projects featured by this organization which showcase how their data can be used. More on projects later!

3. Search for data

Once on the dataset tab you can use multiple filters along with search terms to find what you'd like. All searches take a comprehensive look at information from the dataset documentation as well as variable metadata, including value labels.

You can also use the filters to find specific information you're looking for. If you know the name of the variable or year of the data you're interested in, narrow your search here.

4. Preview tables

Each dataset that appears here matches all search and filter configurations. You can click on the dataset tile to see more information, including a preview of all of the tables this dataset contains.

Click on any of these tables to dig into it further. As long as you have metadata access you can see the variable information and summary statistics.

Once you find a dataset you want to explore further, click on the title to go to the dataset page.

5. Explore the dataset page

This dataset page has all of the information you'll need to familiarize yourself with the data and get started working with it further. Add this dataset to your dataset library to easily find it later on by clicking the button alongside the dataset title.

Overview

This tab has a short summary of the dataset along with different sections filled out by the administrators such as the Methodology, Documentation, and Provenance information. This Provenance section will also have citation information and a DOI if one has been created. You can also see your current access level on the right side of the page.

Tables

This tab contains all of the dataset's tabular data. You can see each table alongside information about its contents. Click on each one to dig deeper into the data.

Files

This tab contains all of the dataset's unstructured data. You can preview each file by clicking on it.

Usage

This tab has information about how other people have used this dataset on Redivis. You can see the most popular variables across all tables to get a sense for which ones might be a good starting place to understanding the structure of the data.

Next steps

Apply for access to restricted data

If you don't have data access to this dataset you'll need to apply for access before you can work with it further

Learn more in the Apply to access restricted data guide.

Start working with your data

Add this dataset to a project to transform and analyze it leveraging lightning fast tools from your browser.

Learn more in the Work with data in a project guide.