BIOLOGY 152: Introductory Biology (Fall 2025) : Finding Data
Resources for Finding Data
Below you will find a brief list of tools for finding data organized broadly by topic. Consider these a starting point -- there are hundreds of other potential sources of data out there!
Review the Bio 152 IP Data Sets Spreadsheet and your course Canvas page for more ideas. If you are not sure whether you have found data that will work for your IP, check with your TA.
When searching for data, keep in mind:
- Data may not be formatted in the way you expect, or may require special software to open and use
- Shared data does not always include the documentation needed to understand it
- Data related to your question may not have been collected (or made public) yet
- You may need to find and combine multiple datasets to investigate your research question
General/All Topics
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Data Citation IndexA wide array of data across subjects and geographic regions.
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Data.gov CatalogSearch for data from U.S. federal, state, and local government.
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DryadSearch for data on a variety of topics, or browse by subject, funding organization, journal, or institution.
Biodiversity & Environment
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DataOneData Observation Network for Earth. Discovery and access to earth science and environmental data.
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iNaturalistUser-contributed biodiversity data: plant and animal observations.
Climate
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NASA Climate DataClimate data from NASA including earth observations like temperature, aerosols, clouds, oceans, precipitation, radiative flux, and storms.
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NOAA Climate DataClimate data from NOAA including quality controlled daily, monthly, seasonal, and yearly measurements of temperature, precipitation, wind, and degree days as well as radar data and 30-year Climate Normals.
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Wisconsin State Climatology OfficeWisconsin climate data including temperature, precipitation, snowfall, and other records dating back to the 19th century.
Health
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CDC National Center for Health StatisticsData a variety of medical and health related topics from the United States.
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WHO Global Health Observatory IndicatorsData on a variety of medical and health related topics from World Health Organization member countries around the world.
Additional Tips & Resources
Tips for Finding & Reusing Research Data
Finding research data to reuse can be challenging even for experienced researchers. UW-Madison's Research Data Services provides some tips for finding and reusing data, as well as citing where your data came from.
Data Research Guides
In-depth guides to data resources for agriculture, climate, and health research.
Associated Data
Look for filters to "associated data" or "data paper" in database search results, such as in Web of Science, Scopus, and PubMed. These filters can lead you to papers that link to the data that was used. However, be aware that these features are often fairly new, may be inconsistent, and may not lead you to the type of data you are expecting.
Try a Literature Search
Another approach is to find and read or skim some articles on your topic. The authors may include citations to or other information about data that were used in the research, which you can then track down using the digital object identifier (DOI) or by going to the original source (for example, for data published by a government organization).