Editorial standard
How this guide is researched
The Guide to Indian Data currently organizes 168 dataset records. It does not host the underlying data or replace official documentation. Its original contribution is a consistent research layer that helps people judge relevance, access, and limitations before opening a portal or beginning an application.
01
Select
Include sources with a recognizable steward, a clear connection to research on India, and enough public evidence to describe without speculation.
02
Normalize
Translate uneven portal descriptions into comparable fields while preserving the source's own terminology, attribution, and access conditions.
03
Qualify
Add practical guidance about best uses, limitations, documentation gaps, and related sources that may strengthen or challenge an analysis.
Selection
What belongs in the catalog
Sources are considered when they support empirical work on India or provide essential research infrastructure such as geographic boundaries, administrative concordances, or documented replication files. Government surveys and administrative systems sit alongside academic deposits and maintained community projects because each solves a different part of the research workflow.
Inclusion is not an endorsement of every value in a dataset. A record can be useful and still have serious limits: restricted access, historical geography, irregular updates, weak metadata, or uncertain continuity. Those qualifications belong on the record, not in fine print.
Thin mirrors, unexplained file dumps, and sources with no credible attribution are not treated as equivalent to documented primary sources. Community repositories are labeled as such and linked to their maintainers rather than presented as official releases.
What the guide adds
Source portals often describe their own products well, but they rarely use the same vocabulary as one another. The guide records a compact set of comparable fields while directing users back to the original host for files, current rules, and authoritative documentation.
- A plain-language summary of what the source is useful for
- Stewarding institution and original host
- Geographic level and time coverage
- Access conditions and practical friction
- Representative variables, formats, and technical tags
- Best-use guidance, limitations, and complementary datasets
Access language
Labels describe the route, not the value
“Public” is not used as a synonym for “downloadable.” The access label records what a researcher is likely to encounter at the source. Users should still read the host's current terms before collecting or publishing data.
- Open download
- A user can reach downloadable files without an application or paid account. File formats and documentation quality may still vary.
- Public dashboard
- The source is openly viewable, but bulk files or stable machine-readable access may not be available.
- Registration required
- An account or project description is required before files can be accessed. Registration is not described as open download.
- Data-use agreement
- Access depends on accepting specific terms, institutional review, or a formal application process.
- Request-only
- The source identifies a request path, but approval, response time, or continued availability is uncertain.
- Paid subscription
- Meaningful access requires payment or an institutional subscription; a preview alone does not count as open data.
Updates and verification
Catalog changes are made from public source documentation and project research notes. Dates, links, and access routes can change after publication, especially on government portals. The guide therefore states uncertainty where appropriate and asks users to verify current rules with the host.
Dataset summaries are written for this catalog. They are not copied abstracts, and they should not be cited as substitutes for a source questionnaire, codebook, methodology report, or repository record.
Corrections and accountability
A catalog of changing public systems will sometimes be incomplete. Corrections are welcome when a link has moved, an access label no longer reflects the host, or an editorial summary misses an important limitation. Please include the record URL and a primary source when possible.
Send a correction