Finding and Using Data¶

Basic Search¶

From UVa’s Dataverse repository homepage, you can search the entire contents of UVa’s Dataverse repository, which includes sub-collections, datasets and files. You can search within a sub-collection with an exact phrase search or entering a search term or query in the search box (on the left) that says, “Search this dataverse”. If you have navigated to a sub-collection, to search ALL dataverse collections, use the search dropdown on the header of every page. The search bar accepts search terms, queries, or exact phrases (in quotations).

Advanced Search¶

To perform an advanced search, click the “Advanced Search” link next to the search bar. There you will have the ability to enter search terms for Dataverse collections, Dataset Metadata (citation and domain-specific), and file-level metadata. If you are searching for tabular data files you can also search at the variable level for name and label. To find out more about what each field searches, hover over the field name for a detailed description of the field.

Browsing Dataverse¶

You can browse selected dataverse collections or all of LibraData from the home page by clicking on a dataverse collection at the bottom of the page, or select “Browse all LibraData Datasets” to browse all of LibraData. Browsing is the default for a user when they are on a specific dataverse collection’s page. When browsing, only dataverse collections and datasets appear in the results list and the results can be sorted by Name (A-Z or Z-A) and by Newest or Oldest. You can toggle the “Files” facet on the left to include files in the results list.

View Dataverses + Datasets¶

After performing a search and finding the dataverse collection or dataset you are looking for, click on the name of the dataverse collection or dataset or on the thumbnail image to be taken to the page for that dataverse collection or dataset. Once on a dataverse collection page, you can view the dataverses, datasets, and files within that dataverse.

Once on a dataset page, you will see the title, citation, description, and several other fields, as well as a button to email the dataset contact and a button to share the dataset on social media. Below that information, the files, metadata, terms of use, and version information for the dataset are available.

View Files¶

Files in Dataverse installation each have their own landing page that can be reached through the search results or through the Files table on their parent dataset’s page. The dataset page and file page offer much the same functionality in terms of viewing and editing files, with a few small exceptions.

• UVa’s Dataverse installaion has installed Previewers for several common file types: ASCII Text (txt, html), audio (mp3, wav, ogg), image (gif, jpeg, png), pdf, video (mp4, ogg, quicktime), csv, tsv, stata syntax, and r syntax.
• The file page’s Versions tab gives you a version history that is more focused on the individual file rather than the dataset as a whole.

File Search within Datasets¶

Datasets containing multiple files offer a file search function. On the Dataset page, under the Files tab, you’ll see a search bar you can use to locate an individual file. It searches within the filename and file description. Performing a search will filter the file table to list only files matching your search. After you perform a search, if you’d like to return to the full list of files, just perform an empty search.

Under the search bar, you’ll see file search facets you can use to filter the dataset’s files by file type, access level, and file tags (see the example below).

Tree View¶

Files can be organized in one or more folders (directories) within a dataset. If the folder structure is defined, the Dataset Page will present an option for switching between the traditional table view, and the tree-like view showing folder and file hierarchy, as in the example below:

Cite Data¶

You can find the citation for the dataset at the top of the dataset page in a blue box. Additionally, there is a “Cite Data” button that offers the option to download the citation as EndNote XML, RIS Format, or BibTeX Format.

Download Files¶

If you want to download all files in a dataset, you can click the Access Dataset dropdown on the dataset page and select one of the download options. The dataset’s files will download in .zip format and will preserve any folder structure that the dataset owner had set up.

If you’d like to download a single file or some subset of the dataset’s files, you can use the Files tab. To download more than one file at a time, select the files you would like to download and then click the Download button above the files. The dataset’s files will download in .zip format and will preserve any folder structure that the dataset owner had set up.

You may also download a file from the Access File button on its file page or by Downloading via URL under the Metadata tab.

Tabular data files offer additional options: You can explore using any data exploration or visualization (if they have been enabled), or choose from a number of tabular-data-specific download options available.