Types of Data Sources

We looked at internal data sources, such as transactional data, CRM details, business apps, and other company-owned assets. These sources are already under the authority of the company, so they're among the first places data scientists go when obtaining information. However, this information isn't always sufficient. Whether the company wants to answer wider questions about the industry or better understand future customers, the analytics team may need to explore beyond the company's own data sources.We'll look at the most popular external data sources, including publicly available information that isn't controlled by the company.

a) Social media

Social medias like Facebook and Twitter are among the most reliable external big data sources. These websites have grown extremely popular, not only among individual customers but also among businesses. Businesses may put an ear to the ground, so to speak, through social media profiles and gain a better understanding of their present and potential clients.

Overall, social media data may reveal a lot about a company, including good and negative brand feedback, trends, activity patterns, and client preferences. For example, if a business detects that a large number of social media users are looking for a specific type of product, it can move to dominate the market and meet these demands.

b) Data from the government

While social network data is undoubtedly valuable, it isn't the only external data source that businesses should use. The federal government also supplies useful informational resources to assist today's businesses in gaining a better understanding of the public. Some of the greatest areas to look here are:

i) Data.gov: This website was just launched by federal officials in order to fulfill the US government's goal to make as much data as possible public. The best part is that all of this information is available for free and on the internet. Companies will find a variety of data here, including consumer data, agricultural data, education data, manufacturing data, public safety data, and much more. Businesses searching for a broader global view might visit Data.gov.uk, where the UK government has gathered an extraordinary quantity of metadata dating back to 1950.The United States Census Bureau: It has also made a variety of statistics available online, including information on the general population, geographic information, and regional education details.

ii) CIA World Factbook: The Central Intelligence Agency has vast warehouses of data at its disposal, and it has made some of it available online through its Factbook. This database contains information about the world's population, governance, military, infrastructure, economy, and history. The best part is that it not only covers the United States, but also 266 other nations.

Healthdata.gov: Health-care data can be extremely useful for businesses in that area, as well as those in other industries. This site contains more than a century's worth of health-care data from the United States, including Medicare records, population statistics, and epidemiology.

iii) Google 

Google has also made a few critical data sources publicly available. Google, being one of the world's most popular search engines, has a plethora of data about search words, trends, and other online activity. One of the better resources here is Google Trends, which provides statistical data on search volumes for practically any phrase - and these databases date back to nearly the start of the internet.

iv) Google Finance. It provides 40 years of stock market data that is constantly updated in real time, is another useful resource supplied by Google. Furthermore, Google Books Ngrams enables businesses to search and analyze the text of Google's millions of books.

There are also other external data sources that can be used to supplement the vast amount of information kept in internal databases. Some authorities, for example, collect and make data on sales data , market share data, and future trend predictions for specific business industries, as well as economic and financial indicators, available to the public. Market surveys and customer opinions obtained through questionnaires are provided by other agencies. Geographic information systems (GIS), which are a set of applications for gathering, organizing, storing, and presenting territorial data, are another important source of external data. 

These contain data about entities that have a defined geographic location. Each item is thus linked to latitude and longitude coordinates, as well as a variety of additional attributes, which are often derived from relational databases and vary depending on the application domain. As a result, these data enable subject-specific studies of data connected with geographic components, with the results visually presented.