Finding and accessing data for your project

Finding and accessing data for your project 

A short guide to how to find, access, and evaluate data from the UK Data Service for your student research project.

Step 1: Identify your data needs

Before you start searching for data, it’s important to be clear about what kind of data your project requires.

Ask yourself:

  • What is my research question?
  • Do I need quantitative data, qualitative data, or both?
  • Am I looking for UK data, international data, or data for a specific time period?

Our Thinking before doing worksheet (PDF) can help you clarify your project and identify the type of data you need.

Once you have a clearer idea of your data needs, you are ready to start searching.

Step 2: Search for data

You can find data through the UK Data Service data catalogue. The catalogue allows you to:

  • Search for specific studies
  • Use keywords related to your topic
  • Filter results to narrow down what is most relevant

To get an overview of how the catalogue works, watch the video Searching for data from the UK Data Service.

If you would like to see how the search tool can be used for a real research question, watch How to find data: search example.

Step 3: Evaluate whether a dataset is suitable

Finding a dataset does not automatically mean it is right for your project. You will need to evaluate how well it matches your research needs.

Start by reading the catalogue record, which provides summary information about the dataset. For a short introduction, watch Navigating catalogue records.

If the dataset looks promising, explore the documentation, which is freely available through the catalogue. This documentation explains:

  • How the data were collected.
  • How the data were processed.
  • What you will find in the dataset.

To support your evaluation, you can use our Finding data for your project worksheet (PDF).

Step 4: Register to access data

To download most datasets from the UK Data Service, you will need to register.

  • UK students can register using their university or college login details.
  • NonUK students should follow the guidance for registering as a nonUK academic user.

Registration free and usually only takes a few minutes to complete.

Access levels and conditions

Datasets from the UK Data Service are available under different access levels:

  • Open data – available to everyone without registration
  • Safeguarded data – requires registration and agreement to specific conditions
  • Secure data – highly detailed or sensitive data with stricter access requirements

To find out which data you can use for your studies, watch What data can you access for a student project? Understanding access conditions.

Where next?

Survey data are often well suited to dissertation projects. The UK Data Service offers access to survey data on a wide range of topics. Find out more about using survey data in a dissertation.