Comments on: New Functionality

By: emcmah02

emcmah02 — Fri, 02 Oct 2009 16:50:17 +0000

for Mike Ponders: Thanks. We’ll check into drop down menus as a way to reduce the amount of scrolling needed.

By: Mike Ponders

Mike Ponders — Tue, 01 Sep 2009 16:03:49 +0000

I like the layout it’s clean and fairly simple to navigate. It’s essentially setup like a directory to locate important information. The only suggestion that I have is to possibly create a drop down menu with parent headings and sub headings that way we don’t have to scroll down the whole page to find out the topics of the site

By: emcmah02

emcmah02 — Mon, 03 Aug 2009 15:43:55 +0000

We’ve opened this up so anyone can submit potential data sources. Once we’ve reviewed them we’ll post whether or not they meet our criteria (on the web, from EPA, numerical data, data download site).

By: Nick Mangus

Nick Mangus — Fri, 05 Jun 2009 18:36:45 +0000

The list of things on Data Finder appears to have been compiled from the READ (registry of environmental applications and databases) list in the portal, but I’m not sure.

The taxonomy needs some work (very disappointing given all of the thought that OEI has given to taxonomies recently) to make the data easier to find/understand:

- We should add things : break air at the top level into: INDOOR and OUTDOOR.

- I’ve never been sure of the difference between “air quality” and “air pollution”, so I don’t know that it makes sense do divide it that way. Maybe “emissions” and “air quality”.

- It would be much easier to provide actionable comments if the taxnomony were shared with the EPA data owners.

The main problem with the site is that the links don’t take you to data in most cases. They just take you to a web page describing a system (not the data, but the system). This is not the way for a new user coming in to understand what’s available to them! For example, the AQS link points to the web site for AQS users. (1) There’s no data on this page (yes, there’s some lower down on the same site – so why not link there); (2) AQS is only open to government (state, local, tribal) employees, so pointing here from a public site will create a lot of work for the system operators in deflecting people who want access. For the Data.gov project, I compiled a list of 4 categories of air quality and emissions files (with about 215 specific available data files) that I’d be glad to forward.

Here’s a comment that a couple of AQS users have mentioned. I think this is because AQS and AFS used to be integrated under the umbrella of AIRS, so AIRS a name that some people still user when talking about AQS. Also, I’m not sure that there’s much in AFS any more about air releaes. AFS is now owned by OECA and I think is used to track inspections and all of the data is released through other systems (ISIS, EF, etc.) so touch base with them to make sure it should even be listed. Air releases are found in the TRI and the NEI. The entry is question is: Aerometric Information Retrieval System/AIRS Facility Subsystem (AIRS/AFS) – The Aerometric Information Retrieval System/AIRS Facility Subsystem (AIRS/AFS) is a database that provides information on air releases from various stationary sources. It is available through Envirofacts.

By: Steve W

Steve W — Fri, 05 Jun 2009 03:14:45 +0000

Modify fields for Suggested Data Sources – 2

All items should include tool tips to assist user in completing fields. Some of these fields may take on different interpretations as data finder is presented to larger audiences. eg ‘organization’

By: Steve W

Steve W — Fri, 05 Jun 2009 03:06:43 +0000

Modify fields for Suggested Data Sources – 1

The field for type of service available should allow for multiple selections

By: Steve W

Steve W — Fri, 05 Jun 2009 03:03:20 +0000

Need more links to Data Finder Home from Blog

Recommend a link to data finder home be available on every blog page top and bottom. There is no immediate path from either entering or reading a blog comment back to data finder itself. You must navigate from a blog entry back to blog home to find a link to data finder.

By: Steve W

Steve W — Fri, 05 Jun 2009 02:55:49 +0000

Add ability to assign category to Comment.

Currently if one want to comment under more than a single category, you have to 1) scroll to top of page and click a link to navigate elsewhere or right click / click back, 2) Click appropriate category 3) click the comment link, 4) scroll down to leave a comment. Much more efficient to have a category selection box above box for entering this text.

By: EPA Staff

EPA Staff — Thu, 04 Jun 2009 23:29:36 +0000

Consider adding is TOXNET (http://toxnet.nlm.nih.gov/). A search for it on the current Data Finder website did not find it generally, or under toxicology. This is a great site that combines a wide variety of toxicology data/websites in one user friendly location.

Consider splitting Compliance and Enforcement into separate categories.

Under Enforcement: consider adding a topic titled Criminal.
Under Criminal, add a link to the Summary of Criminal Prosecutions
which is a searchable database of concluded criminal cases.

By: EPA Staff

EPA Staff — Thu, 04 Jun 2009 19:14:33 +0000

It wasn’t useful for me.
I queried chicago’s largest treated-effluent discharge point (no quotation or punctuation marks), hoping to get at least the name of a river or lake, or a link to chicago’s wastewater treatment plants, or a map of same. i got 0 results.
Then I queried the place where i grew up as zip code 44055, hoping to get reference to the nearby Superfund sites or air-quality penalties or at least the biggest industries there by name. . I got 0 results.
And finally I queried deformed frog fungus. I got 0 results.

How this search engine is organized?
Each of the above should have led me to statistics re:
surface water quality data (in mg/mL), or # of citations, or something
# of heavy industries within that zip, or of companies fined, biggest polluter, effluent composition (mg/ML
how many frog species, what types of deformations, corresponding DNA sequences, etc.