When considering the usage of an existing dataset (i.e. secondary data), you should consider the following questions:
Your librarians are curating a Google Sheets list of databases you can use to search for open data. It is divided in several tabs:
You can consult it here. If you have comments or suggestions for additional databases, please contact the Library.
Application Programming Interfaces (APIs) are a way to access databases and systems using various tools to perform specific searches not necessarily implemented in an open data portal. Some interesting APIs are listed in our "List of databases" above.
If you are interested in social media data collection, check "APIs for social scientists: A collaborative review".