While it’s fabulous that the stimulus oversight board has made so much data available on Recovery.gov, understanding it all can be a daunting task. In response to some of the questions we’ve had from reporters about the data and Recovery.gov, we’re starting a tip sheet. If there are questions you have, please send them our way.

Where do I search for a recipient?

It was not obvious to us, but you can search for recipients on Recovery.gov. At the top right of the site’s homepage is a search box with a drop-down menu in front of it. Click on the drop-down menu, and choose “Recipient Reports Only” and then type the recipient name in the search box.

In the results list, you’ll see different headers. For details about a recipient’s project, click “Project Summary.”

You’ll get a summary of that project. Keep in mind that a recipient might have more than one project.

Where do I get all the data for my state?

Go to the Download Center. You can get there a couple of ways:

To get national data, you have to pull separate files for Contracts, Grants and Loans. Unlike its first data release, the recovery board provided data in a variety of ways. (Thank you!)  For most folks, the csv file is the easiest because you can open it in Microsoft Excel. There’s some formatting in the xls file that may make some of your computers unhappy.

To get data for your state, click the drop-down menu in the data box on the bottom of the Download Center page and choose state summaries:

Click GO and you’ll get a list of state files:

It’s a good idea to read the data users guide before (PDF) diving into the data. It may not be obvious what data is in a field based on its header. Also, some fields use special codes that you need to be able to interpret.

Why do different recipients have the same DUNS number?

Actually, they don’t. That’s why it’s important to understand what every field in the data means. A DUNS number is a unique nine-digit number that is used to identify a company or an organization. The numbers are issued by Dun and Bradstreet, a company that provides business information for credit and marketing.

DUNS numbers can be useful if you’re trying to find information on a particular company. For more information on how to background a company, check out ProPublica’s tip sheet.

The second column or field in the database is called recipient role —that tells you whether the data is for the prime recipient (P), a sub-recipient (S), a prime vendor (PV), or a sub-vendor (SV).

The recipient DUNS is for the prime recipient, the sub-recipient DUNS is for the sub-recipient, but the recipient name could be for either, depending on what type of record it is.

Also, keep in mind that in most databases, DUNS numbers are nine digits. In the recovery data, the DUNS numbers don’t have leading zeros. So you’ll need to add those before searching for the number. For example, the number 42436050 in the chart above should be 042436050.

Where can I search for a DUNS number?

You can search by DUNS number for free here.

Why are we spending $250,000 per job?

If you look at the map on Recovery.gov and search for any location, a little black box will come up in the lower left-hand corner reporting the number of awards, amount and jobs reported. But simply dividing the amount of money and number of jobs created or saved isn’t an accurate measure. The amount reported here is the total that’s been awarded for the project. Some of the recipients have only recently received the money and haven’t had a chance to spend it, or create jobs yet.

How much money has my member of Congress obtained for my district?

Getting an accurate picture of spending by congressional district is difficult. Right now, large sums of education and energy money have gone to state agencies, which will distribute that money statewide. So if you zoom to California, it looks like Rep. Doris Matsui—whose district includes Sacramento—has brought in $3.6 billion while Rep. Xavier Becerra—whose district includes Los Angeles—has brought in only $127 million.

We’ll keep adding to this guide, so please e-mail your suggestions to Jennifer.LaFleur@propublica.org.

Are you tracking the stimulus? ProPublica has set up a mailing list for reporters covering the stimulus, and you’re welcome to join. Just e-mail us.