  Background: Data mining and analyzing of public Git software repositories is
a growing research field. The tools used for studies that investigate a single
project or a group of projects have been refined, but it is not clear whether
the results obtained on such ``convenience samples'' generalize. Aims: This
paper aims to elucidate the difficulties faced by researchers who would like to
ascertain the generalizability of their findings by introducing an interface
that addresses the issues with obtaining representative samples. Results: To do
that we explore how to exploit the World of Code system to make software
repository sampling and analysis much more accessible. Specifically, we present
a resource for Mining Software Repository researchers that is intended to
simplify data sampling and retrieval workflow and, through that, increase the
validity and completeness of data. Conclusions: This system has the potential
to provide researchers a resource that greatly eases the difficulty of data
retrieval and addresses many of the currently standing issues with data
sampling.
