Teaching users to work with research data · 2. Are we reaching all types of users? Some groups are...

Teaching users to work with

research data

Dr Sarah King-Hele

Research Fellow, UK Data

Service

IASSIST conference

June 2015

What is the UK Data Service?

• a comprehensive resource funded by the ESRC

• a single point of access to a wide range of high quality secondary social science data

• support, training and guidance

Our data:

• Via our website: www.ukdataservice.ac.uk • Over 6,000 data collections

• Survey data – UK and abroad, international macrodata, UK

census, qualitative data

• Accessible after short registration – UK and elsewhere

Aims of talk

1. Discuss how we as a data service train users to work

with research data – examples and pros and cons

• Webinars

• Workshops

• Guides

• Helpdesk

2. Discuss how we are reaching different types of users

3. How we might approach training with new types of data

1. UKDS training programme for teaching

users to work with research data

• Part of a broader UKDS training programme: including

research data management, secure data training

• Two main kinds of training event

• Webinars - Rolling series and ad hoc

• Workshops

• Online materials – written and video

• Helpdesk queries

UK Data Service Webinars

• Several webinars a month – rolling series and ad hoc

• ~30 minutes presentation, 20 minutes questions

• 40-100 attendees on average

• Use GoToWebinar

Examples of data and what you can do with

them: survey designs vary, access varies Example from Quarterly Labour

Force Survey (QLFS)

Demonstrates use: population

change over time, and within

subgroups

Also that LFS has an

interesting sample design and

comes as:

- quarterly (individual, and

household)

- 2 and 5 quarter longitudinal

(because longi element)

- SL and Secure: explain what

these mean

Workshops

• in depth

• interactive: group activities and individual work

• practical: uses statistical package

• contrast with webinars which are short, reach wider

audience but less depth

• aims: encourage thinking about real data – as well as

using it

• example:

Workshop example: From research question

to exploratory data analysis workshop

Forming a research question

• Reading exercise – around topic (groups)

• Generate questions

• Gather ideas for key variables needed

Searching for data

• Discover ways of finding UKDS data

• Find a relevant and appropriate dataset for your research question

Starting to use data

• Downloading data and reading documentation

• Using data - SPSS

Training guides and videos

Helpdesk- Get in touch pages

2. Are we reaching all types of users?

Some groups are

finding it easier to

attend in person than

others.

Probable factors:

• Convenience

• Location (none if

online)

• Cost

• Time

• Expectations

Oct 2014- Mar 2015: 15 webinars, 9 workshops, 3 user conferences Excludes the secure/safe room training

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

80%

90%

100%

Workshops Webinars Userconferences

Non-academic

Higher Educationstaff

Post-graduatestudents

Webinar feedback

0 20 40 60 80 100

secure

introductory

key data

census

useful

interesting

18 months Oct 2014 to Mar 2015:

21 webinars: 5 census, 3 key data, 5 introductory, 6 secure

How our training fits in with other methods

training in the UK

• National Centre for Research Methods (NCRM): UK

training

• Doctoral colleges – for PhD students, UKDS is

collaborating with other “data services” to reach more

potential students and supervisors

• Universities provide methods training courses at varying

levels

3. Developing a training programme for new

kinds of data

E.g. Open data, or “Big data”

• new kinds of data may attract different kinds of users

• may need different skills

Follows on from what we already do:

• awareness that data exists and how to obtain it

• capacity building

• technical skills to gather and analyse it correctly

• best practice and ethics

Questions

sarah.king-hele@manchester.ac.uk

ukdataservice.ac.uk/help/

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