Promoting Data Literacy

at the Grassroots

Teaching & Learning with Data

in the Undergraduate Classroom

Adam Beauchamp

Christine Murray

Instruction Between Data Reference & Data Management

• Data Reference– Locate statistics– Access data sets– Citation help

• Presumes an understanding of what to do with data once discovered

• Data Management– Project Planning– Metadata– Storage & Sharing

• Presumes an understanding of the research process and data analysis

Novices in the Data Life Cycle

Image: Research Data Services, University of Virginia Library

Pedagogical Models

•Statistical literacy– Start with Exploratory Data Analysis (EDA)

• Cobb & Moore, 1997

•History teaching– Heuristics of reading primary sources

• Wineburg, 2001

Three Lesson Plans

• Discovering Data Through the Literature– Modeling the experts

• Evaluating Data Sets– Exploring data and formulating questions

• Research Design– Operationalizing a research question

LESSON 1: DISCOVERING DATA LESSON 1: DISCOVERING DATA THROUGH THE LITERATURETHROUGH THE LITERATURE

Sociological Research Sociological Research MethodsMethods

Students will be able to…•Find data from a citation•Understand the value of secondary data analysis•See the inextricable connection between data and the scholarly literature•Use documentation to evaluate a dataset

Goal

Students require an introduction to sources of quantitative data. The course is focused on attitudes toward immigration in the U.S.

Library session•Mid-semester•45 minutes

Hoelter, L. F., Leclere, F. B., Pienta, A. M., Barlow, R. E., & McNally, J. W. (2008). Using ICPSR Resources to Teach Sociology. Teaching Sociology, 36(1), 17-25. doi: 10.1177/0092055X0803600103

http://www.icpsr.umich.edu/icpsrweb/ICPSR/studies/27601

Reading the Study Description

• What is available, and how?• What is the universe, data collection period,

and study methodology?• What variables are available?

ActivitySearch for one of the articles below by title or author in the ICPSR Bibliography of Data-Related Literature. Locate the dataset related to this article, and from the study page identify:

•the year the data were collected•the universe of the study•a variable related to attitudes toward immigration

Alba, R., Rumbaut, R.G., & Marotz, K. (2005). A distorted nation: Perceptions of racial/ethnic group sizes and attitudes toward immigrants and other minorities. Social Forces, 84(2), 901-919. doi: 10.1353/sof.2006.0002

Reflections

• Relies heavily on ICPSR, to the exclusion of other data sources

• Citations are provided, rather than arising out of the students’ own research

• May emphasize relying on some highly used datasets, rather than seeking out novel sources

LESSON 2: EVALUATING DATA SETSLESSON 2: EVALUATING DATA SETS

Health and PopulationsHealth and Populations

Students will be able to…•Understand the complex web of data producers•Use documentation to evaluate a dataset•Articulate how variables relate to research questions

Goal

Students in an introductory demography course must write a short paper based on their original data analysis, using a dataset of their choosing that relates to population dynamics, health disparities, etc.

Library session•Mid-semester•90 minutes

Who cares?

• Which organizations/entities care enough about this topic to collect data about it?• Who has the authority to collect data of

this type?

What can the data show?• What will you use the data to investigate, and

what variables will you need to do so?– a trend: a temporal variable– a disparity: different populations– a comparison: a geographic variable– a spatial pattern: smaller regions within a larger

geographic area

• How could this data be collected?

Activity

• Small groups are assigned a pre-selected data source

• By examining the documentation and the data itself, students report back on the characteristics of the data, and suggest possible questions the data could be used to answer

Reflections

• For datasets not discussed, students must make the leap themselves between topics and possible data producers

• The investigation starts with the data, rather the research question

LESSON 3: OPERATIONALIZATIONLESSON 3: OPERATIONALIZATION

SOCI 3040:SOCI 3040:Research AnalysisResearch Analysis

Students will be able to…•Identify potential collectors and disseminators of data.•Describe the accessibility issues associated with data sources•Operationalize a research question in order to develop a data search strategy

Group Project

Present a research proposal that uses pre-existing quantitative data to test a hypothesis relevant to sociology.

Library session•Early in semester•75 minutes•All sociology majors have library session focused on the literature review in previous course (prerequisite)

Part 1: Collectors of Data

Who collects data?

• As a class, students suggest potential creators of data.

Is it accessible to us?

• For each “collector,” students consider reasons to provide or to block access.

Photo: U.S. Census Bureau

Part 2: OperationalizationGroup Exercise

•What variables can you use to measure gentrification in New Orleans?

•Where might you find this data?

Photo: Infrogmation, New Orleans

Part 3: Data Search

• Introduce LibGuide of Data Sources

• Allow time for student groups to work on their projects

Photo: TrekCore

Reflections

Thoughts•Students will benefit from more practice with operationalization•Instructor collaboration critical to effective integration & reinforcement

Assessments•Formative assessments•One-minute paper•Professor feedback

Bibliography

Cobb, George W. and David S. Moore. 1997. “Mathematics, Statistics, and Teaching.” The American Mathematical Monthly 104(9):801–23.

Hoelter, L. F., Leclere, F. B., Pienta, A. M., Barlow, R. E., & McNally, J. W. (2008). Using ICPSR Resources to Teach Sociology. Teaching Sociology, 36(1), 17-25. doi: 10.1177/0092055X0803600103

Wineburg, Samuel S. 2001. Historical Thinking and Other Unnatural Acts: Charting the Future of Teaching the Past. Philadelphia: Temple University Press.

Image CreditsInfrogmation of New Orleans. 2008. “BywaterKeepOffHipstersStepsB.jpg.” Wikimedia Commons. Available at http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:BywaterKeepOffHipstersStepsB.jpg. Accessed 9 March 2015.

Research Data Services, University of Virginia Library. “Steps in the Data Life Cycle.” Available at http://data.library.virginia.edu/data-management/lifecycle. Accessed 2 March 2015.

TrekCore. “Elementary, Dear Data, No. 130.” Star Trek The Next Generation HD Screencaps (Season 2, episode 3). Available at http://tng.trekcore.com/hd/thumbnails.php?album=36. Accessed 9 March 2015.

United States. Census Bureau. 2010. “1940 Census.” Slideshow. Available at http://www.census.gov/1940census/. Accessed 9 March 2015.

Adam Beauchampabeaucha@tulane.edu

@delayedcajun

Christine Murraycmurray2@bates.edu