Strategies and Best Practices

for Data Literacy Education

Knowledge Synthesis Report
Chantel Ridsdale, James Rothwell, Mike Smit,
Hossam Ali-Hassan, Michael Bliemel, Dean Irvine,
Daniel Kelley, Stan Matwin, and Brad Wuetherick
Key  Messages  
BACKGROUND:  We  begin  with  a  definition,  synthesized  from  existing  literature  and  refined  based  
on  expert  input:  Data  literacy  is  the  ability  to  collect,  manage,  evaluate,  and  apply  data,  in  a  
critical  manner.  It  is  an  essential  ability  required  in  the  global  knowledge-­‐‑based  economy;  the  
manipulation  of  data  occurs  in  daily  processes  across  all  sectors  and  disciplines.  An  understanding  
of  how  decisions  are  informed  by  data,  and  how  to  collect,  manage,  evaluate,  and  apply  this  data  in  
support  of  evidence-­‐‑based  decision-­‐‑making,  will  benefit  Canadian  citizens,  and  will  increasingly  be  
required  in  knowledge  economy  jobs.  Data  literacy  education  is  currently  inconsistent  across  the  
public,  private,  and  academic  sectors,  and  data  literacy  training  has  not  been  approached  
systematically  or  formally  at  Canada'ʹs  post-­‐‑secondary  institutions.  There  are  also  per-­‐‑sector  
capability  gaps,  which  makes  it  difficult  to  set  realistic  expectations  of  data-­‐‑based  skills.    

CONSIDERATIONS:  Developing  the  solid  foundational  knowledge  of  data  literacy  is  integral  to  
building  discipline-­‐‑/domain-­‐‑specific  knowledge  and  ensuring  that  citizens  are  able  to  use  and  apply  
these  skills  appropriately  and  diversely  throughout  their  personal  and  professional  lives.  The  best  
place  to  begin  this  initiative  is  the  undergraduate  curriculum  in  post-­‐‑secondary  institutions,  due  in  
part  to  their  overarching  goal  of  producing  globally  competitive,  critically  thinking,  well-­‐‑equipped  
graduates.  Post-­‐‑secondary  curricula  already  introduce  students  to  new  theories  and  practices,  and  to  
new  forms  of  literacy  such  as  information  literacy  and  computational  thinking.  Twenty-­‐‑first  century  
problems  require  twenty-­‐‑first  century  skills  (Pentland,  2013);  adding  data  literacy  explicitly  to  
undergraduate  curricula  will  help  ensure  graduates  will  be  better  equipped  to  meet  the  data  skills  
gap  in  Canada'ʹs  (and  the  global)  workforce.    

FINDINGS  AND  BEST  PRACTICES:  Data  literacy  education  requires  methods  that  engage  and  
motivate  students,  as  well  as  encourage  task  commitment.  Best  practices  for  teaching  data  literacy  
education  include  collaboration  between  educators,  organizations,  and  institutions  to  ensure  goals  
are  being  met  by  all  stakeholders;  diverse  and  creative  teaching  approaches  and  environment  
including  the  effective  use  of  technology;  successive/iterative  learning  with  complementary  skills  
integrated  (e.g.  project-­‐‑based  learning);  emphasizing  mechanics  in  addition  to  concepts  (i.e.  
practical,  hands  on  learning);  and  increasing  engagement  with  the  content  by  using  real  world  data.  
Courses  built  on  this  model  will  connect  learning  with  contributing  to  society  or  personal  interests,  
and  encourages  both  in-­‐‑school  and  lifelong  learning.  We  have  also  identified  gaps  in  our  collective  
understanding  of  data  literacy  education,  which  will  require  further  research.  

DATA  LITERACY  COMPETENCIES:  We  have  synthesized  a  set  of  skills  and  abilities  that  together  
comprise  various  levels  of  data  literacy,  which  we  present  in  a  data  literacy  competencies  matrix,  
organized  by  the  five  core  aspects  of  our  data  literacy  definition  (data,  collection,  management,  
evaluation,  application).  This  matrix  is  intended  to  form  the  basis  of  ongoing  conversations  about  
standards  for  assessing  and  evaluating  levels  of  data  literacy,  and  to  inform  the  creation  of  learning  
outcomes  in  data  literacy  education.    

CONCLUSION:  For  the  benefit  of  students,  employers,  and  society,  data  literacy  must  be  
recognized  as  a  necessary  civic  skill  (Swan  et  al.,  2009).  This  recognition  should  come  from  all  levels  
of  government,  and  from  post-­‐‑secondary  institutions.  There  needs  to  be  agreement  on  what  
elements  of  data  literacy  are  necessary  in  an  undergraduate  core  curriculum,  in  order  to  provide  a  
consistent  foundational  education  for  those  entering  an  increasingly  data-­‐‑dependent  workforce.  

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Executive  Summary  
We  are  a  data-­‐‑rich  society;  perhaps  even  data-­‐‑driven  (Pentland,  2013).  In  2012,  analysts  estimated  
90%  of  the  world’s  data  had  come  into  existence  within  the  previous  2  years  (Vesset  et  al.,  2014).  
Organizations  in  all  sectors  are  struggling  with  this  volume  of  data,  confident  that  despite  the  
velocity  at  which  it  is  growing,  and  the  variety  of  its  formats,  there  is  value.  The  goal  is  to  transition  
from  being  data-­‐‑rich  to  being  information-­‐‑rich  and  knowledge-­‐‑rich,  for  which  we  need  both  data  
scientists  and  people  capable  of  working  effectively  with  data.  The  McKinsey  Global  Institute  
suggested  that  at  current  training  rates,  in  the  US  alone  there  will  be  140,000-­‐‑190,000  more  jobs  than  
trained  data  scientists  by  2018  (Manyika  et  al.,  2011).  On  the  literacy,  fluency,  mastery  scale,  a  data  
scientist  would  have  achieved  mastery.  However,  the  same  report  also  estimated  a  1,500,000  
employee  shortfall  of  “data-­‐‑savvy”  analysts  and  managers  capable  of  working  with  the  data  to  make  
effective  decisions  (Manyika  et  al.,  2011);  IDC  suggests  a  similar  number  (Vesset  et  al.,  2014).  This  
latter  set  of  skills  is  what  we  refer  to  as  data  literacy.  

Across  academic  disciplines  and  throughout  the  private  sector,  we  are  recognizing  a  growing  need  
for  data-­‐‑literate  graduates  from  all  backgrounds.  The  recent  Tri-­‐‑Council  consultation  document  on  
digital  scholarship  (Government  of  Canada,  2013)  recognizes  this  challenge,  and  the  issue  of  training  
in  particular:  “Digital  data  are  the  raw  materials  of  the  knowledge  economy,  and  are  becoming  
increasingly  important  for  all  areas  of  society,  including  industry…  The  same  may  be  said  of  the  
capacity  to  capture,  manage  and  preserve  it,  or  the  requisite  training  of  personnel  who  can  operate  
effectively  in  this  milieu”  (Government  of  Canada,  2013).  This  recognition  prompts  the  core  question  
addressed  in  this  report:  How  can  post-­‐‑secondary  institutions  in  Canada  best  equip  graduates  with  
the  knowledge,  understanding,  and  skills  required  for  the  data-­‐‑rich  knowledge  economy?  

We  addressed  this  question  by  examining  existing  strategies  and  best  practices  for  teaching  data  
literacy,  synthesizing  documented  explicit  knowledge  (from  both  formal  and  informal  literature)  
using  a  narrative-­‐‑synthesis  methodology.  When  necessary,  we  used  our  team'ʹs  expertise  to  aid  in  
synthesizing  and  summarizing;  this  expertise  spans  multiple  disciplines,  including  Science,  
Computer  Science,  Business,  Information  Management,  Arts  and  Social  Sciences,  and  Education.  

We  begin  by  establishing  the  skills  that  comprise  data  literacy.  Data  literacy  is  the  ability  to  collect,  
manage,  evaluate,  and  apply  data,  in  a  critical  manner.  We  define  the  core  skills  and  competencies  
that  comprise  data  literacy,  using  a  thematic  analysis  of  the  elements  of  data  literacy  described  in  
peer-­‐‑reviewed  literature.  These  competencies  (23  in  total)  and  their  skills,  knowledge,  and  expected  
tasks  (64  in  total)  are  organized  under  the  top-­‐‑level  elements  of  the  definition  (data,  collect,  manage,  
evaluate,  apply)  and  are  categorized  as  conceptual  competencies,  core  competencies,  and  advanced  
competencies.  This  view  of  data  literacy  is  central  to  our  synthesis,  which  includes  two  primary  
sections:  the  context  and  strategic  value  of  data  literacy  education,  and  best  practices  for  teaching  
data  literacy  across  disciplines.  There  also  remains  much  we  do  not  know,  and  further  steps  that  
need  to  be  taken,  to  understand  data  literacy  instructions.    
Conceptual
Data Collection Data Management
Framework
Evaluating and Metadata Data Curation,
Data Discovery Data Data Data Conversion Data
Introduction to Data Ensuring Quality of Creation Security, and
and Collection Organization Manipulation (from format to format) Preservation
Data and Sources and Use Re-Use

Data Evaluation Data Application

Identifying Presenting Data Driven Decisions Evaluating
Basic Data Data Interpretation Data Critical
Data Tools Problems Data Making (DDDM) (Making Data Culture Data Ethics Data Citation Data Sharing Decisions
Analysis (Understanding Data) Visualization Thinking
Using Data (Verbally) decisions based on data) Based on Data
 

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Context  and  Strategic  Value  of  Data  Literacy  Education  
We  examined  the  context  of  data  literacy  education  in  three  main  areas:    Data  Literacy  as  a  21st  
Century  Skill  for  21st  Century  Citizens;  Canadian  Employers  and  Economy;  and  Canadian  Students  
and  Universities.  These  three  areas  help  understand  the  motivation  for  ensuring  (at  minimum)  
foundational  knowledge  of  data  literacy.    

Twenty-­‐‑first  century  citizens  must  harness  twenty-­‐‑first  century  skills  to  be  successful  in  the  
knowledge-­‐‑based  economy.  Information  is  in  abundance,  and  information  is  derived  from  data.  
Data  comes  from  innumerable  producers,  through  an  increasing  number  of  outlets,  in  diverse  
formats.  The  information/data  atmosphere  in  society  requires  individuals  to  employ  higher-­‐‑order  
thinking,  which  can  be  challenging  to  teach,  and  often  involves  non-­‐‑traditional  instruction.    Twenty-­‐‑
first  century  skills  include  critical  thinking,  problem  solving,  and  computational  thinking.  These  
skills  are  difficult  to  hone  when  not  built  into  curricula  with  intentionality.    Critical  thinking  is  a  
foundational  skill  for  21st  century  thinking  and  data  literacy.  Working  with  data  requires  the  ability  
to  ask  the  right  questions  and  critically  evaluate  outcomes.  Problem  solving  requires  navigating  
difficult  situations  thoughtfully.  Computational  thinking  incorporates  a  level  of  both  critical  
thinking  and  problem  solving;  Wing  describes  the  fundamental  concepts  as  solving  problems,  
designing  systems,  and  understanding  human  behavior  (2008).    

A  consistent  level  of  data  literacy  education  across  the  workforce  would  have  a  positive  impact  on  
employers,  addressing  the  skills  gap  and  the  variance  in  data-­‐‑related  skills  with  which  students  
enter  the  workforce.  Acquiring  data  skills  informally  can  be  very  difficult,  and  results  in  
inconsistencies  in  practice  and  skill.  The  level  of  on-­‐‑the-­‐‑job  training  required  would  decrease,  
allowing  employers  to  focus  on  domain-­‐‑specific  training,  or  elements  of  data  skill  where  employees  
require  mastery  or  fluency.  As  there  is  currently  not  a  great  deal  of  information  about  the  specific  
expectations  of  employers  in  various  industries  and  sectors,  it  is  important  to  consult  broadly  when  
designing  data  literacy  courses.  The  feedback  available  to  date  suggests  that  graduates  are  expected  
to  be  adaptive,  with  skills  that  have  transferrable  application  in  data,  technologies,  and  methods.  
There  is  also  a  focus  on  data  management,  and  the  related  information  and  knowledge  management  
skills.  Data  must  be  findable  and  usable  for  subsequent  analysis  and  synthesis;  data  not  effectively  
managed  from  the  point  of  collection  becomes  progressively  more  expensive  to  manage.  One  major  
gap  in  existing  literature  is  how  to  train  current  members  of  the  workforce  in  data  literacy.  

An  important  societal  and  student  expectation  of  post-­‐‑secondary  institutions  is  that  they  produce  
globally  competitive  graduates.  Data  literacy,  and  the  set  of  learning  outcomes  that  align  with  data  
literacy,  is  being  recognized  internationally  as  a  necessary  skill  in  the  twenty-­‐‑first  century.  While  not  
discussed  in  the  literature,  we  have  the  sense  that  nationally  we  are  behind  but  getting  there;  our  
data  literacy  competencies  matrix  is  a  starting  point  for  discussing  national  standards.  Teaching  data  
literacy  early  develops  foundational  knowledge,  which  provides  a  basis  on  which  to  build  
disciplinary  or  domain  specific  skills  and  abilities.  It  also  encourages  cross-­‐‑disciplinary  thinking  and  
applications,  which  can  help  students  break  out  of  academic  silos,  and  enable  creative  and  critical  
thinking.  Post-­‐‑secondary  institutions  must  consider  data  literacy  in  its  national  context,  identify  how  
and  where  elements  of  data  literacy  are  being  taught  in  their  existing  courses  and  programs,  
systematically  identify  and  fill  gaps  in  this  teaching  (finding  room  in  their  academic  timetables  as  
necessary),  and  help  students  recognize  data  literacy  (and/or  its  constituent  elements)  as  a  
transferable  skill.    

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Best  Practices  for  Data  Literacy  Education  
We  identified  several  best  practices  for  teaching  data  literacy  in  the  literature,  some  of  which  differ  
from  "ʺtraditional"ʺ  strategies  but  would  be  consistent  with  teaching  practices  already  in  use  in  post-­‐‑
secondary  institutions.    

In  any  data  literacy  teaching  scenario,  the  benefits  of  data,  and  data  skills,  must  be  clearly  stated  
from  the  beginning.  This  is  particularly  true  for  mid-­‐‑career  learners,  who  will  be  more  willing  to  
invest  their  limited  time  and  effort  if  they  see  the  opportunity  to  help  their  community,  industry,  
family,  or  others.    

Hands-­‐‑on  learning  in  workshops  and  labs  provides  students  with  the  necessary  practical  experience  
needed  to  fully  understand  a  technical  skill;  students  need  the  chance  to  figure  out  processes  and  
methods  on  their  own  and  make  mistakes  to  readjust  their  own  understanding.  Mechanics  are  very  
important  in  data  literacy;  practice  is  required.  Making  mistakes  can  be  frustrating,  but  will  
encourage  critical  thinking  and  problem  solving.  

Module-­‐‑based  learning  allows  students  to  achieve  learning  outcomes  in  stages,  in  a  systematic  way.  
Successive,  or  iterative,  learning  allows  students  to  build  upon  previously  learned  skills,  
encouraging  process  over  memorization  or  following  rigid  instructions,  and  ultimately  making  
learning  an  unfamiliar  concept  more  manageable.  Beginning  small  and  working  up  to  the  more  
complicated  tasks  allows  students  to  have  confidence  in  their  abilities.    

Project-­‐‑based  learning  is  a  helpful  way  to  implement  the  successive  learning  approach.  Projects  that  
include  a  wide  range  of  investigation  and  have  real-­‐‑world  applicability  will  solidify  the  connection  
between  process/theory  and  practice.  The  project  will  allow  evaluators  the  chance  to  assess  skills  
practically,  instead  of  formally.    

Projects  should  include  real-­‐‑world  data,  relevant  to  the  students'ʹ  interests  and  in  an  engaging  
context,  not  just  data  for  the  sake  of  data.  Increased  engagement  in  working  with  data  can  foster  
innovation,  improve  learning,  and  increase  the  likelihood  of  lifelong  learning.  Projects  should  offer  
students  the  opportunity  to  go  further  than  you  expect.  

Integrating  data  literacy  teaching  into  existing  subjects  that  make  use  of  some  element  of  data  
literacy  is  a  way  to  integrate  the  systematic  and  formal  teaching  of  data  literacy  into  already-­‐‑full  
curricula.  

Research  Gaps  and  Further  Work  

There  are  aspects  of  data  literacy,  and  data  literacy  education,  which  are  not  addressed  sufficiently  
by  existing  work.  These  include  geospatial  data  literacy  and  GIS;  sector-­‐‑specific  and  industry-­‐‑driven  
data  literacy  requirements  with  input  from  outside  of  academic  institutions;  no  standard  for  
assessing  or  evaluating  data  literacy  levels;  data  security  training  for  students  without  a  computer  
science  background;  the  ethics  of  data  and  data-­‐‑driven  decision-­‐‑making;  and  how  to  provide  data  
literacy  training  to  the  existing  workforce  in  addition  to  new  graduates.    Our  team  will  continue  
work  in  this  area;  we  are  developing  a  data  literacy  assessment  tool,  we  have  applied  for  academic  
innovation  funding  to  produce  course  materials  based  on  the  results  of  this  synthesis,  and  we  will  
share  the  knowledge  we'ʹve  synthesized  in  appropriate  venues.  This  report  and  other  resources  
intended  to  assist  in  data  literacy  education  will  be  posted  to  dataliteracy.ca.  

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Table  of  Contents  
 

Key  Messages  ......................................................................................................................................................  1  

Executive  Summary  ...........................................................................................................................................  2  

Context  and  Strategic  Value  of  Data  Literacy  Education  .........................................................................  3  

Best  Practices  for  Data  Literacy  Education  .................................................................................................  4  

Research  Gaps  and  Further  Work  ................................................................................................................  4  

Table  of  Contents  ................................................................................................................................................  5  

Implications  .........................................................................................................................................................  7  

Results  ................................................................................................................................................................  10  

Toward  a  Shared  Understanding  of  Data  Literacy  ..................................................................................  10  

Context  and  Strategic  Value  of  Data  Literacy  Education  .......................................................................  11  

Building  a  21st  Century  Citizenry  ..........................................................................................................  11  

Barriers  and  Challenges  .......................................................................................................................  12  

Canadian  Employers  and  Economy  .......................................................................................................  14  

Right  Tools,  Right  Job:  Data  Literacy  Skills  for  the  Workforce  ......................................................  14  

Go  Fish:  Matching  Skills  with  Requirements  ....................................................................................  15  

Making  the  Call:  Data  Management  and  Decision  Making  ............................................................  15  

Barriers  and  Challenges  .......................................................................................................................  16  

Canadian  Universities  and  Graduates  ...................................................................................................  17  

Team  Effort:  Collaborating  to  Deliver  Data  Literacy  Education  ....................................................  17  

Barriers  and  Challenges  .......................................................................................................................  18  

Best  Practices  for  Teaching  Data  Literacy  .................................................................................................  18  

Appropriate  Timing  of  Data  Literacy  Education  .................................................................................  19  

Delivery:  From  Courses  to  Workshops  .................................................................................................  19  

Integration  of  Data  Literacy  into  Curricula  ..........................................................................................  20  

Emerging  Teaching  Approaches  and  Learning  Environments  .........................................................  21  

Engaging  content  with  real  world  data  to  foster  innovation  .............................................................  21  

Successive/Iterative,  Practical,  Hands-­‐‑on  Learning  .............................................................................  21  

6
 Assessment  and  Evaluation  ....................................................................................................................  22  

Additional  Resources  .......................................................................................................................................  23  

Further  Research/Research  Gaps  ...................................................................................................................  26  

Geospatial/Temporal  Data  Management  ..............................................................................................  26  

Lack  of  Agreed  Upon  Standards  and  Best  Practices  ...........................................................................  26  

Data  Security  .............................................................................................................................................  27  

Data  Ethics  .................................................................................................................................................  27  

Data  Literacy  for  the  Existing  Workforce  ..............................................................................................  27  

Knowledge  Mobilization  .................................................................................................................................  27  

References  ..........................................................................................................................................................  29  

Appendices  ........................................................................................................................................................  36  

     

   

7
Context  
With  the  advent  of  advanced  information  communication  technologies  (ICTs),  and  the  creation  of  
true,  globalized  networks  of  commerce,  communication,  and  transport,  the  flow  and  importance  of  
information  has  become  crucial  to  the  socio-­‐‑economic  well-­‐‑being  of  nation  states.  This  connectivity,  
coupled  with  new  technologies,  has  allowed  for  a  dramatic  increase  in  collection,  analysis,  sharing,  
and  use  of  data  (Pentland,  2013).  Developments  such  as  open  data  and  ‘Big  Data’  have  led  to  a  
fundamental  shift  in  how  individuals  and  groups  perceive  and  utilize  data.  

Data  has  become  the  currency  of  the  new  ‘Knowledge  Economy’,  and  a  critical  driver  of  decision  
making  in  business,  government,  and  social  spheres  (Chinien  &  Boutin,  2011;  Cowan,  Alencar,  &  
McGarry,  2014;  Mitrovic,  2015;  Ikemoto  &  Marsh,  2008;  Mandinach  &  Gummer,  2013).  Innovative  
use  of  data  can  serve  to  improve  services,  and  add  value  to  existing  products  and  processes  (Cowan,  
Alencar,  &  McGarry,  2014;  Gunther,  2007).  In  this  21st  century  context,  it  is  crucial  to  Canada’s  socio-­‐‑
economic  well-­‐‑being  that  our  citizens  have  the  ability  to  contribute,  interact  with,  and  understand  
data  (Mitrovic,  2015).  In  other  words,  citizens  must  be  data  literate;  based  on  our  synthesis  of  research  
to  date,  we  have  crafted  the  following  definition:    
Data  literacy  is  the  ability  to  collect,  manage,  evaluate,  and  apply  data,  in  a  critical  manner.    

In  order  for  citizens  to  effectively  engage  and  work  with  data,  they  must  possess  knowledge  of  the  
requisite  theory  and  competencies.  Data  literacy  shares  the  same  theoretical  grounding  as  
information  and  statistical  literacies,  which  are  often  taught  at  the  postsecondary  level  (Hogenboom,  
Holler  Phillips,  &  Hensley,  2011;  Hunt,  2004;  Koltay,  2014).  Thus,  our  team  has  drafted  a  knowledge  
synthesis  based  on  a  review  of  formal  and  informal  literature  that  seeks  to  understand  and  share  
best  practices  for  teaching  data  literacy  at  the  postsecondary  level.  The  purpose  of  this  knowledge  
synthesis  is  two-­‐‑fold:  

• Identify  key  themes,  knowledge  gaps,  and  data  literacy  core  competencies,  so  as  to  determine  
new  avenues  for  research  that  can  broaden  our  deeper  understanding;  and  
• Provide  the  foundational  knowledge  necessary  for  the  creation  of  an  introductory  data  literacy  
course  that  could  be  taught  at  Canadian  universities.  

Data  literacy  transcends  any  single  discipline,  and  is  still  an  emerging  concept.  This  team  was  
assembled  to  provide  expert,  transdisciplinary  input  in  interpreting  existing  literature  and  
identifying  gaps.    

Implications  
The  implications  of  data  literacy  education  at  the  postsecondary  level  are  far-­‐‑reaching.  The  volume  
of  data  in  the  world  is  continuing  to  grow  at  an  incredible  rate.  It  was  estimated  in  2012  that  90%  of  
the  world’s  data  had  come  into  existence  within  the  previous  two  years  (Vesset,  et  al.,  2014).  The  
society  of  the  21st  century  is  arguably  a  data  rich  one.  Any  country  that  does  not  have  a  technology  
and  data-­‐‑savvy  citizenry  will  ultimately  be  left  behind  both  socially  and  economically  (Chinien  &  
Boutin,  2011;  Organization  for  Economic  Co-­‐‑Operation  and  Development,  2013;  Pentland,  2013).  
Implications  can  be  further  subdivided  into  the  following  main  areas:    

1. Building  a  Shared  Understanding  of  Data  Literacy  

2. Context  and  Strategic  Value  of  Data  Literacy  Education  
2.1. Building  a  21st  Century  Citizenry    

8
 2.1.1. Looking  Forward:  21st  Century  Thinking  in  Action  
2.1.2. Nuts  and  Bolts:  Data  Skills  for  the  21st  Century  
2.1.3. Barriers  and  Challenges  
2.2. Canadian  employers  and  economy    
2.2.1. Right  Tools,  Right  Job:  Data  Literacy  Skills  for  the  Workforce  
2.2.2. Go  Fish:  Matching  Skills  with  Requirements  
2.2.3. Making  the  Call:  Data  Management  and  Decision  Making  
2.2.4. Barriers  and  Challenges  
2.3. Canadian  universities  and  graduates    
2.3.1. Team  Effort:  Collaborating  to  Deliver  Data  Literacy  Education  
2.3.2. Barriers  and  Challenges    
3. Best  Practices  for  Data  Literacy  Education  
3.1. Delivery  methods  
3.2. Creative  teaching  approaches  
3.3. Success/iterative  learning  
3.4. Practical,  hands-­‐‑on  learning  
3.5. Relevance  to  real-­‐‑world  data  
3.6. Assessment  and  Evaluation  

21st  Century  Citizens  are  considered  to  be  individuals  who  possess  a  high  capability  to  interact  with  
and  utilize  technology,  think  critically,  make  connections,  and  apply  these  skills  within  social  and  
professional  contexts  (Chinien  &  Boutin,  2011;  Wanner,  2015).  Due  to  the  interconnectivity  brought  
on  by  intense  globalization,  challenges  facing  the  next  century  will  involve  multiple  actors,  and  cross  
disciplines  and  borders.  These  uniquely  21st  century  problems  will  require  21st  century  thinking  
(Pentland,  2013).  Data  literacy  is  considered  one  of  the  most  relevant  and  “essential  survival  skills  
for  the  21st  century”  (Chinien  &  Boutin,  2011,  p.  8).  It  entails  competencies  that  strengthen  
individuals’  aptitude  to  process  complex  cognitive  problems,  including  the  ability  to  analyze,  create  
abstractions,  and  propose  effective  solutions  to  said  problems  (Chinien  &  Boutin,  2011;  Cowan,  
Alencar,  &  McGarry,  2014;  Yeh,  Xie,  Ke,  2011).  Data  literacy  will  allow  Canadians  to  fully  engage  
and  tackle  the  new  challenges,  threats,  and  opportunities  that  will  face  Canada  in  the  years  to  come.    

Canadian  universities  (including  Dalhousie  University,  University  of  Ottawa,  Simon  Fraser  
University,  York  University,  Ryerson  University,  and  others)  offer  specialized  courses  and  degrees  
related  to  data  (e.g.  Master  of  Science  in  Big  Data).  However,  there  are  few  course  offerings  at  the  
undergraduate  level  that  directly  focus  on  or  explicitly  incorporate  comprehensive  data  literacy  
education.  This  is  despite  the  increased  importance  and  prevalence  of  research  data  management  
and  data  sharing  within  the  social  and  applied  sciences  (Doucette  &  Fyfe,  2013;  Martin  &  Leger-­‐‑
Hornby,  2012;  Wanner,  2015).  In  order  to  stay  on  the  cutting  edge  of  research  and  teaching  Canadian  
universities  must  ensure  that  graduates  are  encountering  the  core  principles  of  data  literacy  into  
their  core  curriculum.    

In  addition  to  producing  better  graduates,  data  literacy  education  can  help  produce  better  students  
with  improved  learning  skills  and  study  habits.  Data  literacy  is  strongly  intertwined  with  and  shares  
overlapping  competencies  with  information,  statistical,  digital,  media,  computational,  and  visual  
literacies  (Hattwig  et  al.,  2013;  Mackey  &  Jacobson,  2011).  This  has  been  dubbed  metaliteracy  or  
transliteracy  by  scholars  (Frau-­‐‑Meigs,  2012;  Hattwig  et  al.,  2013;  Mackey  &  Jacobson,  2011;  Vahey  et  
al.,  2012;  Zalles,  2005).  Students  who  are  exposed  to  meta  or  transliteracy  in  their  learning  will  be  

9
better  equipped  to  apply  their  skills  diversely,  in  varying  settings,  and  carry  out  higher  order  
thinking  that  utilizes  multiple  tools  and  systems  (Frau-­‐‑Meigs,  2012;  Hattwig  et  al.,  2013;  Mackey  &  
Jacobson,  2011).  Data  literacy  is  a  critical  aspect  of  this  ability  to  evaluate,  test,  validate,  and  produce  
meaningful  content  (Frau-­‐‑Meigs,  2012).    

An  individual  would  be  hard-­‐‑pressed  to  find  a  professional  position  in  today’s  world  that  does  not  
include  working  with  data.  Whether  it  is  conducting  interviews,  performing  observations,  filling  
spreadsheets,  reading  charts,  working  with  key  performance  indicator  (KPI)  dashboards,  or  
assessing  sales  information,  new  graduates  must  have  the  basic  skills  to  collect,  interpret,  analyze,  
evaluate,  and  produce  data  (Ikemoto  &  Marsh,  2008).  On  a  higher  level,  data  driven  decision-­‐‑
making  (DDDM)  and  analysis  allows  managers  to  identify  actionable  insights  from  the  copious  
amount  of  data  available  (Ikemoto  &  Marsh,  2008;  McKendrick,  2015).  These  skills  are  crucial  for  
participating  in  the  knowledge  economy.  Utilizing  data  effectively  can  also  improve  efficiency,  
reduce  costs,  and  drive  innovative  product  development  (McKendrick,  2015).  However,  there  is  
currently  a  gap  in  the  skills  that  employees  require,  and  those  that  graduates  possess.  

 At  current  training  rates,  it  is  estimated  in  the  United  States  alone  there  will  be  140,000  -­‐‑  190,000  
more  jobs  than  trained  data  scientists  by  2018  (Manyika  et  al.,  2011).  The  McKinsey  Global  Institute  
further  estimates  a  1.5  million  shortfall  of  data-­‐‑savvy  (i.e.  data  literate)  analysts  and  managers  
capable  of  working  with  the  data  (Ibid).  On  the  job  training  can  only  go  so  far.  By  teaching  data  
foundational  literacy  competencies  early  on  in  a  postsecondary  student’s  academic  career,  students  
are  more  likely  to  learn  lifelong  skills  that  will  allow  them  to  effectively  and  dynamically  work  with  
data  and  fully  participate  in  the  economy  of  today,  and  tomorrow.    

Approach  
We  conducted  a  transdisciplinary  examination  of  existing  strategies  and  best  practices  for  teaching  
data  literacy,  synthesizing  documented  explicit  knowledge  using  a  narrative-­‐‑synthesis  
methodology,  informed  by  our  transdisciplinary  team  with  expertise  in  data  in  their  fields.  This  
process  began  with  a  systematic  review,  searching  relevant  electronic  databases,  grey  literature,  
white  papers,  and  governmental  reports  and  policies  for  quantitative  and  qualitative  studies  to  
determine  data  literacy  competencies,  skills,  and  abilities,  as  well  as  teaching  practices  for  
undergraduate  students.    

Our  initial  focus  on  synthesizing  a  definition  allowed  us  to  expand  the  terminology  used  in  our  
searches.  We  found  that  ‘data  information  literacy’  was  used  often  in  relation  to  overlapping  
competencies  like  information  literacy,  and  taught  concurrently;  however,  information  literacy  is  not  
within  the  scope  of  our  review.  A  similar  term,  ‘data  management  literacy’,  refers  to  the  data  creator,  
as  opposed  to  data  users  (and  was  thus  of  limited  use).  There  were  also  many  articles  written  on  
specific,  targeted  areas  of  data  literacy,  such  as  ‘data  analytics’.  We  included  some  of  these  articles  in  
order  to  round  out  our  focus  on  foundational  data  literacy  core  competencies.    

Following  our  initial  sweep  we  began  to  narrow  our  focus,  and  began  searching  electronic  databases  
for  keywords,  including:  ‘data  litera*  OR  data  science  OR  data  skills  OR  data-­‐‑driven  OR  data  savvy’;  
‘teach*  OR  train*  OR  develop*  OR  educat*  OR  instruct*’;  and  university  OR  college  OR  higher  
education  OR  post-­‐‑secondary’.  The  searches  were  narrowed  to  the  years  2000-­‐‑2015,  because  
information  prior  to  2000  would  not  accurately  reflect  the  current  technological,  academic,  and  
professional  situation.    

10
This  search  proved  difficult,  because  the  interdisciplinary  nature  of  our  study  required  a  
foundational  view  of  competencies.  Looking  at  specific  disciplines  was  more  challenging  than  
helpful,  but  there  were  a  few  databases  that  were  most  helpful:  EbscoHost,  ProQuest,  SpringerLink,  
Taylor  &  Francis,  and  IEEE.  This  is  a  relatively  new  area  of  interest,  and  there  were  relatively  few  
peer-­‐‑reviewed  articles  available  through  this  format.  We  further  examined  the  bibliographies  of  the  
relevant  articles,  which  widened  our  result  set  and  introduced  us  to  organizations  and  initiatives  
advocating  data  literacy  to  a  variety  of  audiences  and  levels.  

We  searched  for  grey  literature  (not  peer-­‐‑reviewed  but  still  formally  published)  using  Google,  and  
identified  articles  and  white  papers.  As  this  is  an  emerging  field,  we  generally  found  that  the  
websites,  courses  and  workshops,  and  associations  and  organizations  were  more  current.  These  
sources  range  in  appropriateness  from  formal  published  articles  to  personal  blogs,  but  we  chose  
from  the  very  beginning  to  include  formal  and  informal  literature  to  a  comprehensive  view  of  ‘data  
literacy’  as  it  is  seen  today.    

We  broadened  our  original  scope  for  search  to  include  some  terms  that  proved  helpful,  but  did  not  
seem  relevant  before  the  initial  literature  sweep,  including  ‘transliteracy’,  ‘metaliteracy’,  
‘computational  thinking’  and  ‘21st  century  literacies’.  These  terms  have  overlapping  competencies,  
and  relate  to  data  literacy  directly,  without  using  those  words,  because  each  clearly  states  that  
overarching  need  for  critical  thinking,  problem  solving,  and  communication.  Additionally,  we  
included  articles  on  the  skills  gap  impacting  the  use  and  adoption  of  Open  Data  and  Big  Data,  
particularly  on  those  articles  defining  the  necessary  skills  or  best  practices  for  imparting  those  skills.    

We  collected  reports  from  provincial  and  federal  governments,  to  provide  context  on  the  Canadian  
landscape.  The  most  recent  PISA  report  ranked  Ontarians  consistently  above  average  in  all  literacies  
being  taught  K-­‐‑12.  For  this  reason,  we  believed  that  using  their  policies  and  reports  would  provide  a  
better,  more  comprehensive  and  targeted  outline  of  a  successful  data  literacy  core  course  that  reflects  
the  expectations  of  the  21st  century.    

We  produced  an  annotated  bibliography  including  all  of  the  papers  found  as  of  the  midpoint  of  this  
project  (Appendix  4).    Our  thematic  analysis  of  these  resources  is  included  in  Appendix  3.  

Results  
We  have  organized  our  findings  functionally:  what  do  we  know  about  data  literacy,  and  what  do  we  
establish  as  a  shared  understanding  of  what  data  literacy  is  and  which  competencies  it  includes;  
what  is  the  current  context  for  and  strategic  value  of  data  literacy  education;  and  finally  (and  most  
importantly)  best  practices  for  data  literacy  education.  

Toward  a  Shared  Understanding  of  Data  Literacy  

We  define  data  literacy  briefly  as  "ʺthe  ability  to  collect,  manage,  evaluate,  and  apply  data,  in  a  
critical  manner"ʺ.  This  definition  was  synthesized  from  dozens  of  existing  definitions  (a  word  cloud  
generated  from  these  definitions  is  in  Appendix  2)  and  refined  by  our  team.  

This  brief  definition  uses  several  loaded  terms,  which  we  use  as  the  top-­‐‑level  of  a  hierarchy  of  
competencies  and  tasks  that  comprise  data  literacy:  collect,  manage,  evaluate,  apply,  and  data.  These  
terms  are  broadly  defined  and  include  a  variety  of  elements  considered  core  to  data  literacy.  In  
Appendix  1,  we  present  the  complete  set  of  competencies  (23)  and  associated  tasks/skills  (64)  in  a  

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Data  Literacy  Competencies  Matrix,  and  our  summary  table  listing  which  of  our  32  articles  included  
each  competency.  

We  note  later  in  this  synthesis  that  it  is  important  that  the  definition  of  data  literacy  be  left  open,  and  
informed  by  employers,  students,  and  universities.  We  present  this  Data  Literacy  Competencies  
Matrix  not  to  end  the  discussion,  but  to  further  it.  

Context  and  Strategic  Value  of  Data  Literacy  Education  

Data  literacy  is  an  increasingly  necessary  skill,  required  in  a  variety  of  wider  communities,  
academia,  and  industries.  The  Association  of  College  and  Research  Libraries  (ACRL)  posits  that  
society  has  reached  a  critical  intersection  between  societal/economic  demand  and  academic  demand  
(2013).  Society  is  now  a  data  rich  environment,  and  data  skills  extend  to  all  citizens,  throughout  all  
levels  of  society  (Maycotte,  2014;  Mitrovic,  2014).  It  is  becoming  increasingly  important  for  the  
everyday  person  to  have  the  skill  to  distinguish  between  ‘good’  and  ‘bad’  representations  of  data  
(Twindale,  Blake,  &  Grant,  2013;  and  Swan,  Vahey,  Kratcoski,  van  ‘t  Hooft,  Rafanan,  &  Stanford,  
2009).  Academia  is  beginning  to  recognize  the  necessity  of  preparing  their  graduates  with  more  
data-­‐‑based  skills  for  the  workforce,  and  society  as  a  whole,  which  is  increasingly  data-­‐‑centered  
(Koltay,  2014;  and  Gunter,  2007).  Providing  graduates  with  foundational  knowledge  of  data  literacy  
allows  for  those  students  entering  the  21st  century  workforce  to  apply  diverse  skills  to  a  variety  of  
situations.  Industry  feedback  has  also  provided  insight  into  what  skills  are  valued  in  the  workforce,  
and  the  overwhelming  response  was  focused  on  data-­‐‑related  skills  (Harris,  2012;  Hu,  2012;  and  
Koltay,  2014).    

In  this  section,  we  examine  these  stakeholders  in  more  detail:  society  (by  understanding  the  21st  
century  citizen);  employers  and  the  economy;  and  students  and  universities.  

Building  a  21st  Century  Citizenry    

21st  century  challenges  require  21st  century  skills.  These  skills  can  be  more  accurately  described  as  
ways  of  thinking  (e.g.  critical  thinking,  problem-­‐‑solving,  and  computational  thinking).  There  has  
been  a  shift  in  perspective  from  learning  facts,  to  acquiring  inquiry  skills;  these  soft  skills  can  be  
difficult  to  cultivate,  but  are  necessary  for  success  in  the  21st  century,  and  an  increasingly  data  
driven  society  (Pentland,  2013;  Swan,  et  al.,  2009;  Yeh,  Xie,  &  Ke,  2011;  Boyles,  2012;  Romani,  2009;  
and  P21,  2012).  Humans  are  social  by  nature,  and  making  the  connection  between  human  behaviour  
and  societal  interactions  can  increase  productivity,  innovation,  and  creativity  (Pentland,  2013;  
Wyner,  2013;  Erwin,  2015;  and  Liquete,  2012),  as  well  as  bridge  the  gap  between  abstract  and  reality,  
thereby  helping  the  learning  process.    

Critical  thinking  is  integral  in  this  process  and  is  considered  a  civic  skill,  as  well  as  one  of  the  
foundations  for  21st  century  thinking  and  data  literacy  (Pentland,  2013;  and  Swan,  et  al.,  2009).  
Citizens’  ability  to  ask  the  right  questions,  evaluate  findings,  and  be  critical  of  concepts,  claims,  and  
arguments  is  essential,  and  the  basis  for  success  in  the  21st  century  (Johnson,  2012;  Koltay,  2015;  
Gunter,  2007;  Schield,  2004;  Burdette,  2010;  and  Liquete,  2012).  This  is  especially  true  since  the  
explosion  of  uncurated  information  perpetuated  by  the  onset  of  Web  2.0.    

Due  in  part  to  this  massive  and  continuous  flow  of  information,  problem-­‐‑solving  is  no  longer  the  act  
of  making  simple  logical  decisions;  it  has  evolved  into  a  series  of  complex  issues,  often  with  multiple  
layers.  The  type  of  elevated  thinking  required  to  tackle  these  issues  is  in  increasing  demand  

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throughout  society  and  industry.  The  knowledge-­‐‑based  economy  requires  people  to  be  able  to  
navigate  difficult  situations  in  diverse  ways,  which  is  challenging,  but  critical  to  success  in  the  21st  
century  (Liquete,  2012;  Gunter,  2007;  and  Erwin,  2015).    

Computational  Thinking  (CT)  incorporates  a  level  of  both  critical  thinking  and  problem  solving,  and  
much  more.  Wing  describes  the  fundamental  concepts  as  solving  problems,  designing  systems,  and  
understanding  human  behaviour.  It  involves  science,  math,  and  engineering  as  drivers  in  the  
“push/pull”  loop:  “scientific  discovery  feeds  technological  innovation,  which  feeds  new  societal  
applications;  in  the  reverse  direction,  new  technology  inspires  new  creative  societal  issues,  which  
may  demand  new  scientific  discovery”  (2008,  p.  3722).  Yeh,  Xie,  and  Ke,  (2011)  as  well  as  Johnson,  et  
al.,  (2015)  go  further  in  explaining  that  tasks  are  growing  in  scope  and  complexity,  and  CT  skills  are  
very  useful  in  navigating  through  these  high-­‐‑order  problems.    

Other  transferable  skills  related  to  CT  such  as  critical  thinking  and  problem-­‐‑solving  encourage  
engagement,  which  motivates  individuals  to  be  creative  and  curious,  providing  foundations  for  
lifelong  learning.  People  are  much  more  likely  to  become  lifelong  learners  if  they  are  engaged  in  
inquiry  that  interest  them,  impact  them,  or  relate  to  everyday  life  (Erwin,  2015;  Burdette,  2010;  and  
Wyner,  2013).  Contributing  to  society  and  solving  real  problems  effectively  provides  individuals  
with  analytical  skills  to  use  throughout  their  career.  

Project-­‐‑based  learning  (PBL),  with  multiple  levels  of  discovery,  is  a  great  way  for  people  and  
students  to  learn  data  literacy.  Utilizing  their  21st  century  skills,  PBL  with  real-­‐‑world  data  engages  
individuals  in  higher  order  thinking,  connects  procedure  to  practice,  and  helps  bridge  the  gap  
between  learning  facts  and  acquiring  inquiry  skills,  critical  reasoning,  argumentation,  and  
communication  (Wyner,  2013;  Romani,  2009;  Erwin,  2015;  and  Swan,  et  al.,  2009).    

Twindale,  Blake,  and  Grant  take  this  further,  explaining  that  data  literacy  can  improve  citizen  
engagement  in  the  democratic  process,  as  well  as  help  them  understand  and  participate  in  data-­‐‑
driven  decision-­‐‑making  processes  (2013).  Ontario’s  Green  Button  Initiative,  whereby  citizens  can  
access  their  energy  usage  data  online  is  an  real-­‐‑life  example  of  how  data  literate  users  can  explore  
opportunities  to  save  and  minimize  their  footprint  (2015).  Data  literacy  allows  for  data  to  be  an  
everyday  benefit  to  everyone.  Littlejohn  Shinder  puts  emphasis  on  the  connection  between  
knowledge  and  power,  and  states  that  the  knowledge  of  how  to  deal  with  data  may  be  one  of  the  
most  powerful  weapons  professionals  (and  everyone)  can  have  (2013,  para.  8).    

Barriers  and  Challenges  

Despite  the  arguments  for  data  literacy  being  a  necessity  in  the  21st  century,  there  are  several  
barriers  impeding  progress.  First  is  society’s  misconception  that  people  born  post-­‐‑1983,  referred  to  
as  ‘digital  natives’  or  the  ‘net  generation’,  have  inherent  technological  skills  and  abilities;  in  reality  
there  is  a  complex  and  diverse  range  of  skills  in  these  students,  which  requires  formal  education  to  
bridge  the  gaps  (Jones,  Ramanau,  Cross  &  Healing,  2009;  Thompson,  2012;  and  Romani,  2009).  This  
misconception  has  resulted  in  a  major  skills  gap  in  industry  (Manyika,  et  al.,  2011),  and  the  daunting  
realization  that  this  must  be  remedied.    

Moreover,  with  little  to  no  formal  education,  people  already  in  the  workforce  are  expected  to  seek  
practical  knowledge  and  skills  out  independently  through  alternative  avenues,  creating  disparity  in  
practice  as  well  as  breadth  of  knowledge  attained  (Doucette  &  Fyfe,  2013;  and  Teal,  Cranston,  Lapp,  
White,  Wilson,  Ram  &  Pawlik,  2015).  Romani  asserts  that  people  frequently  rank  themselves  higher  

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on  self-­‐‑evaluation  of  skills,  but  actually  rank  lower  in  reality  (2009).  The  scope,  quality,  and  
availability  of  resources  is  a  challenge  to  self-­‐‑learners  as  well;  as  Carlson,  Johnson  &  Westra  found  
self-­‐‑directed  learning  through  trial  and  error  often  results  in  focusing  on  mechanics  rather  than  
concepts  (2013).  Seeking  out  additional  learning  has  value,  but  reinventing  the  wheel  can  be  
wasteful  and  expensive.  The  disparity  in  skills  is  a  risk  to  society  going  forward.    

The  general  need  to  educate  the  Canadian  population  about  data  is  not  a  new  phenomenon;  for  
example,  there  have  been  initiatives  throughout  Canada  encouraging  public  use  of  open  data.  Open  
Data  and  Big  Data  are  common  terms  in  academic  circles  and  the  general.  This  is  in  part  due  to  the  
promise  and  ability  to  create  transparency,  and  the  potential  to  gain  insights  into  patterns,  trends,  
and  relationships  to  predict  behaviours.  The  opportunity  for  discovery  and  optimizing  of  raw  data  
through  open  data  and  big  data  will  only  continue  to  grow  (Littlejohn  Shinder,  2013;  McAulay,  
Rahemtulla,  Goulding,  &  Souch,  2010;  Cowan,  Alencar  &  McGarry,  2014;  and  Manyika,  Chui,  
Brown,  Bughin,  Roxborough  &  Hung  Byers,  2011);  however,  many  people  do  not  have  the  skills  
necessary  to  engage  with  data  in  this  way  (Mitrovic,  2015).  The  Environment  Commissioner  of  
Ontario  published  a  detailed  report  on  this  barrier  with  several  perspectives  from  employers  across  
multiple  sectors  reporting  this  fact,  and  arguing  for  government  support  for  data  literacy  education,  
but  it  does  not  exist  yet,  and  has  been  slow  to  develop  (2015).  This  must  be  a  priority  for  
government,  and  should  be  done  in  collaboration  with  education  systems  to  ensure  consistent  
education  across  disciplines  and  institutions.    

A  suggestion  to  bridge  the  gap  in  formal  education  includes  incentivizing  learning  for  the  Canadian  
population.  This  would  involve  courses  that  are  non-­‐‑credit  based  (Johnston  &  Jeffryes,  2014;  
Schneider,  2013;  and  ACRL,  2014),  but  that  have  an  indicator  of  knowledge  gained.  This  would  be  
most  effective  if  there  were  predetermined  standards  and  skill  levels.  Our  Competencies  Matrix  
provides  a  base  for  skill  levels  concerning  data  literacy,  and  could  act  as  an  effective  reference  for  
standards  being  developed.  CLA+  is  an  American  assessment  instrument  that  provides  users  with  
the  option  to  have  a  certificate  with  results  (2015),  to  distribute  to  employers,  which  will  highlight  
the  skills  that  are  important  in  the  21st  century  workforce.    

The  benefits  of  data  are  potentially  wide  reaching,  but  cannot  be  achieved  broadly  if  individuals  in  
Canadian  society  are  not  capable  of  working  with  data.  For  concepts  like  Open  and  Big  Data  to  
become  real  and  meaningful,  citizens  must  be  educated  not  only  in  the  practical  uses  of  data,  but  
what  benefits  it  provides  personally  and  communally.  They  must  be  capable  of  thinking  critically  
about  the  data  they  are  presented.  Society  is  made  up  of  many  varieties  of  people,  and  it  should  be  
recognized  that  there  is  disparity  between  social,  economic,  and  cultural  backgrounds  which  must  
be  addressed  before  Big  Data  and  Open  Data  can  fully  realize  their  potential  (Czerkawski  &  Lyman,  
2015).  Gurstein  (2011)  and  Mitrovic  (2015)  go  further,  arguing  that  if  the  public  education  and  access  
is  not  addressed  there  will  be  an  ever  widening  ‘data  divide’  in  society;  resources  and  skills  are  
being  distributed  to  the  people  who  already  have  access  to  them.  These  authors  argue  that  there  
should  be  special  attention  provided  to  communities  in  poverty.    

Another  challenge  to  data  in  society  is  access.  Data  is  published  in  so  many  places  and  formats,  
which  makes  it  difficult  to  find  and  use  (Cowan,  Alencar  &  McGarry,  2014).  People  are  less  likely  to  
take  advantage  of  the  benefits  data  has  to  offer  if  they  must  check  several  different  sources  regularly  
to  produce  accurate  results.  Additionally,  data  is  often  published  in  areas  that  the  every  person  
would  never  think  to  look,  such  as  dense  academic  journals  or  within  obscure  websites  that  are  not  

14
user  friendly  (Miller,  2015).  There  is  also  the  risk  that  volumes  of  Open  Data  will  be  used  to  obscure  
the  most  important  data.  Addressing  these  challenges  is  necessary  to  allow  a  prosperous  and  
successful  knowledge  economy  to  develop.  

Canadian  Employers  and  Economy  

Teaching  data  literacy  at  the  postsecondary  level  has  far-­‐‑reaching  implications  for  Canadian  
employers,  companies,  and  the  economy  as  a  whole.  At  its  core,  data  has  always  been  a  crucial  
driver  of  decision-­‐‑making  in  the  business  world  and  the  larger  economic  system.  However,  with  the  
continuing  shift  toward  “knowledge,  service,  and  information  based  activities”  in  our  21st  century  
economy,  the  ability  of  firms  to  “create  and  commercialize  knowledge  has  become  tantamount  to  its  
ability  to  generate  sustainable  returns”  (Boyles,  2012,  p.  41).  Moreover,  society  now  demands  
twenty-­‐‑four  hour  a  day  “100  percent  reliability,  100  percent  connectivity,  instantaneous  response,  
the  ability  to  store  anything  and  everything  forever,  and  the  ability  for  anyone  to  access  anything  
from  anywhere  at  any  time”  (Wing,  2008,  p.  3723).    

Right  Tools,  Right  Job:  Data  Literacy  Skills  for  the  Workforce  
It  is  critical  for  Canadian  companies  to  possess  the  capability  to  skillfully  collect,  aggregate,  search,  
manage,  and  analyze  massive  data  sets  in  order  to  stay  competitive  (Koltay,  2014;  McKendrick,  
2015).  This  same  data,  if  harnessed  properly,  can  be  used  to  improve  workflow  efficiency,  foster  
innovative  thinking  and  creativity,  and  improve  problem-­‐‑solving  by  empowering  employees  with  
actionable,  rich  information  (Boyles,  2012;  Gunther,  2007;  McKendrick,  2015;  Pentland,  2013).  It  is  
clear  that  data  is  no  longer  the  niche  of  economists  or  statisticians.  All  professionals  must  have  the  
competencies  to  work  with  data,  and  decision-­‐‑makers  must  have  the  knowledge  to  effectively  
understand  it,  and  utilize  it  (Davenport  &  Kim,  2013;  McKendrick,  2015;  Pryor  &  Donnelly,  2009).  In  
short,  we  must  have  a  data  literate  work-­‐‑force.    

Conceptually,  data  literacy  requires  critical  thinking,  gaining  knowledge  from  abstraction,  and  
application  of  results  (Gunter,  2007;  Qin  &  D’Ignazio,  2010b).  This  critical,  and  often  abstract  
reasoning  is  similar  to  computational  thinking  (Wing,  2008).  Computational  thinking  involves  
“defining  abstractions,  working  with  multiple  layers  of  abstraction  and  understanding  the  
relationships  among  the  different  layers”  (Wing,  2008,  p.  3718).  Data  in  itself  is  by  nature  an  
abstraction,  and  is  only  useable  if  an  individual  can  understand  how  it  relates  to  other  information  
in  the  wider  world.  This  ability  to  understand  complex  relationships  and  connections  further  
enhances  capacity  for  curiosity  and  deep  thinking  (Davenport  &  Patil,  2012).  For  example,  analysis  
of  Big  Data  can  provide  insight  into  the  functioning  of  society  involving  the  flow  of  ideas  and  
information  (Pentland,  2013).  For  business,  this  insight  into  information  flows  can  translate  into  
timely  information  gathering,  more  efficient  system  monitoring,  and  facilitation  of  the  spread  of  
ideas  that  “form  the  basis  of  innovation”  (Pentland,  2013,  p.  2).    

In  order  to  build  up  the  cognitive  abilities  to  effectively  work  with  data,  data  literacy  instruction  
must  facilitate  opportunities  to  solve  complex  problems  critically,  using  higher-­‐‑order  thinking  
(Gunter,  2007).  This  requires  building  an  information/data  culture  within  the  given  post-­‐‑secondary  
setting.  An  organization  with  an  information/data  culture  is  one  that  values  data,  utilizes  it  in  its  
own  operations,  fosters  innovation,  and  provides  the  necessary  tools  and  atmosphere  for  students  to  
engage  with  material  in  a  meaningful  manner  (Johnson  et  al,  2015).    In  this  type  of  environment,  
formal  and  informal  learning  methods  should  be  utilized,  which  enforces  the  idea  that  students  
must  be  able  to  adapt  to  new  challenges  and  innovate  on-­‐‑the-­‐‑fly  (Wing,  2008).    

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Data  literacy  courses  or  programs  should  also  be  forward-­‐‑looking,  and  identify  trends,  challenges,  
and  technological  developments  that  are  likely  to  occur  within  the  near  future  (Johnson  et  al,  2015).  
This  type  of  learning  environment  not  only  facilitates  data  literacy  education,  but  instills  in  students  
intangible  skills  and  work-­‐‑styles  that  can  be  further  applied  in  their  careers,  so-­‐‑called  ‘meta-­‐‑skills’  
(Liquete,  2012).  Meta-­‐‑skills  include  adaptability,  deep  thinking,  and  being  able  to  critically  assess  
problems  (as  opposed  to  simply  regurgitating  information),  and  are  essential  to  engaging  in  the  21st  
century  knowledge  economy  (Koltay,  2015;  Liquete,  2012).  These  skills  are  highly-­‐‑transferable,  and  
applicable  to  multiple  fields  and  professions  (Ontario,  2008).    

Go  Fish:  Matching  Skills  with  Requirements  

Data  literacy  competencies  and  meta-­‐‑skills  must  match  up  with  the  positions  that  Canadian  
employers  need  not  only  now,  but  in  five,  and  ten  years  time.  In  terms  of  structure,  content  must  go  
beyond  one-­‐‑off  workshops,  and  instead  be  focused  on  ‘data-­‐‑skilling’,  or  building  up  competencies  
incrementally  through  courses  or  modules  (Pryor  &  Donnelly,  2009;  Schneider,  2013;  Stephenson  &  
Caravello,  2007;  Wright  et  al,  2012).  This  allows  students  to  focus  on  specific  aspects  of  data  literacy  
(e.g.  finding  data,  evaluation  of  data,  visualization,  manipulation  tools,  data  storage,  data  ethics,  
data  curation,  etc.),  and  build  competencies  successively  to  accomplish  a  goal  (e.g.  a  data  
management  plan  for  research)  (MIT,  2014;  Qin  &  D’Ignazio,  2010b;  Stephenson  &  Caravello,  2007;  
Wright  et  al,  2012).  It  also  instills  in  students  a  continuous  approach  to  learning.  This  is  integral  for  
professional  development  in  one’s  career.  Technology  and  methods  for  working  with  data  will  
continue  to  evolve,  and  so  too  must  professionals.      

In  terms  of  content,  post-­‐‑secondary  institutions  must  cooperate  with  industry  and  the  private  sector  
to  re-­‐‑assess  and  re-­‐‑adjust  curriculum  in  order  to  maintain  relevancy.  Skills  assessment  frameworks  
in-­‐‑line  with  global  standards  can  be  also  used  to  ensure  that  graduates  are  ready  to  enter  the  
workforce  (Chinien  &  Boutin,  2011).  In  the  current  business  and  economic  climate,  the  ability  to  
effectively  manage,  and  make  decisions  based  on  data  is  paramount  (Giles,  2013;  Harris,  2012;  
Koltay,  2014;  McKendrick,  2015).    

Making  the  Call:  Data  Management  and  Decision  Making  

Data  management  is  therefore  a  foundational  aspect  of  data  literacy  that  is  essential  for  employers  
and  businesses  (Pryor  &  Donnelly,  2009;  Qin  &  D’Ignazio,  2010a).  Indeed,  before  one  can  start  
effectively  utilizing  data  for  decision-­‐‑making  or  otherwise,  one  must  be  able  to  actually  understand  
and  manage  the  data  they  possess.  Both  the  private  and  public  sectors  are  increasingly  turning  to  
digital  and  Cloud-­‐‑based  information  systems,  as  opposed  to  traditional  paper-­‐‑based  systems.  This  
has  led  to  the  creation  of  large  amounts  of  internal  data  (e.g.  human  resources,  finances,  briefing  
notes,  reports,  etc.)  that  must  be  managed  properly.  As  Wright  et  al.  posit,  data  management  as  a  
tenant  of  data  literacy  recognizes  individuals  as  both  consumers  and  producers  of  data  (2012).  
Individuals  must  have  core  competencies  relating  to  data  organization,  metadata  creation  and  
utilization,  and  data  continuity  and  reuse  (Ibid).  Metadata  and  data  continuity  are  especially  
important,  and  entails  packaging  and  ‘labelling’  data  in  such  a  way  that  it  can  be  easily  transferred  
to  or  used  by  co-­‐‑researchers/workers  (Ibid).  This  is  critical  to  increasing  cooperating  between  
different  branches  in  an  organization,  and  can  reduce  silos,  and  increase  efficiency.  Decision-­‐‑making  
based  on  data  is  also  critical  for  the  Canadian  economy.    

Data  Driven  Decision  Making  (DDDM)  is  the  ability  to  effectively  transform  information  into  
actionable  knowledge  and  practices  by  collecting,  analyzing,  and  interpreting  all  types  of  data  

16
(Koltay,  2014;  Mandinach,  Parton,  Gummer,  &  Anderson,  2015).  At  a  basic  level,  it  requires  the  skills  
to  identify  problems,  frame  questions,  collect  required  data,  transform  data  into  information,  
transform  information  into  decisions,  and  evaluate  said  decisions  (Mandinach  et  al,    2015).  
Evaluation,  and  making  necessary  changes  to  chosen  courses  of  action  is  a  key  component.  Data  is  
not  a  static  entity,  and  thus  neither  are  decisions  based  on  data.  Data  usage  and  evaluation  should  be  
continuous,  and  integrated  into  existing  decision-­‐‑making  structures  (Ibid).    

As  stated,  the  increased  flow  of  information  and  financial  importance  attached  to  actionable  
knowledge  has  made  DDDM  a  key  component  of  modern  business  (Liquete,  2012).  A  survey  by  The  
Economist  of  530  senior  executives  found  that  43%  believed  that  data  are  “extremely  important”  for  
strategic  decision-­‐‑making  (Giles,  2013,  p.  4).  However,  it  can  be  difficult  for  companies  to  engage  in  
DDDM  due  to  data  being  siloed  in  different  units,  and  at  different  levels  (Giles,  2013).  Therefore,  
skills  and  competencies  for  effective  DDDM  should  be  present  at  all  levels  within  an  organization,  
and  across  all  positions  and  disciplines  (Giles,  2013;  Harris,  2012;  Vahey  et  al,  2012).  Teaching  the  
skills  required  for  DDDM  at  the  undergraduate  level  should  focus  on  practical  learning.    

The  Thinking  With  Data  (TWD)  project  focused  on  using  data  to  determine  whether  the  water  
distribution  for  the  Euphrates  river  among  the  surrounding  countries  could  be  considered  equitable  
(Vahey  et  al,  2012).  Students  were  tasked  to  collect  data  from  multiple  sources,  form  coherent  
arguments,  and  put  forth  data-­‐‑based  conclusions.  A  key  component  of  DDDM,  and  indeed  data  
literacy,  is  the  ability  to  recognize  faulty  information  and  create  “valid,  data-­‐‑based  arguments”  
(Vahey  et  al,  2012,  p.  183).  Connecting  data  to  real-­‐‑world  issues  (e.g.  sustainability)  allows  students  
to  connect  procedure  to  practice,  and  encourages  curiosity  and  independent  thinking  (Wyner,  2013).  
The  same  data  literacy  abilities  required  to  effectively  carry  out  DDDM  can  also  improve  
entrepreneurial  innovation,  creativity,  and  efficiency  (Boyles,  2012).  DDDM  can  also  be  applied  to  
data-­‐‑driven  marketing.  A  survey  of  300  top-­‐‑level  executives  by  Forbes  identified  increased  customer  
engagement  and  growth  from  companies  who  were  considered  to  be  ‘leaders’  in  data  driven  
marketing  and  decision-­‐‑making  (McKendrick,  2015).    

Barriers  and  Challenges  

Many  of  these  barriers  to  data  literacy  in  employers  and  the  economy  relate  to  data  literacy  
education  within  post-­‐‑secondary  institutions,  which  will  be  covered  at  a  later  point  in  the  
knowledge  synthesis.  At  a  high-­‐‑level,  there  are  ethical  considerations  that  both  educators  and  the  
private  sector  must  be  aware  of  in  terms  of  data  collection  and  usage  (Manyika  et  al,  2011).  The  
technology  and  applications  for  data  are  continuing  to  evolve  at  an  incredible  rate,  and  legislation  
concerning  privacy  has  already  fallen  behind.  Individuals  and  companies  must  be  aware  not  only  
how  they  are  using  data,  but  why.  

Speaking  to  technology,  to  “be  merely  in  possession  of  technical  infrastructure  (hardware  and  
software)  is  by  no  means  sufficient  to  provide  a  comparative  advantage  and  to  become  competitive  
and  succeed  in  the  digital  economy.”  (Chinien  &  Boutin,  2011,  p.  12).  During  their  post-­‐‑secondary  
studies,  students  must  be  taught  effectively  how  to  use  technological  tools,  and  this  is  even  more  
important  for  private  sector  organizations.  Moreover,  employers  themselves  must  believe  in  the  
value  and  worth  that  technology,  and  indeed,  data  literacy  brings  to  the  table.  Without  the  proper  
buy-­‐‑in,  the  full  potential  of  data  usage  in  the  workplace  will  be  unfulfilled,  and  any  skills  brought  
forth  by  employees  effectively  wasted.    

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Canadian  Universities  and  Graduates    
Canadian  universities  are  being  challenged  to  produce  globally  competitive  graduates,  due  to  the  
growing  demand  for  a  more  skilled  workforce  able  to  work  efficiently  and  effectively  in  a  
knowledge-­‐‑based  economy.  However,  many  graduates  are  not  at  the  level  of  proficiency  required  to  
with  data  and  data-­‐‑based  applications  (Boyles,  2012).  Being  competitive  on  a  global  scale  is  a  
challenge  for  all  countries,  due  to  societal  and  economic  factors,  but  there  are  steps  that  can  be  taken  
that  will  encourage  development.  An  effective  avenue  to  encourage  such  development  is  to  include  
data  literacy  education  as  a  key  component  of  national  standards,  as  the  United  States  has  done  
(Zalles,  2005).  This  would  incentivize  the  education  system  to  develop  these  skills  more  diversely.  
Human  Resources  and  Skills  Development  Canada  (now  Employment  and  Social  Development  
Canada)  conducted  a  study  in  2011  in  response  to  the  G20  Summit  based  on  international  and  
national  standards,  of  which  they  identified  important  skills,  including  data  literacy,  and  skills  
related  to  this,  such  as  ICT,  digital,  and  computational  literacies  (Chinien  &  Boutin,  2011).  The  
Government  of  Canada  recognizes  data  literacy  as  a  growing  issue,  but  has  not  yet  acted.    

This  unfulfilled  need  on  the  governmental  side  may  be  due  to  a  perpetual  struggle  to  identify  
objectives  and  strategies  to  develop  globally  competitive  skills.  International  standards  are  helpful  in  
identifying  how  competitive  Canadian  university  graduates  are.  The  Organization  for  Economic  Co-­‐‑
Operation  and  Development  (OECD)  frequently  influences  policy  internationally,  providing  a  
benchmark  for  competency.  The  Skills  Outlook  that  they  produced  in  2013  identified  only  a  third  of  
the  population  as  having  basic  data  analysis  skills,  with  only  12.5%  above  basic  skillset.  In  response  
to  this  study,  Romani  addresses  this  mismatch  of  skills  being  taught  and  in-­‐‑demand,  recommending  
that  initiatives  should  be  addressed  regularly  to  ensure  goals  and  practices  align  with  the  global  
knowledge-­‐‑based  economy  (2009).  Although  the  inaction  of  the  government  is  problematic,  it  does  
give  Canadian  academia  the  opportunity  to  act  and  create  programs  and  data  literacy  standards  that  
can  be  implemented.    

Team  Effort:  Collaborating  to  Deliver  Data  Literacy  Education  

Another  way  to  ensure  globally  competitive  graduates  includes  collaboration  between  several  
groups  such  as  educators,  organizations,  and  stakeholders.  These  groups  are  integral  in  providing  a  
targeted  education  to  students  with  usable  skills  in  the  workforce.  Educators  collaborating  with  
others  may  seem  obvious.  However,  communication  is  key  to  a  well  rounded  education.  If  
assumptions  are  made,  it  can  lead  to  gaps  or  unnecessary  overlaps  in  education.  Educators  keeping  
communication  open  between  subjects  and  levels  are  crucial  to  a  systematic  and  comprehensive  data  
literacy  education,  and  will  strengthen  understanding  though  being  taught  across  curriculum  
effectively  (Zalles,  2005;  and  Ontario  Ministry  of  Education,  2008).    

Organizational  collaboration  also  provides  academia  the  opportunity  to  diversify  learning.  The  
different  perspectives  and  resources  that  non-­‐‑academic  organizations  can  bring  to  education  are  
valuable  for  the  institution  as  well  as  the  students.  These  can  include  partnerships  in  curriculum  
planning,  student  professional  development,  as  well  as  extracurricular  programs  (Gold,  2007).  As  
mentioned  above,  academic  institutions  also  have  the  ability  to  consult  with  national  and  
international  standards  such  as  OECD  and  HRSD.  The  Association  of  College  Research  Libraries  
(ACRL)  has  worked  with  industry  leaders  to  determine  what  requirements  must  be  met  by  
standards  to  ensure  accurate  and  relevant  standards  (Schwieder,  Fielder,  &  LLIC,  2014).  

18
Additionally,  the  Oceans  of  Data  Institute  works  in  partnership  with  organizations  to  provide  users  
with  targeted  skills  depending  on  level  and  need  (2014).    

Lastly,  collaboration  with  stakeholders  is  essential  for  successful  graduates.  There  must  be  as  little  
misunderstanding  as  possible  between  what  is  being  taught  and  what  is  needed  in  the  workplace.  In  
the  field  of  data  literacy  there  is  a  wide  range  of  stakeholders:  schools,  practitioners,  professional  
development  providers,  provincial  education  departments,  government,  professional  organizations,  
and  more.  These  groups  should  be  involved  in  the  curriculum  process  planning  and  implementation  
to  ensure  that  education  is  comprehensive  (Mandinach  &  Gummer,  2013).  Collaboration  with  
stakeholders  provides  perspective  on  the  realities  of  the  workplace  such  as  disciplinary  culture  and  
local  practices,  as  well  as  initiatives  and  tools  (Romani,  2009;  Giles,  2013;  Benito,  2009;  and  Mooney  
&  Carlson,  2014).    

Barriers  and  Challenges  

Teaching  data  literacy  at  the  undergraduate  level  is  often  left  out  of  curricula  for  social  sciences  
completely  (Scheitle,  2006).  This  creates  large  gaps  between  educational  experiences  for  students  
entering  the  postgraduate  level  of  study  and  the  workforce  (Swan  &  Brown,  2008).    

Data  literacy  being  taught  at  the  commencement  of  post-­‐‑secondary  education  would  benefit  
students  to  more  easily  integrate  into  their  remaining  discipline-­‐‑specific  eduation  (Shorish,2015;  and  
Sapp  Nelson,  Zilinski,  &  Van  Epps,  2014).  This  early  engagement,  before  they  have  specialized,  will  
allow  peers  to  work  together  on  common  problems,  at  similar  skill  levels  (Swan,  et  al.,  2009).    

Technical  skills  are  difficult  to  learn,  if  the  student  is  inserted  into  the  middle  of  the  lesson;  starting  
from  the  beginning  is  especially  important  in  learning  technical  skills.  Some  students  may  flourish,  
but  most  are  likely  to  feel  defeated  without  prior  knowledge  to  guide  them.  This  is  why  building  a  
foundational  knowledge  of  a  skill  is  a  very  important  part  of  the  process  (Littlejohn  Shinder,  2013).  
This  review  has  identified  different  or  synthesized  levels  of  data  skills,  which  can  be  found  in  
Appendix  1.  This  can  assist  in  targeting  learning  to  appropriate  levels,  or  developing  standards  to  
ensure  consistent  education  opportunities.    

It  is  difficult  to  begin  with  the  basics  with  a  professional  audience  with  varying  skill  levels,  and  as  
argued  above,  the  earlier  the  education  the  better,  as  cross-­‐‑disciplinary  education  maximizes  the  
impact  and  applicability  to  various  situations  (Gunter,  2007;  Erwin,  2015;  and  Johnson,  &  Jeffryes,  
2014).  Data  literacy  is  increasingly  necessary  in  throughout  all  levels  of  society  and  industry,  and  a  
natural  extension  of  this  is  providing  it  to  social  sciences,  humanities,  and  arts  and  culture  
educational  curriculum  as  well  as  natural  science  and  business  (Koltay,  2014;  and  Maycotte,  2014).  
There  are  barriers  to  teaching  data  literacy  at  an  interdisciplinary  level,  such  as  lack  of  depth  
(Johnson  &  Jeffryes,  2014),  but  the  essential  skills  of  data  literacy  are  similar  to  computational  
thinking  in  some  respects,  and  are  more  focused  on  the  mental  process  to  solve  a  problem,  which  is  
a  generally  useful  skill,  rather  than  real  technical  skills  (Czerkawski  &  Lyman,  2015).    

Best  Practices  for  Teaching  Data  Literacy  

In  this  section,  we  synthesize  documented  best  practices  for  data  literacy  education  and  instructions,  
including  the  timing  and  mechanisms  of  delivering  data  literacy  content.  These  are  all  presented  in  
light  of  the  context  and  strategies  for  data  literacy  education  described  previously.  

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Appropriate  Timing  of  Data  Literacy  Education    
Delivery  of  data  literacy  education  has  been  recommended  at  several  educational  levels/grades  in  
the  research,  and  range  from  elementary  school  to  Master  programs.  Erwin  (2015)  and  Vahey  et  al.,  
(2012)  each  recommend  beginning  with  elementary  aged  students,  which  offers  opportunities  to  
standardize  across  grades  within  existing  well-­‐‑defined  curricula.  Romani  (2009)  and  the  Ontario  
Ministry  of  Education  (2008)  suggest  that  secondary  education  should  include  data  literacy  in  
complementary  subjects  and  using  technology  to  help  students  recognize  the  transferable  nature  of  
this  skill.  Any  approach  to  data  literacy  at  the  post-­‐‑secondary  level  will  require  awareness  and  
adaptation  as  standards  evolve  at  earlier  levels  of  education.  This  synthesis  deliberately  focuses  on  
post-­‐‑secondary  education,  and  does  not  assume  the  status  quo  will  change  at  the  elementary  and  
secondary  levels.  

Data  literacy  education  is  increasingly  being  offered  at  the  post-­‐‑graduate  levels,  providing  students  
with  the  skills  and  tools  to  deal  with  the  ‘Big  Data  question’  (ACRL,  2014).  However,  teaching  data  
literacy  at  this  level  only  affects  a  small  number  of  students,  as  opposed  to  the  undergraduate  level.  
Moreover,  it  is  often  more  difficult  to  instill  foundational  knowledge  at  the  post-­‐‑graduate  level.  Qin  
and  D’Ignazio  found  in  their  feedback  from  masters  level  students  that  lack  of  background  
knowledge  makes  data  literacy  jargon  and  exercises  difficult  to  master;  especially  when  there  are  
varying  skill  levels  in  the  group  (2010b).  In  terms  of  usability,  Womack  further  argues  that  the  skills  
learned  at  a  post-­‐‑graduate  level  are  very  specific  and  discipline-­‐‑focused.  Additionally,  teaching  data  
literacy  education  early  in  undergraduate  programs  could  instill  good  practices  and  improve  their  
general  study  (2014).  The  effort  institutions  are  making  to  include  data  into  the  curriculum  is  in  the  
right  direction,  but  the  mark  is  too  far.  Students  must  be  educated  in  a  meaningful  way,  not  simply  
to  fill  a  void.  

Delivery:  From  Courses  to  Workshops    

Many  authors  believe  that  data  literacy  education  should  be  effected  through  a  stand-­‐‑alone  class  
(Burdette  &  McLoughlin,  2010;  Martin  &  Leger-­‐‑Hornby,  2012;  Qin  &  D’Ignazio,  2010b;  and  Swan,  et  
al.,  2009),  generally  due  to  the  essential  nature  of  the  skill.  This  solution  is  not  necessarily  ideal,  as  
current  curricula  are  already  full  with  required  courses  (Teal,  et  al.,  2015;  and  Swan  &  Brown,  2008),  
and  that  a  one-­‐‑size-­‐‑fits-­‐‑all  class  may  not  account  for  the  varying  backgrounds  and  skills  students  
have  in  their  first  few  years  of  university  education.  Some  researchers  recommend  in-­‐‑class  delivery  
be  supplemented  with  workshops  to  bridge  the  gaps  and  provide  targeted  help  (Carlson,  Johnson,  
Westra  &  Nichols,  2013;  and  Swan  &  Brown,  2008).  Others  suggest  supplementing  in-­‐‑class  education  
with  online  courses,  providing  specific  assistance  when  needed  (Gray,  2004,  Hattwig,  et  al.,  2013),  or  
to  prepare  students  before  entering  an  in-­‐‑class  course  (MacMillan,  2010),  but  this  idea  did  not  
receive  broad  acknowledgement  or  validation.  

Workshops  are  mentioned  often  in  the  literature  in  reference  to  bridging  the  existing  skills  gap,  or  
bridging  the  gap  between  knowledge  and  practice  through  more  hands-­‐‑on,  active  learning  
opportunity  (MacMillan,  2010).  Workshops  are  often  short  and  intense,  and  for  this  reason  are  
usually  targeted  to  a  certain  skill,  level,  and/or  domain,  but  generally  effective  (Teal,  Cranston,  
Lapp,  White,  Wilson,  Ram,  and  Pawlik,  (2015).  The  most  generally  accepted  delivery  method  is  the  
modular-­‐‑based  system.  This  can  be  integrated  into  any  formal  or  informal  delivery  method  (Martin  
&  Leger-­‐‑Hornby,  2012;  Qin  &  D’Ignazio,  2010b;  Prado  &  Marzal,  2013;  and  Schneider,  2013),  and  
provides  a  solid  basis  for  targeted  learning  for  individuals  (Shorish,  2015;  and  MacMillan,  2014).      

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Integration  of  Data  Literacy  into  Curricula  
As  mentioned  above,  a  barrier  to  data  literacy  courses  includes  a  full  curriculum.  This  has  been  
recognized  by  many  researchers,  and  countered  with  recommendations  to  integrate  it  into  
complementary  subjects.  Shorish  recommends  a  generally  useful  class  such  as  research  methods,  
allowing  for  a  fluid  environment  to  apply  skills  (2015).  Many  other  authors  recommend  integrating  
data  literacy  into  other  literacy  education,  because  of  the  overlap  in  competencies.  The  most  popular  
match  is  data  information  literacy  (Carlson,  Fosmire,  Miller,  &  Sapp  Nelson,  2011;  MacMillan,  2010;  
Stephenson  &  Caravello,  2007;  Hunt,  2004;  Bresnahan  &  Johnson,  2014;  Schneider,  2013).  Changes  
and  targeted  design  to  incorporate  explicit  data  literacy  education  could  allow  these  two  subjects  to  
meet  this  growing  need.    

Other  literacy  education  that  could  include  data  literacy  includes  visual  literacy,  due  to  the  
importance  of  critically  analyzing  other’s  interpretation  of  data  as  accurate,  and  representing  
conclusions  correctly  (Womack,  2014;  Hattwig,  Bussert,  Medaille,  &  Burgess,  2013).  Statistical  
information  literacy  also  has  strong  connections  with  data  literacy  (Prado  &  Mazal,  2013;  Twindale,  
2013;  and  Schield,  2004).  Statistical  literacy  is  especially  relevant  due  to  the  focus  on  the  ability  to  
judge  quality  and  utility  of  data,  and  should  at  least  serve  as  the  foundation  of  teaching  data  literacy  
(Gray,  2004).  Science  literacy  also  shares  similarities  such  as  methods,  approaches,  attitudes  and  
skills  relating  to  critical  thinking  that  are  necessary  for  data  literacy  (Koltay,  2014;  Shorish,  2015;  Qin  
&  D’Ignazio,  2010a).    

Wanner  reviews  several  research  studies  investigating  candidate  subjects  into  which  data  literacy  
could  be  integrated,  including  Information  and  Statistical  Literacy,  Data  Information  Literacy,  
Science  Data  Literacy,  Visual  Literacy  and  Geospatial  Data  (2015).  The  integration  of  these  literacies,  
and  the  various  competencies  they  share  throughout,  has  been  dubbed  “Transliteracy”  or  
“Metaliteracy”  (Koltay,  2015;  Dean,  2015).  Metaliteracy  is  the  ability  to  use  multiple  literacies  in  a  
multimedia  layout  and  navigate  through  multiple  domains  (Frau-­‐‑Meigs,  2012;  and  Ipri,  2010).  This  
type  of  integration  and  understanding  promotes  critical  thinking  and  collaboration  (Mackey  &  
Jacobson,  2011).  The  challenge  is  integrating  a  new  set  of  competencies  into  already  full  courses  
could  easily  shortchange  students  on  both  forms  of  literacy,  and  as  discussed  in  the  next  paragraph,  
the  people  well-­‐‑suited  to  teach  information  literacy  may  not  be  good  candidates  for  teaching  data  
literacy.  We  thus  view  this  approach  as  a  temporary  measure  designed  to  mitigate  the  data  literacy  
education  gap  in  the  short  term.  However,  incorporation  of  data  literacy  into  domain-­‐‑specific  
courses  may  be  effective.  Data  literacy  competencies  have  overlapping  skills  with  other  practices,  
and  can  be  integrated  into  complementary  subjects  allowing  students  to  build  on  strengths  and  
experiences  of  different  disciplines  (Swan  &  Brown,  2008).  

Another  barrier  involved  in  data  literacy  integration  is  that  instructors  do  not  feel  sufficiently  
confident  in  their  own  ability  to  teach  data  literacy  competencies  (ACRL,  2014;  Carlson,  Fosmire,  
Mandinach  &  Gummer,  2013;  Johnson,  Adams  Becker,  Estrada,  and  Freeman,  2015;  Miller,  &  
Nelson,  2011;  Romani,  2009;  Wanner,  2015).  Integrating  data  literacy  with  other  literacy  training  
addresses  the  issue  of  finding  space  in  the  curriculum,  but  those  instructors  may  not  be  prepared  to  
teach  data  literacy  competencies.  In  this  scenario,  librarians  (particularly  data  librarians)  are  useful  
resources  to  bridge  the  knowledge  gap  for  students  and  faculty  alike  (Koltay,  2014;  and  Koltay,  
2015).  There  are  many  ways  this  can  be  achieved,  including  collaboration  with  subject  specialists  
inside  and  outside  of  class  (Schield,  2004;  Shorish,  2015;  Hogenboom,  Holler  Phillips,  &  Hensley,  

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2011;  and  Swan  &  Brown,  2008).  Many  of  these  literacies  are  within  the  scope  of  academic  librarians,  
who  are  already  on  campus  and  can  help  design  and  carry  out  labs  (MacMillen,  2014;  and  Hunt,  
2004).    

Emerging  Teaching  Approaches  and  Learning  Environments  

Educators  must  provide  students  with  an  environment  conducive  to  learning.  This  includes  
practices  that  are  non-­‐‑traditional  but  already  employed  at  post-­‐‑secondary  institutions,  like  
incorporating  both  formal  and  informal  teaching  methods  into  education,  and  providing  students  
with  tools  and  encouragement  to  develop  skills  outside  of  class,  tutorials,  and  labs.  A  combination  of  
these  methods  will  improve  students’  understanding  and  ability  to  use  data  (Wing,  2008;  and  
Doucette  &  Fyfe,  2013).  One  way  to  encourage  ongoing  learning  is  including  digital  devices  and  
technologies,  such  as  social  media  technologies,  consumer  technologies,  learning  technologies,  and  
so  on.  Adopting  these  new  teaching  and  learning  paradigms  is  proven  to  improve  the  learning  
process  and  workforce  preparedness  (Romani,  2009;  Frau-­‐‑Meigs,  2012;  Mackey  &  Jacobson,  2011;  
and  Johnson,  Adams  Becker,  Estrada,  &  Freeman,  2015).  The  flipped-­‐‑classroom  approach  to  content  
delivery  (where  instead  of  lecture  in  class  and  apply  at  home,  you  learn  theory  at  home  and  apply  it  
in  class)  allows  students  to  recognize  the  relevance  of  the  theory  they  are  learning  and  identifying  
their  own  knowledge  deficiencies,  making  the  learning  practical,  not  simply  theoretical  (Swan  et  al.,  
2009).    

Engaging  content  with  real  world  data  to  foster  innovation  

Practical,  hands-­‐‑on  learning  is  an  important  part  of  engaging  students;  universities  must  foster  
conditions  for  innovation  to  happen  (Johnson,  et  al.,  2015;  Pentland,  2013;  and  McAuley,  
Rahemtulla,  Goulding,  &  Souch,  2010).  Real-­‐‑world  data  provides  students  with  the  opportunity  
with  diverse  experiences  and  caters  to  a  wide  range  of  skills  (Carlson,  Johnson,  Westra,  &  Nichols,  
2013;  Romani,  2009;  and  Davenport  &  Kim,  2013).  This  type  of  learning  experience  encourages  
students  to  find  solutions,  because  they  are  contributing  to  the  larger  community,  not  simply  a  
grade,  promoting  task  commitment,  which  is  essential  for  learning  technical  skills  successfully  
(Erwin,  2015;  Vahey,  et  al.,  2012;  Burdette  &  McLoughlin,  2010;  and  Scheitle,  2006).  Real-­‐‑world  data  
also  allows  students  to  make  connections  to  their  own  impact  on  society,  enhancing  the  opportunity  
to  provide  solutions  that  are  targeted  to  specific  needs  (Wyner,  2013;  and  Hu,  2012).      

Successive/Iterative,  Practical,  Hands-­‐‑on  Learning  

Hunt  goes  further  in  explaining  that  students  learn  best  when  the  data  literacy  curriculum  is  
relevant  and  builds  on  previously  learned  skills  and  knowledge  (2004).  This  is  especially  effective  
when  imparting  technical  skills  (Burdette  &  McLoughlin,  2010;  and  Yeh,  Xie,  &  Ke,  2011).  Building  
upon  skills  can  be  effective  by  letting  increasingly  complex  data  inform  content  (MacMillen,  2014).  
Students  enjoy  discovering  their  own  conclusions,  and  this  approach  encourages  exactly  this.    

One  approach  to  successive  learning  is  project-­‐‑based  learning  (PBL),  a  frequently  tested  and  
approach  to  engaging  students  to  build  their  technical  data  skills  (Romani,  2009).  Pairing  this  with  
using  real-­‐‑world  data  has  proven  to  be  an  effective  way  of  integrating  many  of  the  previously  
mentioned  approaches:  complementary  skills,  iterative,  practical,  and  engages  students  through  the  
use  of  real-­‐‑world  data.  PBL  can  connect  multiple  areas  of  curriculum  and  relate  to  personal  
experiences  (Erwin,  2015),  and  provides  students  with  the  knowledge  of  processes  that  occur  in  the  
workplace,  as  well  as  seeing  it  to  completion.  PBL  is  useful  when  teaching  students  critical  thinking  
and  problem  solving  (P21,  2012),  which  is  useful  because  data  manipulation  requires  creative  

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thinking.  Lastly,  an  important  aspect  of  PBL  is  choice  (Burdette  &  McLoughlin,  2010);  if  students  are  
going  to  be  working  on  a  project  for  extended  periods  of  time,  learning  and  building  on  technical  
skills,  they  must  be  engaged,  and  choice  of  the  topics  and  data  to  examine  in  depth  is  an  important  
component  of  this.    

In  addition  to  the  iterative  learning  process,  it  is  important  to  connect  procedure  and  practice.  
Striking  a  balance  between  these  two  concepts  can  be  difficult.  Students’  ability  to  effectively  use  
data  in  diverse  situations,  and  having  the  ability  to  distinguish  how  to  proceed  appropriately  is  
increasingly  important  in  the  competitiveness  of  Canadian  graduates  (Hu,  2012;  Liquete,  2012;  and  
Wyner,  2013).  Practicing  these  skills  is  key  to  the  learning  experience.  Using  real  data  and  tools  to  
analyze  it  helps  bridge  the  gap  between  learning  facts  and  acquiring  inquiry  skills  (Swan,  et  al.,  
2009).  Hands-­‐‑on  activities  also  help  students  refine  their  skills  with  experience  (Johnson,  2012;  
Erwin,  2015;  and  MacMillen,  2014),  Using  critical  thinking  to  work  their  way  through  their  processes  
appropriately  allows  for  mistakes,  which  enhancing  the  level  and  quality  of  their  learning  and  long-­‐‑
term  skill.    

Assessment  and  Evaluation    

Assessment  and  Evaluation  (A&E)  occurs  in  two  dimensions:  A&E  of  data  literacy  education  itself,  
and  A&E  of  students  engaged  in  data  literacy  learning.  

As  established  earlier,  students’  levels  of  skill  at  commencement  of  courses  and  programs  today  are  
varied  and  inconsistent.  For  this  reason  it  is  important  for  pre  tests/surveys  to  be  conducted  (Swan,  
et  al.,  2009;  Jones,  Ramanau,  Cross,  &  Healing,  2009),  to  ensure  that  the  education  is  understandable  
and  appropriate  for  everyone,  and  allows  for  individual  targeted  help,  or  changes  to  the  pace  of  the  
instruction  (Reeves  &  Honig,  2015;  and  Qin  &  D’Ignazio,  2010b).  Post  test/surveys  can  then  provide  
feedback  for  improvements  for  future  design  or  application  (Qin  &  D’Ignazio,  2010b;  Reeves  &  
Honig,  2015),  ranging  from  tools,  to  instruction,  to  subject  matter.  A  data  literacy  self  assessment  
tool,  informed  by  a  need-­‐‑driven  competencies  matrix  like  the  one  in  Appendix  1,  will  help  track  
success  at  imparting  necessary  knowledge  and  skills  to  students.    

Assessment  and  evaluation  of  students  is  essential  in  the  education  process.  Without  validation,  the  
instructor  cannot  know  whether  the  instruction  was  effective  or  useful.  The  challenge  arises  in  the  
method  of  conducting  these  for  data  literacy  and  twenty-­‐‑first  century  skills.  Swan  and  Brown  argue  
that  formal  skills  assessment  is  not  as  favored  as  practical  assessment  (2008),  probably  due  to  data  
literacy  being  a  skill,  not  simply  knowledge.  Liquete  recognizes  that  assessment  must  encompass  
more  than  just  information,  content,  and  results,  but  evaluation  of  the  entire  process  (2012).  Hattwig,  
Bussert,  Medaille,  and  Burgess  argue  iterative  assessment  is  the  best  way  to  evaluate  data  literacy  
(2013),  ensuring  that  all  aspects  of  the  skill  are  understood,  and  not  just  parts  of  the  whole.  Chinien  
and  Boutin  recommend  qualitative  and  quantitative  analysis  be  joined  through  scenario-­‐‑based  
testing,  which  measures  cognitive  and  technical  skills  (2011).    

There  are  several  resources  available  for  consultation  that  can  be  integrated  into  data  literacy  
assessment.  As  mentioned  above,  Information  and  Visual  literacies  have  many  overlapping  
competencies;  the  ALA’s  ACRL  Information  Literacy  Competency  Standards  for  Higher  Education  (2000)  
and  ACRL  Visual  Literacy  Competency  Standards  for  Higher  Education  (2011)  include  performance  
indicators  that  can  be  incorporated  in  data  literacy  assessment  and  evaluation.  The  OECD  provides  
educators  with  a  description  of  proficiency  levels  for  task  centred  assessment,  as  well  as  highlights  

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the  usefulness  of  the  Programme  for  International  Student  Assessment  (PISA)  as  an  assessment  
resource  (2013).  The  Council  for  Aid  to  Education  is  an  American  service  that  provides  assessment  
for  a  range  of  education  levels.  Their  CLA+  program  assesses  21st  century  skill  use  such  as  critical  
thinking,  problem  solving,  and  reasoning  using  performance  tasks  (2015).    

Overall,  post-­‐‑secondary  education  has  the  opportunity  to  enact  change  in  21st  century  society.  This  
will  help  ensure  graduates  are  prepared  to  be  productive  citizens  and  employees.  Standards  for  
education  are  always  changing,  and  it  is  difficult  to  decide  what  is  a  priority  in  any  given  year.  We  
assert  that  data  skills  and  knowledge  are  vital,  and  should  be  addressed  in  the  near  term  to  ensure  
Canada  continues  to  produce  students  prepared  to  be  global  citizens  and  leaders.    

Additional  Resources    
Institute:  Web  Science  Conference  
Name:  First  Data  Literacy  Workshop  
Type:  One-­‐‑off  workshop    
Description:  The  First  Data  Literacy  Workshop  occurred  on  June  30,  2015,  at  the  WebScience  
conference  held  at  Oxford  University,  in  Oxford,  United  Kingdom.  The  workshop  investigated  the  
potential  for  multidisciplinary  research  into  what  data  literacy  means  for  society  as  a  whole,  why  it  
matters,  and  how  it  might  be  facilitated.  The  workshop  included  a  panel  of  speakers,  the  
presentation  of  four  papers  on  topics  such  as  data  visualization,  urban  data  schools,  and  others,  and  
a  full  workshop  discussion  focused  on  creating  a  data  agenda  for  future  cooperation  and  work.    
Link:  Data  Literacy.  (2015).  1st  DL  Workshop.  Retrieved  from  
http://www.dataliteracy.eita.org.br/1st-­‐‑dl-­‐‑workshop/    

Institute:  University  of  Toronto,  iSchool  

Name:  INF  2115H  Data  Librarianship  
Type:  Masters-­‐‑level  Course  
Description:  The  INF  2115H  Data  Librarianship  course  taught  at  the  University  of  Toronto’s  iSchool  
(as  part  of  its  MLIS  program)  focuses  on  topics  related  to  the  acquisition,  management,  and  retrieval  
of  numerical  statistics  and  data.  Topics  covered  include  public,  private  and  academic  sector  data  
gathering,  statistical  production  and  dissemination,  warehousing  and  management,  repositories  and  
consortia,data  extraction  and  manipulation,  and  privacy  issues.  The  course  includes  conceptual  (e.g.  
readings)  and  practical  elements  (e.g.  hands-­‐‑on  assignments),  and  requires  that  student  become  
competent  with  data  analysis  tools  Beyond  20/20  and  SPSS.    
Link:  http://mccaffrey.ischool.utoronto.ca/2115/syllabus.pdf    

Institute:  Massachusetts  Institute  of  Technology  (MIT)    

Name:  Tackling  the  Challenges  of  Big  Data  
Type:  Online  Course    
Description:  This  six  week  online  continuing  education  course  offered  at  MIT  is  aimed  at  educating  
professionals  on  major  technologies  and  applications  that  are  driving  the  “Big  Data  revolution”,  
with  the  intent  of  imparting  practical  skills  and  knowledge.  The  course  consists  of  five  modules  
covering  18  topic  areas,  with  20  hours  of  pre-­‐‑recorded  lecture  sessions.  Each  module  has  a  
corresponding  assignment  and  related  case  studies.  Topics  covered  by  the  course  include  data  
collection  (e.g.  smartphones,  sensors,  the  Web),  data  storage  and  processing  (e.g.relational  
databases,  Hadoop,  etc.),  extracting  structured  data  from  unstructured  data,  systems  issues,  

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analytics  (machine  learning,  data  compression,  efficient  algorithms),  and  visualization.  The  course  is  
taught  by  The  course  is  taught  by  a  team  from  MIT,  and  the  Computer  Science  and  Artificial  
Intelligence  Laboratory  (CSAIL).  The  price  of  the  course  is  $545,  and  students  are  awarded  a  
certificate  upon  successful  completion  of  the  program.    
Link:    https://mitprofessionalx.mit.edu/courses/course-­‐‑v1:MITProfessionalX+6.BDx+5T2015/about    

Institute:  Open  Data  Institute  

Name:  Various  
Type:  In-­‐‑person  Workshops  
Description:  The  Open  Data  Institute  in  London,  United  Kingdom  offers  a  variety  of  practical  
courses  on  open  data  (e.g.  ‘Open  Data  for  Smart  Cities’,  ‘Open  Data  in  a  Day  for  Government’,  
‘Managing  Risk  with  Open  Data’,  etc.).  Courses  range  from  one  to  six  days  in  length,  and  require  
varying  levels  of  foundational  expertise  (i.e.  beginner,  or  experienced  information  professional,  
analysts,  intelligence  personnel,  etc.).  Courses  offer  a  mix  of  theoretical  class-­‐‑based  learning,  as  well  
as  hands-­‐‑on  exercises.    
Link:  http://opendatainstitute.org/courses  

Institute:  School  of  Data  

Name:  Various  
Type:  Online  Course  
Description:  The  School  of  Data  offers  free  online  independent  courses.Courses  include  ‘Data  
Fundamentals’,  ‘A  Gentle  Introduction  to  Cleaning  Data’,  ‘Working  with  Budgets  and  Spending  
Data’,  and  others.  Courses  are  structured  into  modules,  and  include  theoretical  knowledge  as  well  as  
hands-­‐‑on  exercises.  The  view  of  the  School  is  that  data  should  be  open  and  useable  to  everyone,  and  
thus  “works  to  empower  civil  society  organizations,  journalists  and  citizens  with  the  skills  they  need  
to  use  data  effectively  in  their  efforts  to  create  more  equitable  and  effective  societies”.    
Link:  http://schoolofdata.org/    

Institute:  University  of  Delaware  

Name:  Analytics:  Optimizing  Big  Data  Certificate  
Type:  In-­‐‑person  Course  
Description:  This  continuing  education  course  offered  by  the  University  of  Delaware  aims  to  teach  
students  how  to  gather,  organize,  and  effectively  analyze  large  datasets  in  order  to  make  informed  
business  decisions.Students  are  also  taught  how  to  communicate  their  analyses  in  a  clear  and  concise  
manner.  The  course  is  taught  over  a  half-­‐‑semester,  and  consists  of  four  main  modules:  Analytics  
Basics,  Big  Data  Tools,  Process  Control  and  Capability,  and  an  Individual  Case  Study  Project.  
Modules  are  taught  at  the  BA  level,  but  open  to  all-­‐‑comers.  The  course  costs  $2,795  and  students  are  
awarded  a  certificate  upon  completion.        
Link:  http://www.pcs.udel.edu/data/    

Institute:  Council  for  Aid  to  Education  

Name:  CLA+  
Type:  In-­‐‑class  or  online  assessment    
Description:  The  College  Learning  Assessment  (CLA+)  evaluates  skills  that  are  essential  for  the  
workplace  and  life  outside  of  the  classroom,  and  measures  critical  thinking  skills,  problem-­‐‑solving,  
scientific  and  quantitative  reasoning,  critical  reasoning  and  evaluation,  and  critiquing  an  argument.  

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The  assessment  consists  of  two  parts.  The  first  is  a  Performance  Task  that  involves  a  multi-­‐‑step  
problem  requiring  students  to  to  analyze  a  real-­‐‑world  scenario  and  design  a  viable,  yet  creative  
solution.  The  second  component  consists  questions  aimed  at  measuring  qualitative  and  scientific  
reasoning,  critical  reading  and  evaluation,  and  the  ability  to  recognize  logical  fallacies.The  
assessment  can  be  carried  out  in-­‐‑class  at  a  designated  university  (if  it  is  a  requirement  of  said  
university),  or  online.  Upon  completion,  students  receive  CLA+  percentile  ranking  and  mastery  
level,  and  if  they  scored  high  enough,  a  digital  badge  to  be  used  on  Linkedin.    
Link:  http://cae.org/    

Institute:  Data  Science  Central  

Name:  Data  Science  Webinars    
Type:  Online  Webinar  
Description:  Data  Science  Central  acts  as  an  online  community  hub  for  data  scientists  and  
practitioners.  The  site  hosts  a  number  of  video  webinars  created  by  community  members  that  can  be  
viewed  for  free.  Length  of  webinars  range  from  a  few  minutes  to  multiple  hours,  with  topics  such  as  
data  mining,  deriving  analytic  insights,  data  visualization,  predictive  data  modelling,  and  training  
for  data  analysis  tools  (e.g.  Hadoop).  Webinars  are  aimed  at  both  basic  and  advanced  users.  
Link:  http://www.datasciencecentral.com/    

Institute:  NASA  Earth  Data  

Name:  Data  Discovery  Tools  
Type:  Data  Analysis/Visualization  Tools    
Description:  As  part  of  NASA’s  Earth  Science  Data  Systems  Program,  the  Earth  Observing  System  
Data  and  Information  System  (EOSDIS)  provides  a  number  of  advanced  data  discovery  tools  that  
can  be  used  by  users  to  carry  out  search,  analysis,  and  visualization  of  NASA  earth  science  data.  
Tools  are  loosely  classified  into  the  following  categories:  Search  and  Order  Tools,  Data  Handling  
(Read/Ingest,  Format  Conversion,  Data  Manipulation),  Subsetting  and  Filtering  Tools  (Temporal,  
Spatial,  Parameter,  Channel),  Geolocation,  Reprojection,  and  Mapping  Tools,  and  Data  Visualization  
&  Analysis  Tools.      
Link:  https://earthdata.nasa.gov/earth-­‐‑observation-­‐‑data/tools  

Institute(s):  University  of  Massachusetts  Medical  School,  George  C.  Gordon  Library,  Worcester  
Polytechnic  Institute    
Name:  Frameworks  for  Data  Management  Curriculum    
Type:  Curriculum  Document    
Description:  Consists  of  a  framework  for  a  data  management  curriculum  and  corresponding  course  
plan  data  management  instruction  aimed  at  undergraduate  and  graduate  students  in  the  science,  
health  science,  and  engineering  disciplines.  The  proposed  course  consists  of  seven  modules,  and  
four  case  studies  in  order  to  put  theory  into  practice.      
Link:  http://library.umassmed.edu/data_management_frameworks.pdf    

Institute(s):  SRI  International,  National  Science  Foundation,  Research  Center  for  Educational  
Technology  
Name:  Thinking  with  Data  Project  
Type:  In-­‐‑person  course/workshop  
Description:  Thinking  With  Data  (TWD)  consists  of  four,  two  week  modules,  respectively  in  social  

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studies,  mathematics,  science,  and  English  language  arts.  They  “address  issues  of  data  
representation,  common  measure,  and  proportional  reasoning,  using  real  data  accessed  from  real  
world  media  sources  in  discipline-­‐‑specific,  problem-­‐‑solving  contexts  and  align  with  relevant  subject  
area  standards”  (2).  This  requires  students  to  formulate  and  answer  data-­‐‑based  questions;  use  
appropriate  data,  tools,  and  representations;  and  develop  and  evaluate  data  based  inferences  based  
on  world  water  issues.  This  relates  to  the  approach  Preparation  for  Future  Learning  that  highlights  
structure,  internalizing  key  dimensions  and  applying  it  in  a  variety  of  contexts.  
Link:  https://www.sri.com/work/projects/thinking-­‐‑with-­‐‑data    

Further  Research/Research  Gaps    

We  have  identified  several  areas  where  we  hoped  to  find  literature,  either  formal  or  informal,  but  
could  not  find  anything  that  sufficiently  addressed  the  questions  we  had.  

Geospatial/Temporal  Data  Management    

Data  management  is  a  recurring  competency  throughout  the  existing  literature.  However,  there  is  
little  (general)  data  literacy-­‐‑related  material  that  focuses  on  geospatial/temporal  data  management  
and  operability  (e.g.  managing  real-­‐‑time  tracking  data  using  GIS  and  other  software  systems).  This  
type  of  data  management  currently  constitutes  a  ‘niche’  aspect  of  data  literacy.  However,  the  
continuing  proliferation  and  importance  of  open  data  and  GIS  applications  is  likely  to  raise  the  
importance  of  knowledge  associated  with  working  with  this  type  of  data.  

Many  universities  possess  active  GIS  programs  or  centres.  The  bases  of  knowledge  that  these  centres  
and  programs  provide  could  serve  as  foundation  for  joint  partnerships  and  further  research  into  
how  geospatial  and  temporal  data  management  should  be  incorporated  into  data  literacy  learning.      
 
Data  Literacy  Requirements  informed  by  Employer  Need  
The  reviewed  literature  lists  many  data  literacy  competencies  and  skills  that  could  be  taught  at  the  
postsecondary  level.  However,  with  the  exception  of  a  few  sources,  these  competencies  are  
exclusively  written  and  compiled  by  academics  and/or  educational  organizations.  There  are  few  
sources  from  specific  industries  (e.g.  business,  public  sector,  etc.)  that  list  data  literacy-­‐‑related  skills  
required  for  prospective  jobs  and  positions.    

Further  research  into  this  area  (e.g.  a  survey  of  industry  professionals  from  different  sectors)  may  
reveal  connections  (or  possible  disconnects)  between  what  academia  believe  should  be  taught,  and  
what  industry  employers  are  actually  looking  for  when  hiring  new  graduates.    

Lack  of  Agreed  Upon  Standards  and  Best  Practices  

There  are  currently  no  agreed  upon  universal  standards  or  best  practices  for  teaching  data  literacy  at  
the  postsecondary  level.  Methods  of  assessment  also  vary  based  on  delivery  type  (e.g.  course,  
workshop,  etc.),  and  content.  Authors  stress  the  importance  of  the  creation  of  a  universal  standard  
for  data  literacy  competencies  akin  to  the  Association  of  College  and  Research  Libraries  (ACRL)’s  
Information  Literacy  Competency  Standards  for  Higher  Education.    

Cooperation  with  other  universities,  associations,  and  government  could  potentially  lead  to  the  
creation  of  agreed  upon  standards  and  best  practices  that  could  facilitate  effective  and  widespread  
data  literacy  education.    

27
Data  Security  
One  need  only  look  at  the  Edward  Snowden  case  or  any  such  number  of  news  stories  pertaining  to  
lost  hard-­‐‑drives  containing  sensitive  information  to  recognize  the  importance  of  data  security.  The  
same  technology  and  tools  that  make  data  so  much  easier  to  connect,  analyze,  and  share  can  also  be  
used  to  breach  systems  to  steal  or  corrupt  data.  Data  security  extends  not  only  to  the  digital  and  
online  world,  but  also  how  to  handle  sensitive  data  in  physical  form  (e.g.  external  hard  drives,  USB  
keys,  etc.).  Current  focus  on  data  security  leans  toward  the  computer  science  discipline,  with  little  
thought  given  to  how  this  should  be  taught  to  more  general  data  literacy  audiences  (i.e.  
undergraduate  students).    

Data  Ethics  
Connected  to  the  issue  of  data  security,  is  that  of  data  ethics.  The  technology  surrounding  data  
continues  to  advance  at  an  incredible  rate,  and  there  will  be  uses,  issues,  and  implications  for  data  
that  we  cannot  currently  imagine  or  envision  (and  that  will  likely  outpace  current  legislation).  
Moreover,  as  Pentland  puts  it  when  describing  Big  Data,  “the  ability  to  track,  predict  and  even  
control  the  behavior  of  individuals  and  groups  of  people  is  a  classic  example  of  Promethean  fire:  it  
can  be  used  for  good  or  ill”  (Pentland,  2013,  p.  1).  Although  some  authors  put  emphasis  on  data  
ethics,  the  majority  either  gloss  over  or  fail  to  make  note  of  it.  However,  in  order  for  students  to  
understand  and  critically  think  about  the  larger  issues  regarding  data  literacy,  thus  must  have  an  
understanding  and  awareness  of  the  ethics  surrounding  data.    

Further  investigation  on  how  to  effectively  integrate  and  teach  data  ethics  will  ensure  that  students  
are  aware  and  able  to  think  critically  on  current,  and  yet  to  emerge  issues  and  challenges  related  to  
data  literacy.  

Data  Literacy  for  the  Existing  Workforce  

Data  literacy  is  a  desperately  needed  skill  in  both  society  and  economy  today,  but  teaching  the  mass  
amount  of  people  who  require  it  is  a  challenge,  and  merits  further  study.  What  is  the  best  method  of  
facilitating  a  large  group  of  learners?  Massive  Online  Open  Courses  (MOOCs)  are  popular  right  
now,  but  how  can  this  most  effectively  be  provided  to  the  public?  Who  should  be  responsible  for  
providing  this  training,  and  for  paying  for  it?    

Knowledge  Mobilization  
The  importance  of  data  literacy  education,  and  best  practices  and  strategies  for  data  literacy  teaching  
and  learning,  should  and  will  be  communicated  to  key  audiences.  We  have  launched,  and  in  the  
coming  months  will  populate,  www.dataliteracy.ca,  a  website  aimed  at  multiple  audiences  and  
sharing  the  results  of  this  knowledge  synthesis.  We  are  in  the  process  of  authoring  an  op-­‐‑ed  piece  
for  submission  to  the  Globe  and  Mail,  presenting  these  results  to  the  public  and  advocating  for  
national  engagement  in  data  literacy  teaching.  We  will  disseminate  the  results  to  government  and  
NGO  stakeholders  at  the  Imagining  Canada'ʹs  Future  Forum  in  November  2015  in  Ottawa,  and  to  
academic  audiences  via  journal  articles  and  conference  presentations  over  the  next  several  weeks.  
Preliminary  results  have  already  been  presented  at  the  Atlantic  Universities  Teaching  Showcase.  

We  also  plan  to  showcase  this  work  at  the  19th  Annual  Dalhousie  Conference  on  University  Teaching  
and  Learning  (DCUTL),  to  be  held  in  April  2016.  It  includes  as  many  as  200  participants  from  across  
Atlantic  Canada  and  beyond.  The  2016  DCUTL  conference  theme  will  explore  the  key  outcomes  of  a  
21st  Century  Curriculum.  We  will,  with  Centre  for  Teaching  and  Learning  (CLT)  support,  organize  a  

28
DCUTL  conference  stream  dedicated  to  data  literacy  across  the  curriculum,  featuring  research  
papers,  panel  presentations,  and  workshops  from  members  of  the  project  team,  as  well  as  other  
leaders  in  the  area  of  data  literacy  in  higher  education.    

We  have  applied  for  academic  innovation  funds  at  Dalhousie  University  to  support  a  project  to  
develop  modular  curriculum  materials  based  on  what  we  learned  when  preparing  this  synthesis,  
and  to  empirically  validate  some  of  the  theories  presented  in  the  literature.  This  course  would  be  
offered  to  first-­‐‑  or  second-­‐‑year  students  across  Dalhousie  University,  and  would  follow  the  best  
practices  identified  here.    The  teaching  resources  created  will  be  made  available  on  dataliteracy.ca.  
Additionally,  three  of  the  investigators  are  working  with  Dalhousie'ʹs  Executive  Education  group  to  
address  the  data  skills  gap  at  the  management  level  of  local  businesses.    

Finally,  we  intend  to  collaboratively  author  a  Green  Guide  for  the  general  audience  of  higher  
education  educators  interested  in  teaching  data  literacy  in  higher  education.  This  book  series,  
published  by  the  Society  for  Teaching  and  Learning  in  Higher  Education,  features  introductory  
guides  to  key  teaching  and  learning  topics  that  are  accessible  to  faculty  and  instructors  across  the  
disciplines  (see  http://www.stlhe.ca/publications/green-­‐‑guides/).  

   

29
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36
Appendices  
 

Appendix  1:  Data  Literacy  Competencies  Matrix  

Appendix  2:  Data  Literacy  Definitions  Word  Cloud  

Appendix  3:  Key  Themes  in  Data  Literacy  Literature  

Appendix  4:  Annotated  Bibliography  

37
Appendix(1(*(Data(Literacy(Competencies(Matrix
This%matrix%consists%of%key%data%literacy%ability/knowledge%areas,%and%the%corresponding%competencies%and%tasks%required%for%each.%

Definition:%Data%literacy%is%the%ability%to%collect,%manage,%evaluate,%and%apply%data;%in%a%critical%manner.%

Key Ability/Knowledge Area Competency Knowledge/Tasks LEGEND: Conceptual Competencies Core Competencies Advanced Competencies

Knowledge and understanding of the uses and

Conceptual Framework Introduction to Data
Knowledge and understanding of data applications of data

Data Discovery and

Data Collection
Collection Performs data exploration Identifies useful data Collects data
Evaluating and Ensuring Crtically assesses sources of data for Critically evaluates quality of datasets for errors
Quality of Data and Sources trustworthiness or problems

Knowledge of basic data organization

Data Organization
methods and tools Asesses data organization requirements Organizes data
Data Manipulation Asesses methods to clean data Identifies outliers and anomalies Cleans data
Data Conversion (from Knowledge of different data types and Converts data from one format or file type to
Data Management
format to format) conversion methods another
Assigns appropriate metadata descriptors to
Metadata Creation and Use
Creates metadata descriptors original data sets
Assesses data curation requirements
Data Curation, Security, and
(e.g. retention schedule, storage, Assess data security requirements (e.g.
Re-Use
accessibility, sharing requirements, etc.) restricted access, protected drives, etc.) Curates data
Data Preservation
Assesses requirements for preservation Asseses methods and tools for data preservation Preserves data

Knowledge of data analysis tools and Selects appropriate data analysis tool or Applies data analysis tools and
Data Tools
techniques technique techniques
Compares results of analysis with
Basic Data Analysis
Develops analysis plans Applies analysis methods and tools Conducts exploratory analysis Evaluates results of analysis other findings
Data Interpretation Reads and understands charts, tables, Identifies key take-away points, and integrates Identifies discrepancies within
(Understanding Data) and graphs this with other important information the data
Uses data to identify problems in Uses data to identify higher level problems (e.g.
Identifying Problems Using
Data Evaluation practical situations (e.g. workplace policy, environment, scientific experimentation,
Data
efficiency) marketing, economics, etc.)
Critically assesses graphical
Data Visualization Creates meaningful tables to organize Creates meaningful graphical representations of Evaluates effectiveness of representations for accuracy and
and visually present data data graphical representations misrepresentation of data
Asssess the desired outcome(s) for Assesses audience needs and familiarity with Plans the appropriate meeting or Utilizes meaningful tables and Presents arguments and/or outcomes
Presenting Data (Verbally)
presenting the data subject(s) presentation type visualizationsto communicate data clealy and coherently
Data Driven Decisions
Making (DDDM) (Making Prioritizes information garnered from Weighs the merit and impacts of
decisions based on data) data Converts data into actionable information possible solutions/decisions Implements decisions/solutions

Aware of high level issues and

Critical Thinking
challlenges associated with data Thinks critically when working with data
Supports an environment that fosters critical use
Data Culture of data for learning, research, and decision-
Recognizes the importance of data making
Aware of legal and ethical issues
Data Application Data Ethics
associated with data Applies and works with data in an ethical manner
Knowledge of widely-accepted data
Data Citation
citation methods Creates correct citations for secondary data sets
Assesses methods and platforms for
Data Sharing
sharing data Shares data legally, and ethically
Collects follow-up data to assess Retains original conclusions or
Evaluating Decisions Based
effectiveness of decisions or solutions Compares results of analysis Evaluates decisions or solutions decisions, or implements new
on Data
based upon data Conducts analysis of follow-up data with other findings based on data decisions/solutions

38
 Conceptual Core Advanced
Competency LEGEND: Competencies Competencies Competencies
Evaluating and
Data Discovery Data Management and Data
Introduction to Data Critical Thinking Data Culture Data Ethics Data Tools Ensuring Quality of
and Collection Organization Manipulation
Authors/Source Data and Sources
Carlson, Fosmire, Miller, and
Sapp Nelson (2011; Carlson,
Johnston, Westra, and * * * * * *
Nichols, 2012)
Koltay (2014) * * *
Prado and Marzal (2013) * * * *
Gummer and Mandinach
(2015)
Qin and D'Ignazio (2010) * * * *
Gray (2004) * *
Haendel, Vasilevsky, and Wirz
(2012) * *
Reeves and Honig (2015) * *
Schield (2004) * *
Ikemoto and Marsh (2008) * *
MacMillan (2010) * *
Shorish (2015) * * * * *
Stephenson an Caravello
(2007) * * * * *
Teal, Cranston, Lapp, White,
Wilson, Ram, and Pawlik * *
(2015)
Wright, Fosmire, Jeffryes,
Bracke, and Westra (2012) * * *
Cowan, Alencar, and McGarry
(2014) * * *
Gunter (2007) * * * * *
MacMillen (2014) * *
McAuley, Rahemtulla,
Goulding, and Souch (2010) * * *
Mooney and Carlson (2014) * * * * * * *
Sapp Nelson, Zilinski, and Van
Epps (2014) * *
Scheitle (2006) * * *
Stout and Graham (2007) * * *
Swan and Brown (2008) * * *
Twidale, Blake, and Grant
(2013) * *
Womack (2014) * *
Association of College and
Research Libraries (2013) * * * *
Association of College and
Research Libraries (2014) * * *
Doucette and Fyfe (2013) *
McKendrick (2015) * * *
Swan, Vahey, Kratcoski, van
t`Hooft, Rafanan, Stanford * * * *
(2009)
Zalles (2005) *
Totals (across) 7 6 2 7 14 18 20 5 16
39
 Identifying Evaluating
Basic Data Data Presenting Data Data Interpratation Data Driven Decision Metadata
Data Citation Problems Using Decisions/Conclusions
Analysis Visualization (Verbally) (Understanding Data) Making (DDDM) Creation and Use
Authors/Source Data Based on Data
Carlson, Fosmire, Miller, and
Sapp Nelson (2011; Carlson,
Johnston, Westra, and * * *
Nichols, 2012)
Koltay (2014) *
Prado and Marzal (2013) * *
Gummer and Mandinach
(2015) * * * *
Qin and D'Ignazio (2010) * *
Gray (2004) *
Haendel, Vasilevsky, and Wirz
(2012)
Reeves and Honig (2015) * * * *
Schield (2004) *
Ikemoto and Marsh (2008) * * * *
MacMillan (2010) *
Shorish (2015) *
Stephenson an Caravello
(2007) *
Teal, Cranston, Lapp, White,
Wilson, Ram, and Pawlik *
(2015)
Wright, Fosmire, Jeffryes,
Bracke, and Westra (2012) *
Cowan, Alencar, and McGarry
(2014)
Gunter (2007) * *
MacMillen (2014) * *
McAuley, Rahemtulla,
Goulding, and Souch (2010) * *
Mooney and Carlson (2014) * * *
Sapp Nelson, Zilinski, and Van
Epps (2014) * * * * *
Scheitle (2006)
Stout and Graham (2007) *
Swan and Brown (2008) *
Twidale, Blake, and Grant
(2013) * * *
Womack (2014) * *
Association of College and
Research Libraries (2013) * *
Association of College and
Research Libraries (2014)
Doucette and Fyfe (2013) *
McKendrick (2015) * * * * * *
Swan, Vahey, Kratcoski, van
t`Hooft, Rafanan, Stanford * * *
(2009)
Zalles (2005) * * * * *
Totals (across) 4 10 9 4 13 2 14 4 6
40
 Data Curation Data Data Conversion (from
Data Sharing
and Re-Use Preservation format to format)
Authors/Source
Carlson, Fosmire, Miller, and
Sapp Nelson (2011; Carlson,
Johnston, Westra, and * * *
Nichols, 2012)
Koltay (2014) * * *
Prado and Marzal (2013)
Gummer and Mandinach
(2015)
Qin and D'Ignazio (2010)
Gray (2004)
Haendel, Vasilevsky, and Wirz
(2012) *
Reeves and Honig (2015)
Schield (2004) *
Ikemoto and Marsh (2008) *
MacMillan (2010)
Shorish (2015) * *
Stephenson an Caravello
(2007)
Teal, Cranston, Lapp, White,
Wilson, Ram, and Pawlik
(2015)
Wright, Fosmire, Jeffryes,
Bracke, and Westra (2012) * *
Cowan, Alencar, and McGarry
(2014) *
Gunter (2007)
MacMillen (2014)
McAuley, Rahemtulla,
Goulding, and Souch (2010)
Mooney and Carlson (2014) * * *
Sapp Nelson, Zilinski, and Van
Epps (2014) *
Scheitle (2006)
Stout and Graham (2007) * *
Swan and Brown (2008) * * *
Twidale, Blake, and Grant
(2013)
Womack (2014)
Association of College and
Research Libraries (2013) * *
Association of College and
Research Libraries (2014) * * *
Doucette and Fyfe (2013) * *
McKendrick (2015)
Swan, Vahey, Kratcoski, van
t`Hooft, Rafanan, Stanford
(2009)
Zalles (2005) *
Totals (across) 9 5 9 8
41
Appendix 2 - Data Literacy Word Cloud

The following is a word cloud generated from the major definitions of data literacy in the reviewed literature.

42
Appendix 3 – Key Themes

The following are key themes derived from the literature reviewed (i.e. emergent
themes). Although the implications of the knowledge synthesis are based on practical,
actionable implications of data literacy, these themes are present through the results of
the knowledge synthesis.

1. Delivery and Assessment

In terms of top-level delivery, the literature has identified three main learning environments for
teaching data literacy at the postsecondary level: in-class, through workshops, and online
courses. Classes and workshops often take a module-based approach. This allows instructors to
focus on specific aspects of data literacy as needed, and for students to build competencies
successively (MIT, 2014 ;Qin & D’Ignazio, 2010; Schneider, 2013; Shorish, 2015; Stephenson &
Caravello, 2007; Wright, Fosmire, Jeffryes, Bracke & Westra, 2012). There are multiple
techniques and tools for evaluating data literacy competencies, and most courses or workshops
include a pre and post-assessment.
● Teaching Environments
○ In-class courses
■ Courses embedded in the curriculum can be an effective way to teach
data literacy to students (Martin & Leger-Hornby, 2012),
■ Due to institutions struggling to provide a wide variety of courses,
integrating data literacy into existing information literacy courses could
be the most feasible option (Carlson, Johnston, Westra, & Nichols, 2013;
Hattwig, Bussert, Medaille, & Burgess, 2013; Schneider, 2013; Teal,
Cranston, Lapp, White, Wilson, Ram, & Pawlik, 2015; Zilinski, Scherer, &
Maybee, 2013)
■ Data literacy could also be embedded into subject-specific courses as
targeted training (Hunt, 2004; Schneider, 2013; Teal, Cranston, Lapp,
White, Wilson, Ram, & Pawlik, 2015; Wright, Fosmire, Jeffryes, Bracke,
& Westra, 2012)
■ Developing foundational skills in-class is important, but encouraging
students to improve these skills through experimentation at home is
essential to the level of skill they develop (Romani, 2009).
○ Workshops
■ Workshops can be used to fill the inevitable gaps in knowledge for
students (Carlson, Johnston, Westra, & Nichols, 2013; Hattwig, Bussert,
Medaille, & Burgess, 2013; MacMillen, 2014).
■ Academic libraries and librarians (e.g. data librarians) have a key role to
play. Can provide workshops, in-class support, and/or act as liaisons to
faculty members (Prado & Marzal, 2013; Schield, 2004; Stout & Graham,
2007).
○ Online courses
■ Online courses are helpful in developing skills, but students require
interaction and targeted teaching methods, according to skill
development (Gray, 2004; MacMillen, 2014).

43
 ■ MIT (2014) offers a comprehensive online course entitled Tackling the
Challenges of Big Data which has been maximized into a versatile,
focused, skill developing class.
● Assessment
○ A pre-course inventory of technological and information skills is useful to
determine pre-existing skillsets, as well as gaps that require specific attention
(Carlson, Fosmire, Miller, & Sapp Nelson, 2011; Chinien & Boutin, 2011; Teal,
Cranston, Lapp, White, Wilson, Ram, Pawlik, 2015).
○ Ongoing, iterative evaluation through informal assessment (e.g. conversations,
office hours), and critical assessment (e.g. tests, assignments) is important in
order to build confidence and mastery (Carlson, Fosmire, Miller, & Sapp Nelson
2011; Hattwig, Bussert, Medaille, & Burgess, 2013; Koltay, 2014).
○ Post-course assessment of students for perceived relevancy and mastery is also
important (Carlson, Fosmire, Miller, & Sapp Nelson, 2011).
○ Assessment tools should encompass both process, as well as end results
(Liquete, 2012).
○ Methods include pre-screening and testing, self-assessment, demonstration of
data tools, online assessment tools, practical case study assignments,
performance assessment as an indicator, test of workplace essential skills
(TOWES), and academic-style tests (Carlson, Fosmire, Miller, & Sapp Nelson,
2011; Chinien & Boutin, 2011; Romani, 2009; Teal, Cranston, Lapp, White,
Wilson, Ram, Pawlik, 2015)
○ Assessment of the course and professors from students is also crucial, so as to
improve delivery of content and instruction (Johnson & Jeffryes, 2014)

2. Barriers to Effective Data Literacy Instruction

Barriers to teaching data literacy at the postsecondary level can be both tangible and intangible.
These barriers can be further broken into three areas: cultural, operational, and technical.
● Cultural:
○ Lack of support/conditions for innovative learning, e.g. creativity, risk-taking
(Johnson, Adams Becker, Estrada, & Freeman, 2015).
○ Lack of university faculty trust in benefits of data literacy (Ikemoto & Marsh, 2008;
Johnson, et al 2015).
○ Mixed support for different data literacy competencies, e.g. teaching some
aspects of data literacy, but not others (Carlson, Johnston, Westra, & Nichols,
2013)
○ Abstract nature and perceived complexity of data literacy and related concepts
(Qin & D’Ignazio, 2010; Twidale, Blake, & Grant, 2013).
○ Misconception that the Net Generation/Digital Natives are inherently more
knowledgeable technically than past students (Thompson, 2012).
● Operational:
○ Modifying existing curriculum to include room for course(s) on data literacy (Hunt,
2004; Teal, Cranston, Lapp, White, Wilson, Ram, & Pawik, 2015)
○ Not enough skilled professors, or not enough time to learn the required skills to
effectively teach a data literacy course (Boyles, 2012; Carlson, et al, 2013; Teal,
et al, 2015)
○ Poor communication regarding student learning goals, as well as a lack of
communication/collaboration between professors relating to what has been

44
 covered in courses, and what should be developed for future courses (Cowan,
Alencar, & McGarry, 2014 ; Teal, et al,, 2015)
○ Differing levels of comfort and experience with technology and/or data, differing
levels of education (graduate vs. undergraduate), and age/generational
differences between students (Jones, Ramanau, Cross, & Healing, 2009;
Shorish, 2015)
● Technical
○ Lack of proper storage and organizational tools for data, lack of lab space, lack of
access to databases, and lack of computers/other hardware. Cost is also a factor
(Stout & Graham, 2007)

3. Data Literacy Best Taught At The Commencement of Post-Secondary Studies

It has been found that teaching data literacy to new (i.e. first year) students is more effective, as
students have not yet learned advanced research methodologies.
● This makes it is easier to ingrain good data literacy practices and competencies into
workflows and study habits (Hunt, 2004; Sapp Nelson, Zilinski, & Van Epps, 2014;
Shorish, 2015; Stephenson & Caravello, 2007; Womack, 2014).
● Although still useful, teaching data literacy and related competencies late in a student’s
educational career limits their skills to very specific, discipline-focused areas (as opposed
to broader, more transferable areas) (Womack, 2014).
● It was also found that workshops and courses open to all levels (e.g. undergraduate and
post-graduate) were more challenging to teach due to the inequality of students’ technical
skills and educational backgrounds (Qin & D’Ignazio, 2010; Scheitle, 2006; Womack,
2014).
● Case studies and practical projects can help bridge the knowledge gaps if courses are
taught at a higher level (Twidale, Blake, & Grant, 2013).

4. Data Literacy As The Ability To Understand And Use Data Effectively To Inform
Decisions
Data literacy can sometimes be viewed as the ability to transform information into actionable
knowledge and practices by collecting, analyzing, and interpreting all types of data (Koltay, 2014;
Mandinach, Parton, Gummer, & Anderson, 2015).
● Focus on data driven decision making (DDDM) has been increased due to recent
technological advances and perceived benefits of open and Big Data (e.g. enhanced
transparency, enhanced service delivery, citizen engagement, and creation of economic
and social value) (Koltay, 2014; Manyika, Chui, Brown, Bughin, Dobbs, Roxburgh, &
Hung Byers 2011).
● Effective DDDM is dependent on individuals being data literate (Cowan, Alencar, &
McGarry, 2014).
● DDDM’s core competencies are centered on interpretation of data, data analysis, and
judgement.
● Individuals must be familiar with collecting and analyzing raw data, converting said
data/information into actionable knowledge (by using their judgment to prioritize
information and weigh the merit of possible solutions), and collecting new data in order to
ascertain effectiveness of decisions made (Ikemoto & Marsh, 2008; Mandinach &
Gummer, 2012).

5. Teach The Teachers

Teachers cannot help students reach the required data proficiency if they themselves are not
proficient, or confident in their data skills (ACRL, 2014; Carlson, Fosmire, Mandinach & Gummer,

45
2013; Johnson, Adams Becker, Estrada, and Freeman, 2015; Miller, & Nelson, 2011; Romani,
2009; Wanner, 2015).
● Teachers don’t know what they don’t know, and this can create an “ignorance loop” that
can skew their assessment of student performance and feedback (Carlson, Fosmire,
Miller, & Nelson, 2011, p. 644).
● Educators should receive systematic training in how to use data, preferably beginning in
their preservice years but continuing throughout their academic career (Mandinach &
Gummer, 2013).
● New technology being adopted by educational institutions is not enough, teachers must
also adopt new teaching and learning paradigms, especially those related to information
communication technologies (ICTs) (Romani, 2009).
● Universal data literacy teaching standards are also important (Mandinach & Gummer,
2013)

6. 21st Century Skills and Literacies

Data literacy is a considered to be a critical aspect and foundation for the skills (e.g.
computational thinking) required in order to be successful in 21st century business, academic,
social, and political contexts. It is also considered one of a number of critical literacies that have
overlapping competencies and build upon each other (referred to as ‘transliteracy’ or
‘metaliteracy) (Frau-Meigs, 2012; Liquete, 2012; Hattwig, Bussert, Medaille, & Burgess, 2013;
Liquete, 2012). Due to their wide breadth of knowledge on these literacies, academic libraries can
provide useful expertise and knowledge to help design and deliver data literacy teaching content.
● Data literacy could be considered one of the most relevant E-Skills or “essential survival
skills for the 21st century” (Chinien & Boutin, 2011, p.8) (14), because it provides the
foundation for interacting in an innovative knowledge-based economy (Mitrovic, 2015;
Wanner, 2015)
● Data literacy allows for critical thinking, and for processing more complex cognitive
problems, including the ability to analyze problems, create abstractions, and solve said
problems (Chinien & Boutin, 2011; Cowan, Alencar, & McGarry, 2014; Yeh, Xie, Ke,
2011)
● Uniquely 21st century problems require 21st century thinking. Data analytics and literacy
can provide solutions and explanations to track, predict, and control behaviour, which can
be used for good or ill (Pentland, 2013)
● For this reason, teaching data literacy can be very flexible through incorporating these
skills into established courses and settings and can be recognized as transferrable
(Prado, & Marzal, 2013; Stephenson & Caravello, 2007; Wanner, 2015; Womack, 2014;
Zilinski, Scherer, & Maybee, 2013).
● Academic libraries already engage in information literacy training (and other outreach
activities) in order to equip students with skills to “locate, evaluate, and effectively use
information for any given need” (Shorish, 2015, p. 99).
● Data literacy-related work could be considered a natural progression for the liaison,
service delivery, and teaching activities of the modern academic library (Association of
College and Research Libraries 2014; Hunt, 2004; Shorish, 2015; Stout & Graham,
2007).
● Key data literacy competency areas for librarians to teach/advise on include data ethics,
data organization, data preservation, and data citation (Shorish, 2015; Wright, Fosmire,
Jeffryes, Bracke, & Westra,2012).

46
 ● Avenues for collaboration include joint workshops, guest lectures, joint course creation
and/or teaching (e.g. University of Winnipeg), and training (ACRL, 2014; Hattwig,
Bussert, Medaille, & Burgess, 2013; Hunt, 2004; Schield, 2004; Wright, Fosmire,
Jeffryes, Bracke, & Westra, 2012).
In order for collaboration to be effective, library staff must be data literate, or at least have a data
practitioner toolkit, with the core skills necessary to advise on data-related issues (Hunt. 2004;
Pryor & Donnelly, 2009).

47
Appendix 4 – Annotated Bibliography

The following is an annotated bibliography of sources reviewed in the knowledge synthesis.

It includes all items included in the synthesis up to the end of July 2015; additional resources
have been included since then, and are not represented here.

ANNOTATED BIBLIOGRAPHY:
DATA LITERACY

DALHOUSIE SSHRC DATA LITERACY

KNOWLEDGE SYNTHESIS

COMPLETED ON: July 27, 2015


Table  of  Contents  
Preamble:  ................................................................................................................................................  2  
Annotated  Bibliography  .....................................................................................................................  2  
Books  .....................................................................................................................................................................................  2  
Peer  Reviewed  Sources  .................................................................................................................................................  3  
Grey  Literature  ...............................................................................................................................................................  30  
White  Papers  ...................................................................................................................................................................  52  
Websites  ............................................................................................................................................................................  64  
Policies  ...............................................................................................................................................................................  65  
Courses  and  Workshops  ............................................................................................................................................  72  
Associations  and  Organizations  ..............................................................................................................................  73  

1
Preamble:

This document provides an annotated bibliography of sources reviewed and deemed relevant to for the
Dalhousie SSHRC Data Literacy Knowledge Synthesis. The information sweep was focused on primarily
data literacy related articles, but includes a wide variety of material types in order to cover a wide breadth
of knowledge.

Annotated Bibliography

The following annotated sources contain salient information and points regarding data literacy education
at the postsecondary level. The length of entries is varied based on relevance, and actual length of
material reviewed. Each entry contains a citation, and related observed themes (via a coloured tag
system). Entries are organized based on type of material:
● Books
● Peer-Reviewed Sources
● Grey Literature
● White Papers
● Websites
● Policies
● Courses and Workshops
● Associations and Organizations

Observed themes are colour-coded as follows:

● 21st Century Skills and Literacies
● Barriers to Effective Data Literacy Instruction
● Data Literacy Competencies and Skills
● Data Literacy Best Taught At The Commencement of Post-Secondary Studies
● Data Literacy As The Ability To Understand And Use Data Effectively To Inform Decisions
● Delivery and Assessment
● Teach The Teachers

Books

Citation: Johnson, C. (2012). The Information Diet. Sebastopol, CA: O’Reilly Media, Inc.

Theme(s): Data Literacy Competencies and Skills, Delivery and Assessment

Contribution:

This book by Clay Johnson includes a chapter (7) devoted to data literacy. It includes points relating to data
literacy competencies as well as delivery and educational instruction.

Key data literacy skills include knowledge of how to search for, filter, process, produce, and synthesis data.
Searching is especially useful, as knowing how to navigate around barriers to information is crucial. The
ability to find data outside of a search engine is integral to success. Moreover, recognizing what is a reliable
source of accurate information is important, and requires thinking critically. Individuals require at least basic
statistical literacy and fluency in tools to in order to maximize data usage. These skills are best learned
through practice and refinement over experiences.

2
When working with data, it is also important to consider the intent (e.g. to inform, make a point, make a
decision, confirm belief or find truth, etc.) and objectivity. John S and James L Knight Foundation “describe
this skill as the ability to determine ‘message quality, veracity, credibility, and point of view, while
considering potential effects or consequences of messages’” (p. 83). Creators are not one dimensional
anymore, they engage others to strengthen and clarify their arguments.

Peer Reviewed Sources

Citation: Boyles, T. (2012). 21st century knowledge, skills, and abilities and entrepreneurial competencies:
A model for undergraduate entrepreneurship education. Journal of Entrepreneurship Education, 15, 41-55.

Theme(s): 21st Century Skills and Literacies

Contribution:

Boyles’ peer reviewed article posits that to be competitive in this economy businesses and especially
entrepreneurs must have the ability to create and commercialize knowledge, with emphasis on knowledge,
service, and information. The demand for a highly skilled workforce is growing, but graduates are not ready
for this level of application upon graduation. Additionally, the American Society for Training and
Development revealed that companies value leadership, critical thinking and creativity highest in skillsets,
which can be helpful when creating a curriculum that is relevant to today’s industry requirements.

Core competencies of 21st century skills include: capabilities in analytical problem solving, innovation and
creativity, self-direction and initiative, flexibility and adaptability, critical thinking, and communication and
collaboration skills. Figure one provides a simple breakdown of knowledge, skills, and abilities. The focus is
on entrepreneurship, but these skills can be applied to data literacy and 21st century skills and literacies in
general, such as the ability to think and reason logically in an effort to solve complex problems, open-ended
problems, and goes hand in hand with critical analysis ensuring useful and relevant results; as well as
application of analysis, inference and interpretation, evaluation, and synthesis to develop new solutions to
complex problems

Entrepreneurial Competencies 21st Century KSAs

Cognitive: Opportunity Information, media, and technology literacy: The ability to

recognition, alertness; ability to reason logically to solve complex open-ended problems; to
apply systematic search.; generate meaning and knowledge from information; to critically
creativity evaluate information and distill it down to what is useful and
relevant, recognize patterns and engage in divergent thinking

Inventive Thinking: the act of bringing something new and

original into existence; the application of analysis, comparison,
inference and interpretation, evaluation and synthesis to
develop new solutions to complex problems

Social: entrepreneurship as social Communication and Collaboration: Cooperative interaction to

process; human and social skills; solve problems and create innovations, the ability to read and
access to resources manage emotions of self and others, to communicate and
create meaning through a range of tools and processes

3
 Action-Oriented: Initiative, self- Productivity and Resu: the ability to utilize time and resources
efficacy; self managed process of efficiently and effectively, to develop a plan and monitor
planning and evaluating; progress effectively through the implementation of a plan, self-
proactiveness; focus on evaluate, flexibility and adaptability, initiative, and self-
controlling outcomes and personal direction, and accountability
responsibility for outcomes

Table 2 provides a comprehensive overview of evaluation for problem solving abilities: emerging,
developing, and mastering categories.

Citation: Burdette, A.M., & McLoughlin, K. (2010). Using census data in the classroom to increase
quantitative literacy and promote critical sociological thinking. Teaching Sociology, 38(3), 247-257.

Theme(s): Delivery and Assessment

Contribution:

This paper by Amy M. Burdette and Kerry McLoughlin is centered on a project/assignment carried out at a
community college that involved students using United States (US) Census data to compare two counties,
with the objective of increasing quantitative literacy and fostering critical (sociological) thinking about
communities. The paper includes the assignment and associated grading rubric as appendices. The
assignment and other elements of the project have meaningful take-away regarding data literacy.

The authors define quantitative literacy as the ability to understand and manage statistical information.
Critical thinking is crucial to being quantitatively literate, i.e. the ability to apply, analyze, and evaluate
information. Hands-on exercises and assignments are key to developing data interpretation skills. Students
are often exposed to generalizations in introductory courses at the postsecondary level, rather than critically
engaging on content. Thus, the authors designed a simple project for students to practice quantitative
literacy skills. Students were tasked with choosing two counties from North Carolina, and using US Census
Data to compare and contrast similarities and differences based on such factors as: age composition,
poverty level, industry, education levels, foreign born residents, percentage of married people, etc.

The assignment consisted of five main sections/steps::

● Data collection
● Critical examination of data
● Formulation of two research questions
● Literature review
○ Could be a mix of academic articles, but also newspapers, online govt. sources, social
media (although this may fall under data collection rather than ‘literature’) etc.
● Summary

The project allowed students to choose which counties to focus on. The authors state that having some
element of choice is important for assignment design, as freedom of choice for students (even choosing
between two options) promotes more active learning. The assignment was evaluated based on three areas:
accuracy in interpretation and discussion of census data, quality of answers to research questions, and
writing style. Instructors used a pre-test to measure quantitative data literacy skills before the project, and a
post-test after completion of the assignment.

The assignment documented in this paper is very similar to a more advanced type offered in the Dalhousie
Master of Public Administration (MPA) program course PUAD 6235 Issues in Applied Economics (taught
by Thomas Storring). The assignments for this course consisted of four briefing notes on economic issues
in Canada, in which students were required to:

4
 ● Collect statistical data (from govt. or other trusted NGOs or institutions, eg. the UN)
○ Create data visualizations from said data
● Conduct a literature review
● Conduct a jurisdictional review/environmental scan
● Analyze said data and literature in order to identify considerations
● Propose policy recommendations

The assignments built on skills through a successive approach:

● Briefing Note #1 (Only collect statistical data and create visualizations; max length six pages)
● Briefing Note #2 (Collect data, conduct a literature review; max length five pages)
● Briefing Note #3 (Collect data, conduct literature review, conduct jurisdictional scan; max length four
pages
● Briefing Note #4 (Collect data, conduct literature review, conduct jurisdictional scan, identify
considerations; max length three pages)
● Briefing Note #5 (Collect data, conduct a literature review, conduct jurisdictional scan, identify
considerations, propose recommendations, present note as a cabinet submission to class; max two
pages)

Citation: Carlson, J., Johnston, L., Westra, B., and Nichols, M. (2013). Developing an approach for data
management education: A report from the data information literacy project. The International Journal of
Digital Curation, 8(1), 204-217. doi:10.2218/ijdc.v8i1.254

Theme(s): Barriers to Effective Data Literacy Instruction, Delivery and Assessment, Data Literacy
Competencies and Skills, Teach the Teacher

Contribution:

This article written by Carlson et al., presents the initial results of the Data Information Literacy (DIL) project
(approximately half complete). The project consisted of five teams including data librarians, information
literacy librarians, and faculty of science representatives from Purdue University, Cornell University, the
University of Minnesota, and the University of Oregon, and focused on science research. The team defines
essential competencies and investigate the importance of providing graduate students with a diverse
experience, while catering to the wide range of skill levels. This article posits that the embedded,
standalone course in the postgraduate curricula is important, but not enough; workshops are helpful in
supplementing knowledge and bridging this gap, but a balance between the two methods of teaching are
ideal to ensure a consistent skill level development for students.

The five teams were assigned to case studies, each defining learning outcomes and developed targeted
pedagogies for teaching and evaluating outcomes based on interview feedback. Each team explored a
variety of training options, and tested approaches while remaining grounded in disciplinary and local needs.
These projects use disciplinary data, relevant to the real world, and integrated into current research
practices

Team Disciplinary Focus Needs of Project Partner Educational

Approach

Corell Natural Resources Data Sharing, Databases and Mini-course (for

Stewardship credit)

Purdue Team 1 Electrical and Documenting Code, Organizing Embedded

Computer Code, Transfer of Responsibility Librarianship
Engineering

5
 Purdue Team 2 Agricultural and Standard Operating Procedures Workshops
Biological Metadata
Engineering

Minnesota Civil Engineering Data Ownership, Long-Term Access Online Course

Oregon Ecology Cultures of Practice, Data Sharing & Readings and

Metadata, Closing Out a Grant Team Meetings
* There is more detailed information about case studies, but not overly useful

The methodology used in the first part of this study was interviews with faculty, and recent graduates, to
identify gaps, define most important competencies, and highlight the differing interpretations based on
disciplinary experiences. Results confirmed: lack of training in data management; absence of formal policies
governing the dat in the lab; learning is largely self-directed through trial and error, which focuses on
mechanics rather than concepts; and education is too shallow, ie. know how to use sensors, but not how
sensors work.

12 competencies were identified:

1. Data processing and analysis
2. Data management
3. Data preservation
4. Database and data formats
5. Ethics and attribution
6. Data quality and documentation
7. Data curation and Reuse
8. Data conversion and interoperability
9. Data visualization and representation
10. Discovery and acquisition
11. Metadata and data description
12. Cultures of practice

Participants were asked to rank these competencies on a likert scale, identifying data processing and
analysis, data visualization and representation, and data management and organization as highest ranked
due to their direct importance to research. Although faculty believed these to be essential to data literacy,
they did not believe they were knowledgeable enough to teach the skills appropriately. Librarians are an
important resource for faculty that lack skill/knowledge, and integrating them into teaching can improve
success rates.

Citation: Czerkawski, B., and Lyman III, E. (2015). Exploring issues about computational thinking in higher
education. TechTrends, 59(2), 57-65.

Theme(s): 21st Century Skills and Literacies, Delivery and Assessment

Contribution:

This peer-reviewed article, written by Czerkawski and Lyman, argues that computational thinking (CT) is a
useful skill across all disciplines, because it is a mental process to solve problems and discover solutions,
using logic, algorithmic thinking, recursive thinking, abstraction, parallel thinking, pattern-matching and
related processes

This paper focuses on STEM faculties; it can be incorporated into humanities learning, but this would be
more difficult, due to the primarily text based analysis. The authors review the status of CT education, and
propose potential directions for future application through analysis of survey results. Soh (2009) found that

6
there is a false dichotomy between “propositional knowledge” and “procedural knowledge”, and an
emphasis on emerging models of computation and interdisciplinary training may encourage the
development of computational thinking methods suitable to the “open-ended” issues studied in the
humanities and fine arts. Soh proposes a framework for multiple pathways of CT learning specialized
according to discipline, but students would complete projects collaboratively with students from other
disciplines to allow an adaptive learning environment, but reminds the reader that there is a lot of disparity
between social, economic, and cultural backgrounds that must be address to be successful

Citation: Erwin, R. (2015). Data literacy: Real-world learning through problem-solving with data sets.
American Secondary Education, 43(2), 18-26.

Theme(s): Delivery and Assessment, 21st Century Skills and Literacies

Contribution:

Erwin’s peer-reviewed article focuses on the benefits of project-based learning (PBL) in middle school,
regarding teaching data literacy. This is the type of skill that must be practiced and not simply taught.
Although it is targeted for younger students, it may be adapted to fulfill post-secondary goals, because the
learning experience connects multiple curriculum areas and relates to personal experiences, which
cultivates higher order thinking.

Projects/lessons are listed for 6-8 graders

1. consider the “story” or guiding questions for the data-centric unit
2. learn about the power and utility of basic descriptive statistics for assigning meaning to large sets of
data
3. learn some basic skills for how to use spreadsheet software to examine large data sets
4. examine a relevant data set
5. clean the data
6. analyze the data using basic statistical functions in a spreadsheet
7. interpret the importance of the findings
8. report the findings to an external audience. (19-20)

The audience for PBL goes beyond the teacher; the data is relevant to the community and promotes
motivation for students to find solutions, because they are contributing to the community not only a grade.
This type of learning encourages task commitment and problem-solving, which are essential to learning
complex skills to the fullest. Ocean’s of Data Institute aims to provide more useable, appropriate data for K-
16 education.

When developing a PBL course, some resources that can be helpful in guaranteeing that the project is
appropriate include Bloom’s Taxonomy, Webb’s Depth of Knowledge Criteria, and the Common Core State
Standards (2010). Resources to find data sets to incorporate into projects include: gapminder.org;
tuvalabs.com; InspireData; inspiration.com/inspiredata; statlit.org.

Citation: Frau-Meigs, D. (2012). Transliteracy as the new research horizon for media and information
literacy. Media Studies, 3(6), 14-27.

Theme(s): 21st Century Skills and Literacies,

Contribution:

Frau-Meigs’ peer reviewed article defines transliteracy as:

1. the ability to embrace the full layout of multimedia which encompasses skills for reading, writing
and calculating with all the available tools (from paper to image, from book to wiki);
2. the capacity to navigate through multiple domains, which entails the ability to search, evaluate, test,

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 validate, and modify information according to its relevant contexts of use (as code, news, and
document) (15-16)

● Study of facebook and education concluded that undergraduate students were more positive than
graduate students about this tool, and it should be used in conjunction with other LMS - private
groups allow for interaction between students and teacher alike.
● Twitter is seen as useful, but limiting - it could replace posting in discussion boards, but the 140
character max is feared to solicit subpar writing - good tool for creating group knowledge, but does
not encourage deep thought
● Some suggest that YouTube could exceed the educational uses of the previous two. It was most
actively used social media in class to better illustrate certain topics and have ‘guest speakers’ to
clarify points

Citation: Gray, A.S. (2004). Data and statistical literacy for librarians. IASSIST Quarterly, 28(2), 24-29.
Retrieved from http://www.iassistdata.org/content/data-and-statistical-literacy-librarians

Theme(s): Data Literacy Competencies and Skills, Delivery and Assessment, Teach The Teachers

Contribution:

This peer-reviewed article by Ann S. Gray looks at data and statistical literacy for librarians.Specifically, the
paper covers how data and statistical resources are evaluated, types of information about data and
statistics that are required in order to provide assistance in the use of statistical resources, and the
possibility that training in statistics would be useful to providing these services.

The author posits that the growth of online and open data sources has made the ability to understand and
represent data crucial for everyday life, as well as studies and work related to economic and social
development. Academic librarians have a role in providing support for users, so that they can find “useful
information that reflects the nature of the real world” as well as “help users avoid the possible misuse of
data and statistics” (p. 24). Librarians should be able to assist/teach students a number of competencies
relating to data literacy. Evaluation of data sources and statistics is key, and the ability to judge quality and
utility of data should serve as a bedrock for teaching data and statistical literacy.

Interpretability, i.e. knowing how to write and communicate the supporting information necessary to interpret
and utilize statistical information appropriately is a key skill that should be taught to users and students.
Data without description is useless (or at least very hard to use). Data coherence is also important, e.g.
standardized terms, classification, and concepts among data products. Students should be aware of the
standards surrounding data, and its usage. First year undergraduate students should have the knowledge
and skills necessary to:
● Interpret data presented in tables and graphs
● Know the basics of probability theory and the concept of a sample (statistics-focused)
● Have basic knowledge of statistical software packages, and/or analytics tools

Knowing which method to use to gather or analyze statistical information or data is also important, i.e. the
right tool for the job. This requires both practical understanding and theoretical grounding. In terms of
content delivery, although online courses and texts on data and statistical literacy are useful, user-targeted
specific assistance and teaching is often needed (e.g.for users with differing skill levels, or users studying a
specific discipline).

Citation: Haendel, M.A., Vasilevsky, N.A, and Wirz, J.A. (2012). Dealing with data: A case study on
information and data management. PLOS Biology, 10(5), 1-4.

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Theme(s): Barriers to Effective Data Literacy Instruction, Data Literacy Competencies and Skills, Delivery
and Assessment

Contribution:

This paper by Melissa Haendel, Nicole Vasilevsky, and Jacqueline Wirz provides a case study of the eagle-i
Network, a $15 million NIH-funded pilot project with the aim of facilitating biomedical research by creating a
network of research resources repositories. A main theme of the paper is that the scientific community must
embrace an information culture, and have the competencies to manage, navigate, and curate huge amount
of data.

The current NIH mandate includes the requirement that all peer-reviewed publications funded by the NIH
must be accessible by the public. Many other agencies also require data-sharing plans from researchers.
Emerging technologies have enabled improved data presentation, and data-citations. The authors argue
that being able to create and evaluate these types of data and publications is more important than ever.

Moreover, new and emerging issues concerning data volume, storage, sharing, and cataloguing have
created problems for researchers and publishers - 85% surveyed are interested in using other researchers’
data, but only 36% report their own data is easily accessible. Information collected on laboratories
concerning protocols, instruments, services, software, etc., is lacking. Unique identification and semantic
linking are therefore becoming essential to the scientific success of labs in this regard.

To overcome this challenge, the authors propose that researchers should be trained to tag data throughout
the research process using universally agreed upon standards. This, as well as linking data, could generate
new insight and advance scientific discovery. The authors further state that “statistics, ethics, data and
information literacy should accompany scientific training to establish a new cultural standard” (p. 3). It is
essential that skills and tools for sharing, organizing, and accessing information and data are accessible,
and the authors also put forward the notion that academic libraries can assist in this regard.

Citation: Hattwig, D., Bussert, K., Medaille, A., and Burgess, J. (2013). Visual literacy standards in higher
education: New opportunities for libraries and student learning. Libraries and Academy, 13(1), 61-89.
doi:10.1353/pla.2013.0008

Theme(s): 21st Century Skills and Literacies, Data Literacy Competencies and Skills, Delivery and
Assessment

Contribution:

This article by Denise Hattwig et al. focuses on visual literacy standards in the post-secondary system,
specifically the Association of College and Research Libraries (ACRL)’s Visual Literacy Competency
Standards for Higher Education, and how to implement teaching said standards. Many of the standards and
competencies related to visual literacy are directly related to data literacy.

The authors put forward the notion that visual literacy is associated with with a broader set of literacies that
are perceived to be critical for contemporary students/researchers, i.e. transliteracy, metaliteracy.
Transliteracy entails working across multiple literacies to construct meaning, while metaliteracy focuses on
similarities and connections between different literacies in order to emphasize higher order thinking and
collaborative knowledge production. Across all disciplines, students must have the skills to find, interpret,
evaluate, use, and produce visual materials in a scholarly context (this also applies directly to data). Visual
literacy itself can be defined as the ability to decode, interpret, and create visual messages, as well as
encode and compose meaningful visual communications.

The Visual Literacy Competency Standards for Higher Education are based upon (and are meant to

9
complement) the ACRL’s Information Literacy Competency Standards for Higher Education. Many of the
points relating to the competencies can be directly applied to data literacy (and indeed, data visualization).
According to the standard, a “visually (data) literate individual is both a critical consumer of visual media
(data), and a competent contributor to a body of shared knowledge and culture (brackets inserted by
author).

The Visual Literacy Standards consist of seven skill areas:

○ Defining the need
○ Finding and accessing
○ Interpreting and analyzing
○ Evaluating
○ Using
○ Creating; and
○ Understanding ethical and legal issues

In terms of instructional method, visual literacy can be merged with information literacy in terms of content
(or data literacy), or can be taught as stand-alone courses or workshops. In either setting, librarians can be
brought in to work with faculty to help teach students to create visual materials. Effective instruction must be
supported by detailed learning outcomes, and must be shaped by an iterative assessment and instruction
process

Each standard/skill area has learning performance indicators/outcomes that can be applied to semester-
long courses, stand-alone class activities, one-on-one consultations, distance learning situations, and online
instructional resources.The standards are listed as follows, but with ‘visual’ or ‘visually’ replaced with
‘data’, in order to demonstrate similarity:

1. The ‘data’ literate student determines the nature and extent of the ‘data’ materials needed
● Students must be able to build a ‘research context’ for their use of visuals and data
● Students must consider what the required data will look like, the information it might contain, the
subject, and the concepts and terms to describe said data
2. The ‘data’ literate students finds and accesses ‘data materials’ and media effectively and efficiently
● Students must be able to make the connections between how they plan to use data, and the most
appropriate sources for that use
● Discovery strategies such as browsing, using search engines, and social linking should be part of a
student’s data research skills
3. The ‘data’ literate student interprets and analyzes the meaning of data, and visual data representation
● Students should be able to carefully assess a visualization or group of data and observe details that
may not be noticeable on first glance
● Choices relating to data-sets and visualization technique are important, and the meaning and
influence behind said choices should be explored and understood
4. The ‘data’ literate student evaluates data and their sources
● This is a standard that librarians can take the lead in teaching/communicating. e.g. how to
differentiate between scholarly/trusted sources of data, and where to find said sources
5. The ‘data’ literate student uses data and data visualizations effectively
● This includes being able to use data and visualizations as part of academic projects, or to inform
research or decision-making
● Also includes the knowledge of how to use technology and tools to manipulate and organize data
and create visualizations
● Students must also be able to not only communicate using data, but to communicate about data
used in papers, presentations, etc.
● Students must have the technological know-how to use analytics and visualization tools, and must
be aware of and follow design standards
● Students in essence must be comfortable being content creators and curators
7. The ‘data’ literate student understands many of the ethical, legal, social, and economic issues

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surrounding the creation and use of ‘data’, and accesses and uses data materials ethically
● Students should explore intellectual property, copyright, and fair use concepts that apply to data,
and build a level of knowledge that allows them to use data ethically and responsibly
● Also relates to data presentation, and avoiding misleading charts or visual representations of data
● ‘Data’ citation is also crucial. Need consistent citation practices, including what should be included
in a citation, how to format citations, and how to adapt citations to a variety of end products

Citation: Ikemoto, G., and Marsh, J. (2008). Cutting through the data-driven mantra: Different conceptions
of data-driven decision making. Evidence and Decision Making: Yearbook of the National Society for the
Study of Education, 106(1), 105-131.

Theme(s): Barriers to Effective Data Literacy Instruction, Data Literacy As The Ability To Understand And
Use Data Effectively To Inform Decisions, Data Literacy Competencies and Skills

Contribution:

This article by Gina Schulyer and Julie Marsh focuses on data driven decision-making (DDDM) in education
at the k-12 level. Specifically, it looks at how teachers, principals, and administrators systematically collect
and analyze data to guide decisions in order to improve the academic success of schools and students. To
this end, the authors put forward four types of DDDM, ranging from simple to highly complex. The article
does not focus on teaching data literacy, but does have some useful take-away points related to the
competencies that are required to carry out DDDM.

According to the authors, there are conflicting interpretations on what constitutes DDDM. Based on a survey
of school teachers and administrators collected prior to writing the paper, examples of DDDM included
teachers using print-out test scores to target weak areas for further resources, or on the opposite end,
numerous stakeholders triangulating multiple forms of data to uncover underlying causes of patterns
observed. The authors classified these examples into four types of DDDM:
● Basic: Simple analysis decision-making, simple use of data
● Analysis-focused: Complex analysis and decision-making, simple use of data
● Data-focused: Simple analysis and decision-making, complex use of data
● Inquiry-focused: Complex analysis and decision-making, complex use of data

In terms of core competencies for DDDM, the most important are interpretation of data, analysis, and
judgement. Individuals must first be able to effectively collect and organize different types of raw data.
They must then be able to convert information into actionable knowledge through analysis. Lastly, they
must use their judgment to prioritize information, weigh the relative merit and weaknesses of possible
solutions, and then make a decision based on this information. Once a decision has been made, individuals
must be able to collect new data in order to ascertain whether their actions have been effective.

The above process entails that individuals must know how to continually collect, organize, and synthesize
data in support of decision-making. Therefore, individuals must be familiar working with both qualitative and
quantitative data. Culture and leadership within a school can influence patterns of data usage, and the
importance of these skill-sets.It follows then, that in order to teach data literacy effectively, there exists a
need for a supporting data and/or information culture. This type of culture is integral for building trust in
using data to help drive decision-making.

Citation: Johnson, L., and Jeffryes, J. (2014). Steal this idea: A library instructors’ guide to educating
students in data management skills. C&RL News, 75(8), 431-434. Retrieved from
http://crln.acrl.org/content/75/8/431.full

Theme(s): Delivery and Assessment

11
Contribution:

This peer-reviewed article, written by Johnson and Jeffryes, is part of the Data Information Literacy (DIL)
project in association with Purdue, Cornell, Oregon, and Minnesota. This part focuses on research
management for graduate students at the University of Minnesota, where faculty implemented an online
self-paced course, and then built on this experience to create a comprehensive (non-academic credit)
workshop series of seven videos (3-9 minutes long) and five in-person classroom, module-based sessions
(1 hour):
1. How to inventory, store, and backup your data
2. How to create data that you (and others) can understand
3. How to navigate rights and ownership of your research data
4. How to share your data and ethically reuse data created by others
5. How to digitally preserve your data for the future
a. Optional Homework: complete a data management plan for instructor to review for
feedback

Each session included:

● A ‘concept check-in’ consisting of three to four questions on concepts covered in the videos.
Questions embedded in Powerpoint slides, and answered by students with Clickers
● **Hands-on exercises and data scenarios, designed so that students without their own datasets
could still engage with content
● Worksheets to apply concepts for students who did have datasets
● One-minute assessment paper with a mix of qualitative and quantitative questions

Johnson and Jeffryes recommend incentivized learning for workshops. This would involved receiving a
certificate, or some sort of reward for completing non-credit courses, as well as having the introductory
course open to all disciplines would be a positive learning experience, but this would mean a lack of depth
for topics. More advanced workshops would benefit from being targeted to specific disciplines to increase
relevance and depth of content

Citation: Jones, C., Ramanau, R., Cross, S., and Healing, G. (2009). Net generation or Digital Natives: Is
there a distinct new generation entering university? Computers & Education 54, 722-732. doi:
10.1016/j.compedu.2009.09.022

Theme(s): 21st Century Skills and Literacies, Barriers to Effective Data Literacy Instruction, Delivery and
Assessment

Contribution:

This peer-reviewed article written by Chris Jones et al., focuses on the debate over whether the Net
Generation (i.e. Millennial generation, those born after 1983) have a naturally high aptitude and skills with
Web 2.0 and other technologies. Stemming from this, post-secondary students of this generation have been
assumed to have very high level proficiency when using technology in relation to their studies and academic
research. This has implications for how data literacy (which often utilizes high varying levels of technology)
is taught at the postsecondary level.

The conclusions of the authors are based on a two-year study which took place across five universities in
2008 in the United Kingdom.The team distributed a questionnaire across the universities to incoming first-
year students in fourteen across a range of pure and applied subject areas.

Based on the results of their survey, the authors argue that in reality, there is a much more complex and
diverse range of technological skills within students born post-1983. The majority of students in this age
group own a laptop computer, and do use the Internet, but there are significant minorities of students who

12
do not use certain technologies (e.g. email, social networking sites, etc.). Moreover, the authors’ research
that although students born post-1983 are comfortable using basic technologies (e.g. office computing
software, instant messaging, browsing the Internet), many are not comfortable using more specialized
technologies (e.g. data manipulation software, graphics and design software). Moreover, students being of
a younger age is not necessarily a key indicator for technological prowess.

In terms of actual study habits, although students do use Web 2.0 technologies to supplement their studies,
there has not been a radical shift in student study patterns, and most study patterns still conform to
traditional lecturing methods.In terms of data literacy, instruction in a post-secondary setting should take
into account that any given student base will likely have a very diverse range of skills and competencies in
terms of technology.

Citation: Koltay, T. (2015). Data literacy: in search of a name and identity. Journal of Documentation,
71(2), 401 - 415. http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/JD-02-2014-0026

Theme(s): 21st Century Skills and Literacies, Barriers to Effective Data Literacy Instruction, Data Literacy
Competencies and Skills, Delivery and Assessment

Contribution:

Koltay’s focus is primarily on research data. It is argued that data allows researchers to ask questions in
new ways, in all disciplines, posing concern for access, management, sharing, and preservation. Also, the
“lack of tools, infrastructure, standardized processes and properly skilled personnel may impede the
continued development of e-research” (402), limiting our advancement of knowledge in a knowledge
economy.

Koltay argues that one of the most important goals of data literacy should be fostering critical thinking to
keep people realistic and asking questions, not only accepting information at face value, as well as the skills
for understanding data’s underlying meaning. Methods proposed focus on the role of big data; data literacy
in relation to information literacy and other literacies; content analysis of data literacy education; and the
role of the library in it. The audience is reminded that library professionals have the experience, skills,
familiarity of needs, and ability to instruct and consult in research data to help academic institutions
succeed, and should be used for support frequently. This type of support is recognized in relation to the
dual nature of data literacy education: target appropriate audience and provide able professional support
and training; re-skilling may be essential to the success of programs, and librarians are a great resource in
helping with this

Koltay lists Carlson, Qin, Schneider, Calzada, and Mandinach and Gummer’s varying definitions and
competencies of data literacy, and argues that there should be only one definition; many definitions overlap
with different terms, but the meaning is the same, and most recognize the difference between producer and
creator, and the importance of including each. Additionally, competency mobilizations for researchers today
are on three levels: 1. conceptual competencies that include among others innovative thinking, problem
solving, and critical thinking; 2. human competencies, like social networking skills, self-management and
cross-cultural interaction skills; and 3. practical competencies that include media literacy and information
literacy (Lee, 2013) (408)

Koltay also lists several academic authors that argue data literacy education should borrow heavily from
information literacy, and others that include scientific literacy into the necessary component of education in
data. additionally, data literacy education is encouraged to be collaborative throughout faculties and
disciplines; this places the student at the centre of the process, and broaches the theory-practice divide.

It is argued that many different literacies have overlapping concepts:

● Scientific literacy is not only for scientists, “it is a complex set of knowledge of methods,
approaches, attitudes and skills, related to a set of questions on how to do scientific research”

13
 (410), which is widely applicable in 21st century society.
● Academic literacy has several similar aspects to data literacy for researchers - for one, the
vocabulary used is helpful in identifying which strategy to use in analyzing the data according to
discipline
● Some competencies that are listed in information literacy are more directly connected to data
literacy: “sensitivity for meaning and for the intended audience, interpreting, using and producing
information presented in graphic and visual format, as well as making distinctions between essential
and nonessential information, fact and opinion, proposition and arguments; distinguishing between
cause and effect are examples of this. The requirements to classify, categorize and handle data
and to do simple numerical estimations and computations are more directly connected to data
literacy” (Weideman, 2013) (409)
● Statistical literacy is tied closely with data literacy with a common set of problems and a similar
approach to them, dealing with interdisciplinary study and fundamentals - information and data
literacies evaluate sources and are needed to access, manipulate and summarize, but statistical
literacy guides this process (Shield, 2004)
● Visual literacy shares methodological similarities with data and information literacies with a critical
approach
● Media literacy shares characteristics with data literacy regarding use and reuse of content by third
parties - there is a convergence of media, information, and communications technologies; and Web
2.0 has invited everyone to be content creators, who would benefit from knowing these skills - more
of a general literacy, less influential than other literacies, but worth mentioning
● Digital literacy is also a general literacy, but most information is digital today, and this emphasizes
technology to accentuate skills, especially communication of results
● Metaliteracy provides a foundations for media, digital, and other literacies, emphasizing content; the
lines become blurred between them

Citation: MacMillan, D. (2010). Sequencing genetics information: Integrating data into information literacy
for undergraduate biology students. Issues in Science and Technology Librarianship, 61. doi:
10.5062/F44F1NNK

Theme(s): Data Literacy Competencies and Skills, Delivery and Assessment

Contribution:

This paper by Don MacMillan, looks at a case study of an information literacy lab for undergraduate biology
students at the University of Calgary. The lab was aimed at building competencies for working through a
range of resources to discover different aspects of genetic information. Although the content of the lab is
specifically focused on information literacy, and learning how to use specific databases, the structure and
execution of the lab sessions holds lessons that could be applied when developing data literacy labs and
workshops.

The information literacy lab in question was developed specifically for students within the course Biology
311 - Principles of Genetics course, which covers such topics as molecular genetics, sex determination, and
structure and function of genetic material. The lab took place during a regularly scheduled three-hour
lecture in week 11 of the autumn semester, with over 560 students taking part. As such, the lab was in
actuality threes labs sessions running parallel, with students divided into groups of 72. This is an unusually
large-size for a workshop-style lab, and is evidenced by the fact that the 72 students per session were
required to work out of a computer lab with a capacity of 50. As a result, students had to work in pairs.
Despite this, the lab sessions were considered a success.

Key to this success was strong collaboration between university librarians, who assisted the course
instructors in designing and carrying out the lab (as well as providing the physical lab space). The lab
followed a pattern of demonstration, practice, and discussion among students. Moreover, examples and
resources (e.g. NCBI Genes and Disease database, PubMed, etc.) were targeted to the discipline of the

14
students. This made demonstrating more abstract theories easier, as there were readily available and
understandable examples where said theories could be applied. Three other factors were critical for the
successful implementation of the lab:
1. Labs consisted of a structured demonstration of resources/tools, progressing from simple to more
complex material
2. Hands-on exercises requiring the utilization/manipulation of data through the covered
resources/tools
3. Inclusion of a follow-up assignment that involves deeper critical thinking, further independent
exploration of resources, and synthesis and analysis of information in order to consolidate learning

The lab was also supported by a workbook containing detailed information, and an online resource with
links to follow ongoing demonstrations, as well as other relevant resources. The author concludes that
workshop style labs benefit from having a clear purpose and connection to material specific to students;
discipline, opportunities for hands-on practice and active learning, and adequate preparation before the lab
takes place (e.g. pre-homework or online introductory material).

Citation: Mandinach, E.B., & Gummer, E.S. (2013). A Systemic View of Implementing Data Literacy in
Educator Preparation. Educational Researcher, 42(1), 30-37. DOI: 10.3102/0013189X12459803

Theme(s): Barriers to Effective Data Literacy Instruction, Data Literacy As The Ability To Understand And
Use Data Effectively To Inform Decisions, Data Literacy Competencies and Skills, Delivery and
Assessment, Teach the Teacher

Contribution:

Mandinach and Gummer present the context and trends surrounding data literacy from the perspective of
educating pre-service teachers, including supportive technologies, standards, and accreditation. Exploration
or requisite skills and knowledge, current practices in schools of education, and the role of various
stakeholder groups are considered. The authors go on to explore the systematic nature of components that
can contribute to developing data literacy, and not gaps in research, postulating a framework to mover the
field forward. This framework would allow for the ability to understand and use data effectively to make
decisions. It is recommended to consult The Interstate Teacher Assessment and Support Consortium in
developing a framework and accreditation.

Mandinach and Gummer highlight four trends that have emerged that are pushing data literacy: (a) the
increased emphasis on data in (US) federal policy, (b) the development of the statewide longitudinal data
systems (SLDS), (c) the growth of local data systems, and (d) additions to standards and accreditation
processes that address data literacy. Considering the wide range of stakeholders in this field, schools,
practitioners, professional development providers, provincial educators departments, the federal
government, professional organizations, etc., there should be involvement from these groups to ensure that
data literacy education is comprehensive in implementation.

It is recommended that data literacy be taught in a targeted environment, such as schools of education for
preservice teachers, to develop the appropriate foundation for applying the skills.

Citation: Pentland, A.S. (2013). The data-driven society. Scientific American, 309(4), 78-83. Retrieved from
http://www.nature.com/scientificamerican/journal/v309/n4/pdf/scientificamerican1013-78.pdf

Theme(s): 21st Century Skills and Literacies, Data Literacy Competencies and Skills

Contribution:

This article by Alex ‘Sandy’ Pentland looks at the data-driven society of the 21st century, and the data
analysis skills required in order to interact and solve problems within this context.

15
The author posits that 21st century challenges (e.g. global warming, etc.) demand 21st century thinking.
However, many professionals still think about social systems using Enlightenment-era concepts (e.g.
markets) that reduce societal interactions to rules or algorithms while ignoring human behaviour. There is a
need to go deeper, to take into account the fine-grained details of societal interactions. Data analytics can
provide solutions and explanations through the ability to track, predict, potentially control behaviour for good
or ill.

Engagement and exploration are key factors in data analysis, often resulting in innovation and creative
output. Establishing new connections among people is also a driver of innovation and creative output;
humans are social by nature and productivity tends to rise when this is encouraged. Moreover, the scientific
method is not enough anymore, as data collected is often messy, complex, and large-scale with thousands
of reasonable hypotheses. Individuals must be able to carry out more frequent testing, ongoing testing and
analysis.

Citation: Prado, J.C., and Marzal, M.A. (2013). Incorporating data literacy into information literacy
programs: Core competencies and contents. Libri, 63(2), 123-134. DOI: 10.1515/libri-2013-0010

Theme(s): 21st Century Skills and Literacies, Data Literacy Competencies and Skills

Contribution:

This paper by Javier Calzada Prado and Miguel Angel Marzal looks at the issue of library standards
regarding data literacy. They propose of a set of core competencies that can serve as a framework of
reference for its inclusion in the information literacy programs of academic libraries. The paper includes
these core competencies (and includes competencies put forth by other scholars), and outlines some data
literacy programs/courses taught by universities (at the time of publication).

Due to the advent of the so-called Information Society and events such as the Open Data movement, there
have been massive changes in the public sector, scientific, and academic spheres in terms of the
availability of useful data. Therefore, the authors argue that there exists a need for greater sensitization and
training in data literacy, a suite of data acquisition, evaluation, handling, analysis and interpretation-related
competencies that lie outside the scope of traditional literacies. That being said, data literacy does have
strong connections with information and statistical literacies.

Data literacy is the part of statistical literacy that involves training individuals to access, assess, manipulate,
summarize, and present data. In terms of information literacy, data literacy is the component that enables
individuals to access, interpret, critically assess, manage, handle, and ethically use data. In all aspects of
data literacy, critical thinking on the part of the user is crucial. Academic libraries must continue to update
and provide training for data literacy to students and faculty along these lines, and are well-position to lend
support due to the inherent expertise of librarians regarding information literacy.

The data literacy competencies framework for teaching put forth by the authors is below. Under each
module is the recommended to be covered.
1. Understanding data
○ What is data?
■ Data definition, types of data
○ Data in society

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 ■ Data producers and consumers, data lifecycle, data applications and their impact
on society and science, copyright and data reuse
2. Finding/obtaining data
○ Data sources
■ Data source examples, criteria for assessing data sources
○ Obtaining data
■ Main research methods for obtaining original data
3. Reading, interpreting, and evaluating data
○ Reading and interpreting data
■ Ways to present, and represent data
○ Evaluating data
■ Data evaluation criteria
● Authorship
● Method of obtaining data
● Method of analyzing data
● Comparing data
● Inference and data summary
4. Managing data
○ Data and metadata collection and management
■ Metadata, reference management tools, databases, data management
repositories, policies and practices
5. Using data
○ Data handling
■ Data conversion, handling data analysis tools locally and online (e.g. Excel, SPSS,
Stata, etc.)
○ Producing elements for data synthesis
■ Choosing suitable data representation methods, visualization tools
○ Ethical use of data
■ What is the ethical use of data, how to cite data sources

Citation: Pryor, G., and Donnelly, M. (2009). Skilling up to do data: Whose role, whose responsibility,
whose career? The International Journal of Digital Curation, 2(4), 158-170.

Theme(s): 21st Century Skills and Literacies, Barriers to Effective Data Literacy Instruction, Data Literacy
Best Taught At The Commencement of Post-Secondary Studies, Delivery and Assessment

Contribution:

This peer-reviewed article focuses on data management, and provides the reader with The Data
Practitioners “Toolkit”, which is applicable mainly to four roles: data creator, data scientist, data manager,
and data librarian. These roles would benefit from support from IT and library communities, because the
skills and knowledge associated with success are instilled in these professionals. The authors defined IT
experts as conduit specialists, library or information scientists as content specialists, and academics or
professionals as context specialists. This clarification allows for a more targeted education, because it
highlights what skills are being used most.

Sheila Corrall’s provides a potential shape for a training regime, which addresses “breadth and depth of
competency requirements, combining technical expertise with contextual understanding (ie. significant
domain knowledge) and interpersonal skills” (166) relating primarily to research data management; Chris
Rusbridge and Martin Donnelly also provide Core Skills for Data Management. Corrall also recommends
that data skills become a core academic competency, so the appropriate level of knowledge is instilled in
students entering the professional environment.

17
Citation: Qin, J., and D’Ignazio, J. (2010). The central role of metadata in a science data literacy course.
Journal of Library Metadata, 10(2-3), 188-201. DOI: 10.1080/19386389.2010.506379

Theme(s): Data Literacy Competencies and Skills, Barriers to Effective Data Literacy Instruction

Contribution:

Qin and D’Ignazio conduct a study at Syracuse University, recognizing the rapid development of ICTs and
internet, leading to requiring improvements to data literacy and management in science research and
promote contributions to the field and for future use. Knowledge and skills in data life-cycle, metadata
standards and practice, data tools, and communication and collaboration mechanisms are increasingly
valuable qualifications in the workforce today.

With the growing amount of data being produced and used there is a demand that students graduate with
skills in data management and data use, including understanding a wide variety of tool for accessing,
converting, and manipulating data. Science data literacy core competencies and skills support collecting,
processing, manipulating, evaluating, and using data, which are widely transferable skills. Hunt 2005,
Shrimplin and Yu 2004, and Whitmer, Blanchette, and Caron 2004 all discuss integrating data literacy into
college classrooms, using collaboration, tools, and active learning pedagogies in teaching, “pushing” the
data to students. Another approach is “pulling” data (processing and managing data), which is an outcome-
based data literacy education that provides more hands-on opportunities and promote learning

The Science Data Literacy (SDL) project and Science Data Management (SDM) course at Syracuse
University’s iSchool are studied in this paper. The majority of students enrolled were IM students, and
included graduate and undergraduate students alike in STEM disciplines (Qin and D’Ignazio) geospatial,
climate, and biological data. They distributed a survey to faculty, in two interactions, and it was clear that
their methods differed drastically, and there is a need for standards in STEM disciplines for metadata.
These responses helped develop the course into three aspects:
● data life-cycle: different formats, records, and resources, a stage environment for who, what, where,
why, when, and how which is useful internally and externally;
● the technical aspect of data management: description, indexing, storing, and managing data objects
and repositories, important management tool providing consistent access, includes format, types,
and sizes
● Social and policy issues of data: use and management, but also privacy, ethics, security, and
intellectual property, as well as separate disciplinary issues
The authors also conducted pre and post surveys to students evaluating outcomes; these results are
reported in more depth in the other paper by these authors in this framework, but some were listed,
including challenges arose in the inequality of students’ technical skills and educational backgrounds. Case
studies and authentic project involvement are recommended to help bridge these gaps in understanding.

Furthermore, Qin and D’Ignazio searched on the Web for other courses offered in data-related topics in any
disciplines, and searched for the three aspects being focused on for the development. Table 2 lists
categories of relevant courses, level, and focus; the most relevant ones were project oriented with practical
implications, and case study based providing flexibility to both data and metadata oriented skills

Through developing the course, the authors’ goals included (a) the informational issues of managing data
resources, (b) the technologies currently being used in data and metadata management, and the social and
policy issues related to data’s role in the work practice of individual science disciplines and research
domains (197). Four strategies were used in this development, and reflect previous projects and is a
culmination of all projects:
1. topic introduction and development in three modules: 1. fundamentals of science data and

18
 management; 2. managing sets in aggregation; 3. broader issues in science data management -
Table 3 presents subtopics of modules
2. course content concerning literacy and skills in collecting, processing, managing and using data in
scientific enquiry with the central role of metadata. Course readings were diverse and incorporated
data management and metadata
3. attempted to provide students with a sense of comfort with multiple-level, distributed information
systems representing and containing an unfamiliar collection of digital data files or values (200) -
Case studies are the most useful way to teach this
4. enabled was to overcome the barriers of understanding abstraction and complexity. Attempted to
allow students to make connections to existing knowledge through their disciplines, done in groups
and interviewing researchers in their field, and recommended tools, technology, schemes, complete
with some degree of executed solution with examples.

Citation: Reeves, T., and Honig, S. (2015). A classroom data literacy intervention for pre-service teachers.
Teaching and Teacher Education, 50, 90-101. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.tate.2015.05.007

Theme(s): Barriers to Effective Data Literacy Instruction, Delivery and Assessment, Teach the Teacher

Contribution:

Reeves and Honig’s peer reviewed article focuses on pre-service teachers learning how to use data to
evaluate student outcomes. They begin by placing utmost importance in including data literacy training in
core courses for student, and referring to Marsh (2012), who outlines competencies for data literacy as:
1. accessing or collecting data;
2. filtering, organizing, or analyzing data into information
3. combining information with expertise and understanding to build knowledge
4. knowing how to respond and taking action or adjusting one’s practice
5. assessing the effectiveness of these actions or outcomes that result (91)

Additionally, Wayman and Jimerson (2013) are referred to for their list of areas that are perceived to need
more instruction: “identification of questions to ask; analysis and interpretation of data; linking data to
instructional practice; and collaboration about data” (92). Other studies recognize alternative ways to
address this lack of instruction, such as: classroom-contextualized intervention (targeted), and active
learning; it can also be useful to connect curricular and institutional goals to interventions, as well as
mentoring and feedback can be essential in developing these skills.

Reeves and Honig identify numerous dimensions to data education: data types, level of education,
activities, use of technology for analysis, interpretation and use, and report that positive outcomes came
from collaboration between teachers, the presence of an expert facilitator, a clear and specific process for
data protocol and tools to guide the protocol, and balancing attention to general assessment with classroom
instruction

Their study included undergraduate pre-service elementary teachers (k-8) and enrolled in an assessment
course in either the spring and fall terms of 2014. They were provided with instruction in scoring student
work, summarizing, and disaggregating data
● Intervention schedule for Spring 2014:
○ Day 1- using Excel to aggregate the data into spreadsheet format from scoring and
assessments keys, and examined qualitative data for themes and commonalities between
incorrect answers, and examined quality and reliability of assessments
○ Day 2- analysis and interpretation of traditional and performance assessment data and
making decisions based on these from spreadsheet from day 1. investigated frequency
distribution through graphs, and articulated results in a Word document

19
The methodology used consisted of a pretest and posttest, measuring answers to questions asked above.
Pre-intervention surveys were sent out one week before commencement, and post-intervention surveys
sent one week following completion. The feedback collected allowed for changes to provide more targeted
feedback between semesters. The second iteration of the test included 13 items focused on participants’
data literacy knowledge. This included questions about interpreting z-scores and dichotomous item
difficulties, read and interpret tables and graphs, compare scores across groups and over time, compare
group and individual scores represented in tables, and identify evidence that would best support particular
instructional decisions (95-96). Participants identified the most useful aspect of the experience as 1. use of
Excel to manage and analyze data; 2. feedback from faculty during process; 3. use of graphs to interpret
data; 4. opportunity to learn how to interpret data; and 5. step-by-step guidance; and identified the least
useful aspects as: too repetitive, working with peers was not helpful, and paced too slowly

Fall 2014 small iterations were made, but most substantial were 5 hours opposed to 3 hours spent on
feedback on drafts pertaining to validity and quality, and roundtable discussions concerning this; more focus
was placed on intervention protocols and tools: repetitiveness of step-by-step protocol, teaching traditional
and performance assessment separately, rather than jumping back and forth; and the data-based decision
making worksheet and the qualitative worksheet were modified to increase specificity and scaffolding
(specific, relevant evidence), as well as provided with a worksheet from students from the first
implementation

Overall, the findings from this study are consistent with the value of contextualized, instructionally relevant
interventions. The pre and post tests allow for targeted training, as well as changes to enhance
effectiveness.

Citation: Schield, M. (2004). Information Literacy, Statistical Literacy, Data Literacy. IASSIST Quarterly,
28(2/3), 6-11. Retrieved from http://www.iassistdata.org/downloads/iqvol282_3shields.pdf

Theme(s): 21st Century Skills and Literacies, Delivery and Assessment, Teach The Teachers

Contribution:

This peer-reviewed article by Milo Schield posits that the evaluation of information is a critical element of
information literacy, statistical literacy, and data literacy. Due to this, all three literacies are interconnected,
and it is thus difficult to promote one without involving elements of the others. The author argues that
academic librarians (specifically data librarians and information literacy specialists) should engage in
teaching these literacies. The article puts emphasis on statistical literacy, but does have some useful
information regarding data literacy instruction.

The author argues that the aforementioned literacies are often all involved in the problems that university
students face. Students must be must be able to think critically about concepts, claims and arguments: to
read, interpret and evaluate information (i.e. information literacy). Students must be statistically literate: they
must be able to think critically about basic descriptive statistics (i.e. statistical literacy).. Analyzing,
interpreting and evaluating statistics as evidence is a special skill. And students must also be data literate:
they must be able to access, assess, manipulate, summarize, and present data. Therefore, integrated
teaching of these literacies can better equip students with the tools they need to tackle challenges both
within university and post-graduation.

According to the author, students within the social sciences and business/management disciplines in
particular must be able to work with data. Related to this, specific data literacy competencies include:
● Understanding SQL
● How to build and use relational databases
● Data manipulation techniques
● Statistical software, e.g. SPSS, STATA, Minilab, and Microsoft Excel

20
In terms of instruction, students can be taught to use skills from each of the above three ‘literacy’ types in
different ways. e.g. Critical Thinking Perspective, Discipline Perspective. Moreover, librarians can serve as
teachers due to the fact that “they are eminently qualified to teach students how to think critically, how to
become information literate, how to become statistically literate and how to become data literate” (p. 9).
However, in order to teach students these literacies, librarians (and university instructors) must be data,
information, and statistically literate.

Citation: Schneider, R. (2013). Research data literacy. Communications in Computer and Information
Science, 397, 134-140.

Theme(s): 21st Century Skills and Literacies, Delivery and Assessment

Contribution:

This peer-reviewed article, written by Schneider, posits that the integration of research data literacy
education being incorporated into information literacy established curricula, may be the best way to ensure
that these skills are being taught, in a curriculum that is already stretched too thin.

The course consisted of processing of all types of data, raw or primary; creation, management, the data
lifecycle and reuse of research data from two dimensions: different student populations and various
teaching modules. Schneider highlights the importance of recognizing the varying degrees of education,
and personal context based on experience and need. Having a broad focus allows for the level of
experience to even out throughout the course.

A methodology for teaching the varying levels of skills is outlined:

1. two-hour unit providing basic principles and methods;
2. full course or workshop providing a broad theoretical overview and introduction to methods and
tools used
3. full module - teaching unit made up of several courses providing a complete overview of theory and
practice, between 6 months and a year
4. specialization of all techniques in preparation for the field after graduation
5. full study program is comprehensive over two years based on foundations and new competencies
6. certificate is similar to full study, but geared towards people already in the field with a need to
improve skills and competencies

Schneider based the course on three studies: Shapiro and Hughes provides basis for data literacy
curriculum as tool literacy, resource literacy, socio-cultural literacy, emerging technology literacy, and critical
literacy; Eisenberg’s Information Literacy (2008) defines essential skills that relate to data literacy as ability
to clarify, locate, select/analyze, organize/synthesize, create/present, and evaluate information; and the
Working Group on Information Literacy defines seven pillars that align with data literacy as identify, scope,
plan, gather, evaluate, manage, and present/provide

Research Data Literacy Data Management Competencies

Identify Documentation (research environmental, temporal) / Context /

From Information Management to Knowledge Management

Scope Monitoring Process / Extracting Information from Data Models (and

People)

Plan Data Modeling / Metadata / Standards Development

Store Data Analysis and Manipulation / Merging, Mashing, Integration

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 Protect Data Preservation / Data Security / Access Authentication / Conditions of
Use / Data Legislation

Evaluate Data Appraisal and Retention / Value of Data / Economic Issues

Manage Complaints and Expectation Management / Coordination of Practice

across Institution / Negotiation Skills / Risk & Disaster Management /
Contingency / Advocacy, Promotion, Marketing

Provide Facilitation, Communication / Raising Awareness

Citation: Shorish, Y. (2015). Data information literacy and undergraduates: A critical competency. College
& Undergraduate Libraries, 22(1), 97-106. doi: 10.1080/10691316.2015.100124

Theme(s): 21st Century Skills and Literacies, Data Literacy Competencies and Skills, Data Literacy Best
Taught At The Commencement of Post-Secondary Studies

Contribution:

Shorish uses the DIL project as a framework for incorporating data literacy into established science
curricula, with importance placed on beginning, optimally, in first year of the undergraduate degree to more
easily integrated into workflows. This can be done through building foundations through courses such as
research methods, which would help in creating a fluid environment to learning skills, which will encourage
lifelong learning through adaptability and relativity. The overlap in data, statistical, and information literacies
can also be seen in this teaching method.

Librarians are a great resource to use for data research skills development. A collaborative approach to
teach can also improve the outcomes for students. Their skill-set encourage adaptability and teaching at
different levels, and they are required to have a knowledge of these competencies to some degree already.

Examples of undergraduate instruction in DIL are listed from Syracuse University, University of
Massachusetts, University of Minnesota, New England Collaborative Data Management Curriculum, and
Edinburgh’s MANTRA online course. Take aways according to these include teaching mixed audience
classes are difficult, due to varying skill levels; teaching through modules allows the teacher to target
training to specific subjects and skill levels, outside of a class setting

Citation: Stephenson, E., and Caravello, P.S. (2007). Incorporating data literacy into undergraduate
information literacy programs in the social sciences. Reference Services Review, 35(4), 525-540.

Theme(s): Data Literacy Competencies and Skills, Delivery and Assessment

Contribution:

This paper by Elizabeth Stephenson and Patti Schifter Caravello describes and analyzes the confluence of
data literacy with information literacy. It does so by focusing on a case study (the UCLA Sociology
Information Literacy Project) of an undergraduate Sociology information literacy course that incorporated
data literacy into its curriculum through the use of different sessions and modules. The paper also includes
a literature review of material relating to data literacy.

The project was put together as a joint initiative by the UCLA Sociology Department and the University
library. The course Sociology 105 was selected to serve as the project case study.The data literacy
modules were designed to engage students in activities to help them effectively use statistical resources in
course assignments and papers, as well as critically evaluate graphical representations of data.

22
Students were required to demonstrate that they could find, evaluate, and use information and data
effectively and ethically for sociological inquiries. The course also built upon more basic information literacy
instruction by delving into evaluation and research strategies, sociological resources, and concepts in using
statistical information. Students were also encouraged to use the data literacy concepts learned to conduct
research in other courses.

Relevant learning outcomes/competencies of the data literacy modules included:

● Ability to read and critically evaluate simple tables;
● Produce accurate bibliographic citations for data;
● Utilize American Factfinder to create a table; and
● Evaluate graphical representations of data, and discuss the content in relation to an accompanying
written material.

Citation: Teal, T., Cranston, K., Lapp, H., White, E., Wilson, G., Ram, K., and Pawlik, A. (2015). Data
carpentry: Workshops to increase data literacy for researchers. International Journal of Digital Curation,
10(1), 135-143.

Theme(s): Barriers to Effective Data Literacy Instruction, Data Literacy Competencies and Skills, Delivery
and Assessment

Contribution:

● Two-day, hands-on bootcamp style online domain-specific workshop teaching foundational skills
and best practices of in Software Carpentry, enabling researchers to retrieve, view, manipulate,
analyze and store their and other’s data
● Many researchers lack the computational and statistical knowledge to communicate analysis, many
are unfamiliar with best practices and what they have learned has been piecemeal or not learned at
all - 2013 survey conveyed an overwhelming demand for training in the research sector, lack of
skills and confidence is limiting research progress
● Barriers include: full curriculum, no room or time to add additional subject matter; not enough time
to learn the required skills to teach them due to existing commitments; no good model for
community lesson development, resulting in disjointed and overlapping - communication is key in
offering an effective and efficient learning goals - professors or community of practices offering
guidance to related courses on what has been covered and what should be developed more in
future classes
● Guidelines for the initial Data Carpentry core content:
○ Workshops are domain specific: data type vary between fields, analysis and standard
problems allowing achievement of two goals: more immediate understanding of questions
and approaches, and applying these to their work, using “real world” examples
○ Workshops are a narrative that show the data lifecycle for a given dataset or problem:
fundamental in quality of final analysis from beginning to end, and enabling ability for
results to be reproducible. Models a user workflow using their own datasets
○ Workshops are designed for people with no prior computational experience: there is a clear
expectations for the pace of instruction, no pressure to prepare, allows them to learn at own
pace and build on existing practices and knowledge
○ Workshops can be focused on any research domain: the principles of the data lifecycle can
be applied to any domain and materials adapted to meet specific domain needs
● First workshops used datasets to teach: how to organize data in spreadsheet programs (such as
Excel), use spreadsheets more effectively and the limitations of such programs; how to get data out
of spreadsheets and into more powerful tools; how to use databases, including managing and
querying data in SQL; and how to create workflows and automate repetitive tasks, in particular
using the command line shell and shell scripts
● Initial focus as introductory workshops, but working to develop more advanced topics such as

23
 Natural Language Processing, more advanced statistical topics, using cloud resources and using
APIs for data access and sharing
● Hackathons to assess the workshops for meeting learning objectives, and more being planned to
develop and to improve existing materials. Assessment is done formally at the beginning and end of
the workshop through surveys and post-workshop interviews. Informal assessment is done
throughout the workshops as instructors gauge the progress of their group, and have conversations
through breaks and activities
● Working with foundations, industry, and communities to develop content, respond to user input, and
solicit lesson contributions
● Two day workshops are not enough to educate researchers with all of the skills they need, but it is a
way to lay the groundwork and begin the process of further learning

Citation: Thompson, P. (2012). The digital natives as learners: Technology use patterns and approaches to
learning. Computers & Education, 65(2013), 12-33.

Theme(s): 21st Century Skills and Literacies, Barriers to Effective Data Literacy Instruction, Delivery and
Assessment

Contribution:

This paper by Penny Thompson focuses in on digital natives (those born post-1983). Specifically, the study
investigated the claims made in the popular press about the “digital native” generation as learners, and that
this generation of students thinks and learns differently due to their high interaction with digital media and
technology. However, the research carried out by the author debunks this notion, and the evidence to
support these claims is scarce. This article is relevant in terms of delivery of content, and provides lessons
surrounding assumptions made over the level of technical skills that students may have going into any
given data literacy course/workshop.

Digital natives have a distinct set of characteristics and preferences for speed, nonlinear processing,
multitasking, and social learning due to immersion in digital technology during childhood when neural
plasticity is high. While most students between 20-30 were born after 1980, a study on Australian students
found only 14% could be classified as “power users” and most had restricted range of technological
experience, using it primarily for basic web functions (e.g. email, searching). Few used multimedia content
creation or advanced smartphone capabilities. To further explore this issue, the looked at use of technology
and frequency, characteristics associated with interest, personal interest and productivity of learning, and
patterns of technology and productivity of habits within digital natives.

A survey was put out to first-year undergraduate students consisting of four sections: digital characteristics
scale, the productive learning habits scale (each eight points), technology use (forty-one tools listed), and
basic demographic information. Response rate to the survey was 13%. Relevant findings were:
● Proficiency varied widely concerning types of technology tools, and was more limited than the
popular press suggests
● Tendency toward fast, expedient web search, rather than iterative style. Students are not taking full
advantage of opportunities available on the web for deep learning, and students would benefit from
explicit instruction on search term refinement and evaluating hyperlinks
● Students recognize the need to persist even when the information is not entertaining, contrary to
popular theories. Students are still able to control multi-tasking, and listen attentively to lectures.
● Lectures are considered a useful learning technique, but should have attempts to engage students
as well (e.g. flipped classroom learning)

The author’s findings challenge the popular press assumption that digital natives are a homogenous group
of learners. Based on this, the author believes that technology is an influence that interacts with many other
influences in digital native culture. The author further states that, “Students may be using a narrower range

24
of technology tools than the popular press authors claim, and they may not be exploiting the full benefits of
these technology tools when using them in a learning context. Findings from this study also suggest that the
influence of technology on the digital natives’ approaches to learning is varied and complex rather than
deterministic” (p. 23). The author puts forth the notion that teachers still play an integral role in the
classroom and providing instruction for technologies to broaden student’s abilities (e.g. data literacy
competencies). .

Citation: Vahey, P., Rafanan, K., Patton, C., Swan, K., van’t Hooft, M., Kratcoski, A., & Stanford, T. (2012).
A cross-disciplinary approach to teaching data literacy and proportionality. Educ Stud Math, 81, 179-205.
doi: 10.1007/s10649-012-9392-z

Theme(s): Data Literacy As The Ability To Understand And Use Data Effectively To Inform Decisions,
Delivery and Assessment

Contribution:

This article by Philip Vahey et al. covers the Thinking With Data (TWD) project, carried out in two
elementary schools in the United States. The goal of the project was to create a set of cross-disciplinary
curricular materials designed to increase student data literacy (as well as an investigation of said material’s
effectiveness).

Data literacy here is defined by the authors as the ability to make sense of the mass amounts of quantitative
data proliferating today’s society. It involves students being able to “investigate authentic problems; use
data as part of evidence-based thinking; develop and evaluate data-based inferences and explanation; and
communicate solutions (p. 181). It also entails students being able to recognize faulty arguments based on
data, and create their own valid, data-based arguments.

The research team found that the following data competencies aligned across the disciplines of social
studies, mathematics, science, and language arts:
● Formulating and answering data-based questions
● Using appropriate data, tools, and representations; and
● Developing and evaluating data-based inferences and explanations

The team puts forth the notion that the creation of common measures (e.g. compound measures used for
comparison, prediction, and argumentation), can form a foundation for more complex learning involving
data literacy, specifically proportionality. To this end, the team grounded the TWD project in the teaching of
proportional reasoning, utilizing data literacy concepts such as data-based argumentation. The subject of
fair/equitable water distribution in the Tigris/Euphrates watershed shared by Syria, Iraq, and Turkey, was
used as a case study. By the end of the project, students were expected to determine whether the current
allocation of water is equitable among the three states (using the UN Convention on the Law of Non-
navigational Uses of International Watercourses as a base guideline).

The project used the Preparation for Future Learning (PFL) framework, wherein students prepare to learn
an important concept by investigating a set of problems designed to highlight the structure of the target
concept. This reverses the traditional lecture-and-apply process, wherein the students work to find the
solution themselves, and then receive formal instruction after the fact. This PFL framework was applied
across four successive modules (dubbed PFL+):
● The social studies module provides background and preparation for the mathematics module
● The mathematics module teaches students the content of proportional reasoning
● The science module engages students to apply proportional reasoning to the understanding of the
science of water distribution and quality
● The TWD culminates with English language arts, wherein students consolidate their learning
across the modules by communicating solutions to water allocation problems using data-based
argumentation

25
In terms of actual delivery, the TWD project required a team teaching approach, and collaboration across
the four aforementioned disciplines. The project was carried out in two schools, with one using the PFL+
approach, and the other a more traditional curriculum. Students were assigned a pre, and post-test
designed to assess data literacy skills in the following areas:
● Creating a data-based argument
● Analyzing a data-based argument
● Calculating a per capita measure and using it effectively in an argument
● Identifying data needed to create an argument

The research team found that students using the PFL+ approach outperformed those in the regular
curriculum in all four of the above areas. It was found that students could apply mathematical reasoning to
help them answer difficult social studies projects, and use this knowledge to analyze more general data
literacy questions. An accumulation of benefits effect was also observed, in that the data literate skills built
in the modules had a positive impact on later work, e.g. teachers reported a discernible improvement in
quality of student’s essays in the last module, wherein essays utilized effective evidence (data) based
argumentation.

Citation: Wanner, A. (2015). Data literacy instruction in academic libraries: Best practices for librarians.
Archival and Information Studies Student Journal, 1, 1-17. University of British Columbia. Retrieved from
http://ojs.library.ubc.ca/index.php/seealso/article/view/186335

Theme(s): 21st Century Skills and Literacies, Barriers to Effective Data Literacy Instruction, Delivery and
Assessment,Teach the Teacher

Contribution:

Wanner’s peer-reviewed article examines existing literature related to data literacy from both producer
(research data management, and consumer (functional use) perspectives, and focuses on two questions
while reviewing publications: What is data literacy and how does it differ from its counterpart, information
literacy? and what might a data literacy curriculum look like in post-secondary institutions?

Wanner recognizes that many competencies listed in ACRL’s Framework for Information Literacy for Higher
Education (2015) and Characteristics of Programs of Information Literacy that Illustrate Best Practices: A
Guideline (2012), apply to the general data literacy concepts, although they do not account for newer
responsibilities, tools, and skills when using data specifically. This would support the proposed idea that
data literacy education could be incorporated into information literacy courses already established in the
curriculum, with some changes and targeted integration.

5 studies examined:
● Information and Statistical Literacy in Sociology-Stephenson and Caravello course on centred
around critical thinking and information evaluation of data literacy. Outcomes: develop the ability to
read and critically evaluate simple 2x2 or 3 way tables; produce accurate bibliographic citations for
data tables; use American Factfinder to create a table, which they could describe and cite correctly;
and read an article containing a graphical representation of data and discuss the table in relation to
the article content (530-531)
● Data literacy in geoinformatics-Carlson, Fosmire, Miller and Nelson course around needs
assessment of faculty from science and engineering departments. Used ACRL standards to
develop course through integration. Core competencies include: introduction to databases and data
formats, discovery and acquisition of data, data management and organization, data conversion
and interoperability, quality assurance, metadata, data curation and reuse, cultures of practice, data
preservation, data analysis, data visualization, and ethics (including citations) (652-653)
● Science data literacy-Qin and D’Ignazio based course on findings in gaps in science faculty data,
using a range of strategies based on faculty needs; metadata and data management; case studies

26
 from many different disciplines; and “authentic activities” based on real world use in their field.
Three modules: fundamentals of science data and data management; managing datasets in
aggregation; and broader issues in science data management (197).
● Geospatial and data curation in geoinformatics- Fosmire and Miller course based in theory and
experience with tools using a hands-on approach with case studies and lab modules. Course topics
included: basic computing environments, geospatial data, geographic information systems (GIS),
data gathering, independent statistical procedures, and scientific workflow tools.
● Data literacy instruction framework-Calzada and Marzal course based on data use and
management. Modules: understanding data; finding and/or obtaining data; reading, interpreting, and
evaluating data; managing data; and using data.

Best practices recommended based on common themes and initiatives within higher education:
● Critical thinking skills: ability to transfer classroom learning into practical experiences. Also includes
problem-solving to produce well rounded 21st century citizens. Second most mentioned theme
● Collaboration between library and departments: these allow broad centralized development creating
a feedback loop promoting refinement as needed
● Librarian involvement: studies found that many faculty members were not competent enough to
teach these skills-resulting in the need the educate the educators, and librarians are the best suited
for this task, as well as ease the pressure from faculty
● Ongoing data literacy instruction at all levels of schooling: repeated exposure is necessary to build
on concepts and situations. Cross curriculum incorporation and varied activities are most effective

Overall, ongoing instruction is integral to student learning, and should include multiple opportunities to
practice their skills - “repeated contact with material, over the period of several courses (to several years)
with progressively more complex material that is presented in different ways.” (14)

Citation: Wing, J. (2008). Computational thinking and thinking about computing. Philosophical Transactions
of The Royal Society, 366, 3717-3725. doi:10.1098/rsta.2008.0118

Theme(s): 21st Century Skills and Literacies, Data Literacy Best Taught At The Commencement of Post-
Secondary Studies, Delivery and Assessment

Contribution:

Wing introduces the concept of Computational Thinking (CT) as requiring people be attuned to science,
technology, and society, because the fundamental concepts are solving problems, designing systems, and
understanding human behaviour. It is driven by scientific questions, technological innovation, and societal
demands; combining these factors make the field unique from science, math, and engineering, with a
special emphasis on analytical thinking. These three drivers produce a push and pull loop where “scientific
discovery feeds technological innovation, which feeds new societal applications; in the reverse
direction,new technology inspires new creative societal issues, which may demand new scientific discovery”
(3722).

CT is increasingly relevant in today’s society, because it is the transformation of statistics, which are in
abundance in every field. Abstraction is an essential part of CT; deciding what details are important enough
to include in layers of inquiry, and what is not, underlies CT. This type of thinking will help us solve the Big
Data Dilemma, allowing us to fine tune simulation models and asking new questions.

Wing discusses the optimal time to teach CT is in elementary and high school. These levels provide the
best environment for instilling foundational skills in problem-solving. Universities are expecting these skills
at commencement, and are equipped to hone them in post-secondary and graduate studies. Wing
recommends that first year undergraduate student should be taught with focus on the principles of
computing, not programming. Computers are simply tools, and can be manipulated efficiently with CT, but
the tool can get in the way of learning the concepts if teachers are not careful. Furthermore, formal and

27
informal learning is encouraged when teaching CT, to provide a diverse learning environment, and
individual motivation.

Citation: Wright, S., Fosmire, M., Jeffryes, J., Bracke, M., & Westra, B. (2012). A multi-institutional project
to develop discipline-specific data literacy instruction for graduate students. Libraries Faculty and Staff
Presentations. Retrieved from http://docs.lib.purdue.edu/lib_fspres/10

Theme(s): Data Literacy Competencies and Skills, Delivery and Assessment

Contribution:

This PowerPoint slide-deck generated by Sarah Wright et al. provides an overview of an Institute of
Museum and Library Studies (IMLS)-funded project to develop discipline-specific data literacy instruction for
graduate and undergraduate students. The end goal was to use the experience gained from the project to
develop a model for other academic to create their own data information literacy programs. In this case,
data information literacy was considered the recognition of researchers as producers of data, as well as
consumers of data.

The project was divided into five teams from the participating universities (Cornell, Minnesota, Oregon, and
two teams from Purdue University). The teams were composed of a data librarian, subject librarian, and
faculty researcher.. Each university team was focused on delivering a data literacy program for a specific
science, technology, engineering, or mathematics (STEM) discipline:
● Cornell - natural resources
● Minnesota - civil engineering
● Oregon - ecology
● Purdue 1 - agricultural and biological engineering
● Purdue 2 - electrical and computer engineering

The teams interviewed faculty, students, and staff from their respective universities to garner insights and
key themes regarding data literacy that could then be used to design a suitable data information literacy
program. Three main themes/core skills regarding data literacy emerged from interviews:
● Data management and organization
○ There was a noticeable lack of formal training in data management at the graduate student
level in relation to research practices
○ Most learning on data management by graduate students done on an ad-hoc/word-of-
mouth basis
● Data continuity and and re-use
○ Data continuity defined as the skills and ability to package data so that it can continue to be
used after a graduate student leaves a project
○ Was found to be a high priority among faculty researchers
● Metadata and data description
○ Metadata key, but many faculty and students were confused, or had difficulty grasping the
concept
○ Intentional and formalized metadata is critical for proper data management

The participants of the interviews further identified other areas of data literacy that they required for their
research/students:
● Best practices for sharing data
● Addressing access and ownership of data
● Documentation of data
● Understanding external, and developing internal metadata
● Utilization of data repositories

Each university team came up with different methods of teaching data literacy based in the need of their

28
universities
● Cornell - Workshops + Half-Semester course
○ Three Fall semester workshops offered by the library covering an introduction to data
management, relational databases, and data documentation
○ Fall semester course on Special Topics in Data Information Literacy offered to natural
resources graduate students
● Minnesota - Online Course
○ Seven practical modules, with the end outcome being the creation of a data management
plan
● Oregon - Readings + Workshop
○ The Oregon team took an embedded approach, and worked directly with a research team
from the ecology department
○ Three readings were given to the research team to read
○ One informal workshop was then carried out focused on aspects of data management,
storage, data sharing, metadata, and data citation
● Purdue 1 - Workshops
○ Team one carried out three one-hour workshops covering data management, metadata,
and data continuity
○ Workshops included pre, and post-workshop homework in order for students to apply their
skills
● Purdue 2 - Skills Sessions
○ Purdue 2 also took an embedded approach, working with graduate research teams to
assist in designing their data management plans
○ The team also developed skills sessions for undergraduate students focused on aspects of
data information literacy (the presentation does not clarify the specific skills taught)

The project teams found that regardless of method used, assessment of student achievement and ability
were crucial.

Citation: Wyner, Y. (2013). A case study: Using authentic science data for teaching and learning of
ecology. Journal of College Science Teaching, 42(5), 54-60.

Theme(s): Data Literacy As The Ability To Understand And Use Data Effectively To Inform Decisions,
Delivery and Assessment

Contribution:

Wyner’s peer-reviewed article focuses on Master level students in science education, with a goal to make
connections between data and human impact on daily life and sustainability. This is widely integratable
across science disciplines and more - it is geared towards teachers, but can also be modified to reflect the
complexity, accessibility, and accuracy issues of data, especially in the media-conveying the version most
appropriate for their story-what is omitted, changed, held constant, what are the strengths and weaknesses,
etc.

The study consisted of 14 students, with 7 partners. There was an array of concepts: food webs,
biodiversity, carbon cycle, communities, and predator-prey relationships. Students were to relate them to
the everyday life of humans, and recommend ways to live more sustainably through initiatives such as
reducing sewage, carbon footprint, over fishing/hunting, and offer alternatives. It is proposed that the
distillation of data forced students to analyze how to make it meaningful while keeping it accurate. It is
designed to help learners read and interpret data, as well as explore, explain, and present it in various
formats; learning through real-life data helps students connect procedure to practice, and relating it in a
broader way; this approach encourages students’ curiosity and independent thinking, as well as
hypothesize reasons and courses of action

29
Wyner highlights the American Museum of Natural History in New York, as a helpful resource in pursuing
this type of learning. It provides resources from k-12, with lesson plans for teachers to integrate into
classrooms, where students were directed to this website, and were to develop a lesson plan based on
areas of interest, using one publication with data to support it. This was followed by an in-class exercise for
pre-college students, and then complete a post presentation reflection on effectiveness of lesson and the
role that data played - students also complete a pre and post course response to describe and then modify
lessons. This website is especially useful, because it includes recent, general interest media pieces, and
can be easily searched to find interesting, applicable articles that will engage students.

Overall, relevant, real-world, data-based learning is an increasingly important approach, due to the data-
driven decisions in the 21st century; science is not a theoretical based discipline, it is based in evidence and
data to support claims

Grey Literature

Citation: Bresnahan, M., and Johnson, A. (2014). Building a Unified Data and Information Literacy
Program: A Collaborative Approach to Instruction. [PowerPoint]. Portland, OR: University of Colorado
Boulder. doi.org/10.6084/M9.FIGSHARE.1119760

Theme(s): 21st Century Skills and Competencies, Data Literacy Competencies and Skills

Contribution:

Bresnahan and Johnson’s presentation focuses on integrating data literacy into an established information
literacy program through 5 key principles:
● Scholarship is a conversation: “recognize that they are often entering into the midst of a scholarly
conversation, not a finished conversation” (20)
● Research as inquiry: “Engage in informed, self-directed learning that encourages a broader
worldview through the global reach of today’s information technology” (21)
● Authority is constructed and contextualized: “Identify markers of authority when engaging with
information, understanding the elements that might temper that authority” (22)
● Searching as exploration: “Are inclined to discover citation management features, moving them
from searching for information to information management strategies” (23)
● Format as a process: “Decide which format and most of transmission to use when disseminating
their own creations of information” (24)

The authors notes that the ACRL Framework “threshold concepts” align with the education efforts
surrounding data literacy, and offer examples of appropriate assignments that highlight this skill overlap:
● Retract Watch involves students in asking questions and investigating sources to judge why the
article was good or bad, explaining why;
● students develop a research question based on literature, and investigate if supporting data exists
in repositories, or if data from separate sources can be combined,
● and 3 more

Citation: Carlson, J., Fosmire, M., Miller, C.C., and Sapp Nelson, M. (2011). Determining data information
literacy needs: A study of students and research faculty. Libraries and the Academy, 11(2), 629-657. DOI:
10.1353/pla.2011.0022

Theme(s): Data Literacy Competencies and Skills, Delivery and Assessment, Teach The Teachers

Contribution:

This article written by Carlson, et al., focuses on their study conducted by MIT and Syracuse University
under a joint initiative entitled Data Information Literacy (DIL). They propose integrating data literacy with

30
information literacy to bridge the widening educational gap in science. This course would require a multi-
faceted teaching approach, and targeted to the skill level of the students. The course was provided to
graduate students
Methodology: interviewed faculty about important issues about research data to identify gaps, and asked for
recommendations on programming. These responses resulted in a list of core competencies to cover in this
course:
- Introduction to Databases and Data Formats: Understands the concept of relational databases,
how to query those databases, and becomes familiar with standard data formats and types for their
discipline. Understands which formats and data types are appropriate for different research
questions.
• Discovery and Acquisition of Data: Locates and utilizes disciplinary data repositories. Not only
identifies appropriate data sources, but also imports data and converts it when necessary, so it can
be used by downstream processing tools
• Data Management and Organization: Understands the lifecycle of data, develops data
management plans, and keeps track of the relation of subsets or processed data to the original data
sets. Creates standard operating procedures for data management and documentation.
• Data Conversion and Interoperability: Becomes proficient in migrating data from one format to
another. Understands the risks and potential loss or corruption of information caused by changing
data formats. Understands the benefits of making data available in standard formats to facilitate
downstream use.
• Quality Assurance: Recognizes and resolves any apparent artifacts, incompletion, or corruption of
data sets. Utilizes metadata to facilitate understanding of potential problems with data sets.
• Metadata: Understands the rationale for metadata and proficiently annotates and describes data
so it can be understood and used by self and others. Develops the ability to read and interpret
metadata from external disciplinary sources. Understands the structure and purpose of ontologies
in facilitating better sharing of data.
• Data Curation and Reuse: Recognizes that data may have value beyond the original purpose, to
validate research or for use by others. Understands that curating data is a complex, often costly
endeavor that is nonetheless vital to community-driven e-research. Recognizes that data must be
prepared for its eventual curation at its creation and throughout its lifecycle. Articulates the planning
and actions needed to enable data curation.
• Cultures of Practice: Recognizes the practices, values, and norms of his/her chosen field,
discipline, or subdiscipline as they relate to managing, sharing, curating, and preserving data.
Recognizes relevant data standards of his/her field (metadata, quality, formatting, etc.) and
understands how these standards are applied.
• Data Preservation: Recognizes the benefits and costs of data preservation. Understands the
technology, resource, and organizational components of preserving data. Utilizes best practices in
preservation appropriate to the value and reproducibility of data.
• Data Analysis: Becomes familiar with the basic analysis tools of the discipline. Uses appropriate
workflow management tools to automate repetitive analysis of data.
• Data Visualization: Proficiently uses basic visualization tools of discipline. Avoids misleading or
ambiguous representations when presenting data. Understands the advantages of different types of
visualization, for example, maps, graphs, animations, or videos, when displaying data.
• Ethics: including citation of data Develops an understanding of intellectual property, privacy and
confidentiality issues, and the ethos of the discipline when it comes to sharing data. Appropriately
acknowledges data from external sources.

Offers a useful MIT data planning checklist covering topics: documentation and metadata, security and
backups; directory structures and naming conventions; data sharing and citation; data integration; good file
formats for long-term access; and best practices for data retention and archiving
Refers to a syllabus through Syracuse University, and provides a link to the document, which includes
details of weekly topic, activities, and readings:
Module 1: Fundamentals of science data and data management
1. Introduction to course; activity: pre-course assessment survey; science data life-cycle-collect, store,
retrieve, use, and present;

31
 2. Introduction to database, database programs and database attributes
3. Data relationships; activity: identifying data sets, and in-class presentation: share your information
analysis of data repository/dataset; Fundamentals about data forms, scales, types, levels: data
structure and models-physical data and model data; activity: presentations continue, and quiz on
data and database fundamentals
4. Data formats: standards, representation of data, communication of data markup languages and
meta formats; Describing datasets: intro to metadata, aboutness, type, elements, schemes,
standards; activity: in-class group work to investigate CSDGM profiles
5. Describing datasets: metadatas’ role in resource management; Describing datasets: metadata
elements in schemes and tools; Case study; activity: in class group work: form use for data
description
6. Describing datasets: relationships-making and relational database lab; activity: in class work
describe dataset and create an extension; MAnaging data: encoding, storing, import/export,
cleaning, transformation; activity: quiz data formats and description
7. Managing data: data query and retrieval-SQL lab; activity: practice with SQL statements and data
reports; Managing data: ownership and access, data quality
Module 2: Managing data in aggregation
8. Managing data: applying XML to data and metadata; activity: querying data and metadata; Data
aggregation scenario: research collection
9. Managing aggregation scenario: reference collection; Managing aggregation scenario: resource
collection; activity: XML for metadata and data records
10. Data and users: requirements interviewing faculty about data management need and practices
analysis; Data and users case study; activity: in class group work
11. Organizational planning: goals and objectives, procedures, quality control; Organizational planning:
Metadata issues, long-term preservation; activity: report to class findings from interviews
Module 3: Broader issues in science data management
12. Enabling technologies: organizing and managing data, storing and retrieving, using data; activity:
report on interview result; Understanding data curation: metadata description, quality criteria,
archival concepts
13. Data repositories and discovery: directory services, controlled vocabularies; activity: quiz using
data; Data analysis: data mining and meshing
14. Data presentation: visualization, tools, formatting for publication; Sharing data: ethics, publishing,
citations
15. Project presentations and discussion; Wrap up; activity: post-course assessment survey

Refers to ACRL and recommends using standard to develop the course, because of similar concepts:
a. determine nature and extent of information need - research question and methodology for
analysis
b. access needed information effectively and efficiently - familiar with converting formats,
including resolution and timescales
c. evaluate information and its sources critically and incorporate selected information into his
or her knowledge base and value system - reputable, quality control, relevancy and
compatibility, authority, and appraise metadata
d. use information effectively to accomplish a specific purpose - communicate and choose
appropriate information technologies; planning and creation of a product
e. understand many of the economic, legal, and social issues surrounding the use of
information; access and use information ethically and legally - correct citations of datasets

Citation: Cowan, D., Alencar, P., and McGarry, F. (2014). Perspectives on open data: Issues and
opportunities. IEEE, IEEE Conference on Software Science, Technology and Engineering. DOI:
10.1109/SWSTE.2014.18

Theme(s): 21st Century Skills and Literacies, Data Literacy as the Ability to Understand and Use Data
Effectively to Inform Decisions, Data Literacy Competencies and Skills

32
Contribution:

This technical report by Donald Cowan et al. looks at issues regarding open data, and provides practical examples in an
attempt to illustrate both issues and opportunities. It also puts forth a partial research agenda for open data based on
these examples. Some of the issues covered in the paper are also transferable to data literacy.

Open data has the potential to unlock new opportunities across sectors. The benefits are wide reaching,
and include:
● Enhanced transparency and accountability of the government and agencies that release data;
● Efficiency and improvements in Public Service delivery;
● Enhanced inspection and collection of data through increased citizen engagement; and
● Creation of economic and social value

However, open data is published in multiple areas (federal, provincial, municipal), which is costly and can
make data difficult to find and compile. Aggregating and publishing data can be time consuming and costly
as well. Problems exist today with access to and use of open data for ecological/geospatial issues, and
require significant human and technical resources to address them. These problems will only become more
widespread and difficult to address if something is not done now concerning environmental open data.

Therefore, competencies regarding open data should be developed within research and academic
institutions. These include:
● How to find and access open data;
● How to provide and use the right tools to work with open data;
○ Software adaptation for big data analysis
● Ensuring privacy of individuals and property;
● Sustaining the cost of storage, delivery, and maintenance of open data;
● Interdisciplinary collaboration and critical thinking;

Creating an Open Data Registry would go a long way to mitigating perceived challenges regarding open
data. Such a registry could provide supply location, related metadata/ontologies, gateways supporting
access, and examples of how to use open data analytics.

Citation: Giles, J. (2013). Fostering a data-driven culture. The Economist, 1-22. Retrieved from
https://www.tableau.com/sites/default/files/whitepapers/tableau_dataculture_130219.pdf

Theme(s): Data Literacy As The Ability To Understand And Use Data Effectively To Inform Decisions

Contribution:

Giles’ article explores the challenges in nurturing a data-driven culture, delves into trends and highlights
best practices, and what companies can do to meet them. Using two main sources: survey, 530 senior
executives from diverse backgrounds; and a series of indepth interviews with four leading industry experts.

Results showed that forward thinking companies are integrating data into their everyday operations, and
using it to make decisions. There is evidence that links financial performance and the successful
exploitation of data. 43% of survey respondents ranked data as “extremely important” to strategic decision
making, which is higher than any other unit. Companies are also recognizing the benefits of incorporating
data into their accounting, marketing, communications, and recruiting strategies.

“Many of my clients are clearly aware of the importance of data, but they don’t know where to start in terms
of where they should focus to get the most value, as well as how to translate the data into actionable
insight.”
- Jerry O’Dwyer, Principal Deloitte Consulting

33
Giles posits that encouragement to collaborate and share data has helped top companies generate a data-
driven culture in their organization. Increased availability to training is another factor; empower employees
with data training to become more data literate, can increase engagement and buy-in. Although, data
specialists will always be essential to successful data-driven culture, because predictive analytics requires
an in depth knowledge of statistics. These individuals are difficult to recruit and retain because they are in
high demand.

Key findings from this study include: data is a resource and sharing it is key; training is essential to full
utilization; data collection must be a primary activity cross departments; and buy-in from the top is integral.
Industry leaders must be open to counter-intuitive theories and unorthodox strategies, as long as they are
supported by data, which empowers employees to be more engaged and contribute more fully

Citation: Gold, A. (2007). Cyberinfrastructure, data, and libraries, part 2. D-Lib Magazine, 13(9/10), 1-12.

Theme(s): Delivery and Assessment

Contribution:

Gold’s article focuses on social science, geo-references (GIS), and bioinformatics; where all three areas
have a commonalities in the way of dedicated data centers, most manipulation takes place using widely
adopted and supported commercial or open source software, and extensive training is offered regularly by
national organizations or enterprises. The growing reliance on data in these fields present an opportunity for
libraries and librarians to be more involved in the data processes and education. Libraries are increasingly
becoming more like labs than the traditional warehouses or repositories of materials, because reuse of data
in research is becoming a fundamental priority. This requires understanding and documentation of data’s
provenance, the development of ontologies, expert annotations, and analysis - downstream it require
visualization, simulation, data mining, and other forms of knowledge representation and extraction, which
may spur a change in values and practices in this profession, and more collaboration with non-library
organizations and professionals to develop programs in partnership.

Domain expertise is essential when working with researchers, because it enables the effective flow of
information throughout different up and downstream phases. These skills can be developed through several
ways, including professional conferences, reviewing key documents relating to data science, formal and
informal training programs, and continually working to understand perspectives, practices, and culture
(lifelong learning). Additionally, marketing data consultancy and referral services will help professionals and
researchers understand the support available to them through knowledgeable representatives, understand
and support technologies and systems of data publishing and reuse, and advise and advocate for systems,
standards, and issues, as well as promoting interoperability.

Citation: Gunter, G. A. (2007). Building student data literacy: An essential critical-thinking skill for the 21st
century. MultiMedia & Internet@Schools [H.W.Wilson - EDUC], 14(3), 24-28.

Theme(s): 21st Century Skills and Literacies, Data Literacy As The Ability To Understand And Use Data
Effectively To Inform Decisions, Data Literacy Competencies and Skills, Delivery and Assessment

Contribution:

Gunter argues that in today’s society, there is a perpetual struggle to provide students with objectives and
strategies to develop skills to be competitive in the new global economy. Education is too focused on skills
for seeking information, not on evaluating and analyzing it. Students must be empowered with critical-
thinking skills to be successful today. These skills should be taught across the curriculum to maximize the
impact and applicability to various situations. Gunter refers to the Framework for 21st Century Learning,
which identifies learning and thinking skills as one of the 6 core components of the framework, especially

34
noting critical-thinking and problem-solving as essential.

To prepare students for the workforce, there is an increasing necessity for data literacy, because of the
value added to outcomes and decision making in most industries. The abilities to view, manipulate, analyze,
and interpret data are expected of students entering the workforce, and critical thinking and problem-solving
lend to these skills, as well as understanding how to use new technologies to maximize the opportunities in
data. Gunter offers InspireData as a tool that allows students to question, explore, solve problems, draw
conclusions and create visualizations using data in a variety of disciplines.

Citation: Hu, X. (2012). Session summary: The RDAP12 panel on training data management practitioners.
Bulletin of the American Society for Information Science and Technology, 38(5), 29-30. Retrieved from
http://www.asis.org/Bulletin/Jun-12/JunJul12_MayernikSessionSummary.pdf

Theme(s): Data Literacy Competencies and Skills, Delivery and Assessment

Contribution:

This paper by Xiao Hu provides a session summary from the RDAP12 Panel on Training Data Management
Practitioners from the the ASIS&T Research Data Access and Preservation (RDAP) Summit held in March
2012. The summit discussed education and training for data managers, and data literacy was covered as a
critical skill.

In terms of curriculum, George Mason University, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Cornell University, and
the Syracuse University iSchool are among the leaders offering programs in data management and
science.
● Key curriculum topics include:
○ Web science and information technology
○ Discipline oriented informatics
○ Data science
○ eScience project planning
○ IT competency
○ Librarianship (vague on what this exactly entails)
○ ‘Soft skills’, i.e. collaboration and communication

Teamwork was identified as a key component of data literacy training/education, as team-based projects
are common in the workplace. Data literacy courses and workshops must also strike a balance between
theory, and hands-on practice in order to be effective. Moreover, the closer the applications and exercises
are to real world examples, the easier it is to conceptualize data literacy in practice.

Citation: Hunt, K. (2004). The challenges of integrating data literacy into the curriculum in an
undergraduate institution. IASSIST Quarterly 28(2), 12 -16. Retrieved from
http://www.iassistdata.org/sites/default/files/iq/iqvol282_3hunt.pdf

Theme(s): Delivery and Assessment, Teach The Teachers, Barriers to Effective Data Literacy Instruction

Contribution:

This article written by University of Winnipeg librarian Karen Hunt, discusses the results of a project carried
out by the library to integrate data literacy into the curriculum of an existing course. The author puts forth
recommendations based on her experience for the successful extension of data literacy programs in other
post-secondary institutions.

According to the author, best practices teaching for data literacy can potentially be built from the ACRL’s

35
best practices for information literacy. The author makes a point of this by substituting ‘data literacy’ into
four points from the ACRL’s best practices to illustrate the baseline competencies for data literacy::
● Articulate the integration of ‘data literacy’ across the curriculum;
● Accommodate student growth in skills and understanding throughout the college years;
● Apply to all learners, regardless of delivery system or location; and
● Reflect the desired outcomes of preparing students for their academic pursuits and for effective
lifelong learning.

The actual project came about following a request from a faculty member. As a relatively small institution
(12 librarians for approximately 8000 students in 2004), the author acted as both information literacy, and
data librarian. Knowing that the author had this expertise, an instructor from the geography department
approached her to help come up with a plan that would get “students into the data” (p. 13) The author
argues that integrating data literacy directly into the research methodologies of specific subjects allows for
stronger connections to be made, and applicable examples to be used, and thus took this approach (as
opposed to a series of workshops or a stand-alone course open to all-comers).

The author and the instructor designed an assignment for the instructor’s Human Geography course that
required students to use United Nations Human Development indicators as a base for creating their own
development indicators for provinces in Canada. The assignment also required students to construct their
own population pyramids for two small Canadian towns. The assignment involved finding, retrieving, and
manipulating data using Microsoft Excel. Involvement in designing and delivering the course was as follows:
● Librarian’s involvement:
○ Developed the assignment; initially for a small class
○ Held labs for the class
○ Was available for tutoring and questions
● Instructor’s involvement:
○ Created the shape of the assignment
○ Fielded questions from students
○ Lectured on development and population distribution
○ Ultimately responsible for assignment evaluation

The author took away a number of lessons based on the experience of carrying out this project. A main
conclusion is that students learn best when the data literacy curriculum is relevant and builds on previously
learned skills and knowledge. Opportunities for making connections and practicing is also important (e.g.
homework). Moreover, instructors cannot assume students know how to use technology, spreadsheets,
etc., and must design any course or workshop to take into account different levels of experience and skills
using statistics. Staff training (both within libraries and faculty departments) is also important in order to
make data literacy across curriculums scalable. On the more high-level, the author states that a unified
terminology and definition on data literacy and its competencies is required for cross-university
collaboration, and that leadership must come from organizations such as the ACRL to ensure that this
happens.

The author puts forth a number of high-level recommendations, including:

1. Decide on one term and agree upon a definition of data literacy;
2. Codify data literacy learning outcomes
3. Endorse and promote the standards for data literacy; and
4. Articulate best practices for data literacy programs.

Citation: Kenney, A.R. (2014). Leveraging the liaison model: From defining 21st century research libraries
to implementing 21st century research universities. Ithaka S+R. Retrieved from
http://www.sr.ithaka.org/blog-individual/leveraging-liaison-model-defining-21st-century-research-libraries-
implementing-21st

Theme(s): 21st Century Skills and Literacies, Delivery and Assessment

36
Contribution:

This article from Ithaka S+R by Cornell University Librarian Anne R. Kenney looks at the role of academic
libraries within the context of 21st century universities, and what this means in terms of service delivery and
new roles for librarians. Specifically, the author argues that academic libraries should focus on thinking
about what kind of universities will succeed in the 21st century, and directing service delivery and
development along this line. The academic library liaison model is an option put forth that is well-suited to
requirements of students and faculty in this changing context.

Over the past decade the liaison model has developed as full-time reference and collection-development
positions shifted to more expanded portfolios. These portfolios have increasingly focused on engagement
and outreach to students and faculty. In this regard, liaison librarian roles include scholarly communication,
digital tools education, data curation, managing research workflows, and promoting data driven-scholarship.
In terms of data literacy education, liaison librarians are thus well-position to lend support and pair up with
disciplinary experts and functional specialists, as well as regular faculty to teach data specific courses.
Libraries could also provide technical support (e,g, providing systems to help researchers create data
management plans), equipment, and/or lab space for data literacy courses (especially for departments
which may not usually have access to said technology).

Besides assisting in the teaching of data literacy, academic libraries should also quantify their own service
delivery, and partner with organizations on campus that work and manage data in order to improve their
own operations (i.e. practice what you preach). .

Citation: Koltay, T. (2014). Big data, big literacies? TEMA, 24, 3-8.

Theme(s): 21st Century Skills and Literacies, Data Literacy Competencies and Skills, Delivery and
Assessment

Contribution:

Koltay argues that Big Data is no longer an exclusive issue for the natural sciences, but it is present in the
social sciences, the humanities, and arts and culture. It is becoming more relevant to the workplace in most
industries, making data literacy more essential than ever before. Future students and workers must be able
to translate vast amounts of data into abstract concepts, as well as understand data-based reasoning.
Furthermore, knowledge and skills on how to verify the provenance of data is key, i.e. critical examination
and assessment of data, and data sources. It is recommended that Information Professionals (e.g.
librarians, information managers, etc.) take the lead in terms of scholarly communication and teaching
regarding information and data literacy, showcases their relevance and skills to students and faculty alike.

Data literacy can be defined as a set of skills and abilities related to accessing research data, critically
evaluating and using it. In other words, understanding, using, and managing data; it accommodates both
the data producer and data consumer’s viewpoints. Competencies can include:
● Discovery and acquisition of data
● Data management
● Data conversion and interoperability (i.e. dealing with risks, and potential loss or corruption of
information by changing data formats)
● Quality assurance
● Metadata
● Data curation and re-use
● Data preservation
● Data analysis
● Data visualization
● Ethics, including citation of data

37
Koltay identifies data literacy as a possible sub-discipline of information literacy, but also brings attention to
the similarities to science literacy, such as, methods, approaches, attitudes, and skills relating to critical
thinking. Questions are provided for the reader to review in association to what skills and thought processes
are required by graduate students in regards to answering key questions:
● Who owns the data?
● What requirements are imposed by others (e.g. funding agencies or publishers)?
● Which data should be retained?
● For how long should data be maintained?
● How should digital data be preserved?
● Are there ethical considerations?
● What sort of risk management is needed for research data?
● How are data accessed?
● How open should the data be?
● What alternatives to local data management exist?

These competencies can further enhance data literacy:

● Ability to collaborate and work in teams
● Familiarity with scientific data sources
● Familiarity with quantitative research methods
● Knowledge of general metadata standards
● Data structure of digital objects
● Ways to assess digital object’s authenticity, integrity, and accuracy over time
● Storage and preservation policies, procedures, and practices
● Relevant quality assurance standards
● Risks associated with information loss or corruption of digital entities

Citation: Liquete, V. (2012). Can one speak of an “Information Transliteracy”? International Conference:
Media and Information Literacy for Knowledge Societies. Moscow, Russia. Retrieved from
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-00841948

Theme(s): 21st Century Skills and Literacies

Contribution:

Liquete’s article focuses on the idea of transliteracy as essential in the 21st century, which is centred on a
radically ecological position, consisting constantly in questioning one’s own actions and the influence of
environments (technical, organizational, informational) on oneself (self-analytic attitude). Four positions are
presented for consideration:
1. “Assessment” encompasses more than the nature of information, content, and results, but also the
entire process of content production and the chain of activities that lead to the content in question,
and the evaluation of process to identify the real process at work
2. Evaluate the overall potential of the socio-economic information environment, particularly in learning
and the workforce
3. Familiarity with operative procedures, going beyond the simple stage of reacting to a stimulus. This
is dependent on digital objects and available tools, and adopting an analytical stance to technical
features available
4. Maintain a “cognitive distance” from the immediate results offered by information systems such as
engines. Evaluate the results and quality of “answers” to questions

These positions make it clear that critical thinking and a focus on process, not information regurgitation, are
essential in today’s market. Deep thinking and problem-solving are required for successful integration of
students and workers into a knowledge-based economy. The article also highlights eight “meta” skills that
are becoming increasingly important:

38
 ● “Comprehension and understanding of information systems, a sort of “information understanding”,
where the stakeholder is himself able to perceive the various types of information systems to weigh
them up, to identify their value, and use the right attitudes to them
● “Information knowledge” i.e working declarative knowledge related to information and the
dissemination of existing tools. The challenge of this MS is to possess the vocabulary of expression
and representations linked to them. Our work shows that the media, technical devices, tools for
processing information etc. are not conceived of in the same way by individuals, undoubtedly
causing all sorts of misunderstanding and misconceptions
● Procedural knowledge related to technical issues (or “information applications”) where the goal is
basically to be able to use effectively and efficiently the main technical tools in order to meet a need
and perform a task
● The ability to assess the informational potential of the environment or the technique used (or
“information potential”). It is clear that the individuals interviewed take for granted the potential of a
system more than they really test it, and often discover belatedly the offers and features available to
them. Strengthening the use and integration of new technological media requires this ability to
project oneself and to appraise one’s own strengths and weaknesses
● “Actional” strategies oriented to the organization and perpetuation of one’s memory of one’s work.
Transliteracy aims are adopting procedures for processing personal content for later use in new
professional and/or learning situations
● The “ability” to stand back from one’s own daily, and sometimes even mechanical and systematic,
reception of information. Several studies show that media users eventually get locked into multiple
repetitions without discerning what could be done differently (an effect called the “tunnel” effect).
Stepping back means that information may be received otherwise and new techniques can be used
that are flexible and not repetitive.
● The technologies and technical devices are calling more and more sensory, physical and optic
clues. Alan Liu (2012) points out, for example, the impact of the visual culture in defining and
understanding the informational transliteracy. Schools, universities and companies will likely have to
reinforce training and help in the identification and control of the sensory cues and physical media
spaces at our disposal.
● Anthropocentric and consists in the assessment of how to identify and characterize one’s own
cognitive styles. Indeed, to what extent are we dependent or not on the field of technology and
media? Do we respond individually by impulsivity or reflectivity? Do we centre our gaze or rather
scan during reading on the screen, etc.” (5-6)

Citation: Mackey, T.P., & Jacobson, T.E. (2011). Reframing information literacy as a metaliteracy. College
& Research Libraries, 72(1), 62-78. doi: 10.5860/crl-76r1

Theme(s): 21st Century Skills and Literacies

Contribution:

This article by Thomas P. Mackey and Trudi E. Jacobson focuses on social media and participation in
online communities using collaborative Web 2.0 technologies. The authors argue that the emergence of
these technologies and dynamic online communities has changed the traditional definition of information
literacy. Due to information taking many forms online, in order to fully understand and collaborate using
Web 2.0, information literacy must be taught in conjunction with other literacies, and should be reframed as
the foundation for metaliteracy.

According to the authors, metaliteracy promotes critical thinking and collaboration and provides a
comprehensive framework to effectively participate in social media and online communities, as well provide
a basis for lifelong learning. It is critical for individuals to have this comprehensive understanding of
information in order to critically evaluate, share, and produce content.

Data literacy is not mentioned specifically, but could be assumed to be included among the wider literacies

39
that make up metaliteracy. Furthermore, competencies for putting metaliteracy into practice are also directly
applicable to data. The competencies put forward by the authors are as follows:
● Understand format and delivery mode
○ Information seekers must be able to determine extent of information (or data) required, as
well as the format and delivery mode of said information (or data)
● Evaluate user feedback as active researcher
○ Critical thinking is key in order to continuously filter through what information (and data) is
usable and unusable
● Create a context for user generated information
○ Information (including data) is now created and released by multiple users and/or
organizations.
○ Requires an increased (and often ongoing) evaluation on information sources, including
metadata
● Evaluate dynamic content critically
○ Users must have the ability to synthesize disparate forms of information (including data)
● Produce original content in multiple formats
○ Producers of digital content must be able to make critical choices about the format/tools to
articulate and explain ideas
○ Must also be aware of the transferability of content/data
● Understand personal privacy, information ethics, and intellectual property issues
○ Proper attribution of sources is key (e.g. data citation)
○ Requires an ongoing exploration of legal, economic, political, and social issues that
mediate our access to technology define the types of data we use
● Share Information in participatory environments
○ Metaliteracy encourages collaboration in the development and distribution of original
content in synchronous and asynchronous online environments

Citation: MacMillen, D. (2014). Using open access resources in data literacy instructions: Renewing the IL
curriculum by aligning it with changing needs. Library Instruction West 2014. Paper 24.
http://pdxscholar.library.pdx.edu/liw_portland/Presentations/Material/24

Theme(s): Data Literacy Competencies and Skills, Delivery and Assessment

Contribution:

This PowerPoint presentation by Don MacMillan, Liaison Librarian at the University of Calgary, provides an
overview of the the library’s efforts to renew their existing information literacy (IL) program, and incorporate
IL education into courses in biology and biochemistry.

The author points out that data-intensive disciplines such as the sciences and social sciences naturally
benefit from data literacy competencies. Along these lines, the author worked with instructors to create
enquiry-based lab exercises using real-world solutions and domain repositories. This ensured authentic
pathway activity that replicated research workflow, and emphasized interoperability.

When replicating these types of exercises, the desired outcomes for learning should be:
● Innovative learning experience wherein data integrates into and informs content
● Students able to manage and analyze their data more efficiently
● Students able to find real world solutions to research questions;
● Students able to prepare presentations demonstrate deeper understanding of subjects

The author also identifies a number of best practices that emerged from the project. Exercises must be
integrated well with other course content and worth a percentage of a student’s grade. A module or
scaffolded approach to teaching competencies is also useful, with sequential steps going from simple to
complex. Students also seem to learn best by hands-on activity.Interactivity and flexibility are crucial, and

40
data sources should be tailored to specific questions, Especially important is consistent instruction across
all lab sections, as teaching assistants (TAs) do not always have the requisite expertise.

The PowerPoint also provides a list of tools appropriate for each discipline with the hope of integrating them
into other courses in the future. Appendix C on page 26/7 further provides marking rubrics for presentations.

Citation: Mandinach, E.B, Parton, B.M., Gummer, E.S., and Anderson, R. (2015). Ethical and appropriate
data use requires data literacy. Phi Delta Kappan, 96(5), 25-28. Retrieved from
http://web.b.ebscohost.com.ezproxy.library.dal.ca/ehost/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?sid=c0f93557-337c-4e0f-
96eb-24b20658a586%40sessionmgr110&vid=1&hid=106

Theme(s): Data Literacy As The Ability To Understand And Use Data Effectively To Inform Decisions,
Teach The Teachers

Contribution:

This article by Ellen B. Mandinach et al. looks at the issue of teachers using data to guide teaching policy
and decisions made in the classroom, with specific focus put on the ethical use of said data. The authors
argue that teachers must be familiar themselves with how to use data ethically in order to effectively make
decisions, and work with data in the classroom. There are related points of interest regarding data literacy
that are worth mentioning.

As outlined by the authors, data literacy can be considered the the ability to transform information into
actionable knowledge and practices by collecting, analyzing, and interpreting all types of data. It is integral
that data utilization in this manner fall within ethical bounds, including aspects of data security and
confidentiality. It also relates to how data is presented, visualized, and described, i.e. not misrepresenting
data. In terms of data literacy instruction, ethics is a critical component, and should be included as a module
and/or key theme.

Citation: Martin, E., and Leger-Hornby, T. (2012). Framework for a data management curriculum: course
plans for data management instruction to undergraduate and graduate students in science, health science,
and engineering programs. Retrieved from http://library.umassmed.edu/data_management_frameworks.pdf

Theme(s): Delivery and Assessment

Contribution:

Martin and Leger-Hornby’s study focuses on a course that incorporates undergraduate and graduate
students from science, health science and engineering programs from University of Massachusetts Medical
School. The course consists of seven modules and four case studies
1. overview of research data management
2. types, formats, and stages of data
3. contextual details needed to make data meaningful to others
4. data storage, backup, and security
5. legal and ethical considerations for research data
6. data sharing and reuse policies
7. plan for archiving and preservation of data
Learning objectives, lecture content, activities, assessment, and readings are also available, but with such a
focused course on only a few of the competencies, I did not see the reason for incorporating this, but they
are available from the link provided above. Although, it does provide a template that can be adapted to
curricula

41
Citation: McAuley, D., Rahemtulla, H., Goulding, J., and Souch, C. (2010). How Open Data, Data Literacy
and Linked Data Will Revolutionize Higher Education. Pearson Centre for Policy and Learning, 88-93.
Retrieved from http://pearsonblueskies.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/05/21-pp_088-093.pdf

Theme(s): 21st Century Skills and Literacies, Data Literacy Competencies and Skills, Data Literacy As The
Ability To Understand And Use Data Effectively To Inform Decisions

Contribution:

This paper by Derek McAuley et al. theorizes on the impact of open data, Big Data, and linked data on
higher education. The authors state that data literacy within higher education is essential for the growth of
innovative data usage and repurposing.

Data Literacy as defined by the authors is “the ability to identify, retrieve, evaluate, and use information to
both ask and answer meaningful questions.” (p. 89). The opportunity for discovery and optimizing of raw
data through mechanisms such as open and Big Data will only continue to grow, the so-called ‘data fusion
mechanisms’. Therefore, educating students on how to distinguish between good and bad data critically is
of paramount importance. Higher learning and post-secondary institutions must implement policy
encouraging release of data in linkable forms, offer educational programs with data literacy applications and
resources, and engage students.

Citation: Mitrovic, Z. (2015). Strengthening the Evidence-Base for Open Government in Developing
Countries: Building Open Data Capacity Through e-Skills Acquisition. Mitrovic Development and Research
Institute. Retrieved from http://www.opendataresearch.org/dl/symposium2015/odrs2015-paper3.pdf

Theme(s): 21st Century Skills and Literacies, Barriers to Effective Data Literacy Instruction,

Contribution:

Mitrovic’s article focuses on the necessity to educate the general public with e-skills, e-awareness, ICT
skills, technological literacy, information literacy, media literacy, and data literacy, relating to Open
Government Data (OGD). These skills overlap in core principles, lending to the learning process, and will
decrease the ‘data divide’; an unequal disbursement of skills will result in issues concerning socio-economic
reach of initiative, meaning a special push must be made to communities in poverty.

It is noted that in 2014, the United Nations report stressed the need for a data literate world population. The
OGD lends to this need, because it is a multinational initiative with data freely available to access, use,
reuse and publish without restriction, and promotes transparency and accountability for governments.

Overall, Mitrovic’s study indicated most students and academic professionals believed that they had
insufficient skills needed to access, and use OGD or e-skills. This includes determining context,
organizational social structure, task, and technology, using who, what, where, why, whom, and how. The
most relevant skill is data literacy because it provides the foundation of an innovative knowledge economy.
The School of Data offers online courses to people who already possess e-Literacy Requisite skills, that are
widely accessible for various levels of learning.

Citation: Mooney, H., and Carlson, J. (2014). Developing Data Literacies for Graduate Students in the
Social Sciences. Libraries Faculty and Staff Presentations. Paper 51. Retrieved from
http://docs.lib.purdue.edu/lib_fspres/51

Theme(s): Data Literacy Competencies and Skills, Delivery and Assessment

Contribution:

42
Mooney and Carlson’s PowerPoint presentation centres around interviews done with faculty and students,
and argues that teaching data literacy in alignment with disciplinary cultures and local practices is key to
successful graduate level education.

They outline 12 competencies that are essential:

1. Data processing and analysis
2. data management and organization
3. data preservation
4. database and data formats
5. ethics and attribution
6. data quality and documentation
7. data curation and re-use
8. data conversion and interoperability
9. data visualization and representation
10. discovery and acquisition
11. metadata and data description
12. cultures of practice

Citation: Qin, J., and D’Ignazio, J. (2010). Lessons learned from a two-year experience in science data
literacy education. International Association of Scientific and Technological University Librarians, 31st
Annual Conference, Paper 5. Retrieved from http://docs.lib.purdue.edu/iatul2010/conf/day2/5

Theme(s): Barriers to Effective Data Literacy Instruction, Delivery and Assessment, Data Literacy
Competencies and Skills

Contribution:

This report by Jian Qin and John D’Ignazio provides an overview of the Science Data Literacy (SDL) Project
that occurred over a two-year period from May 2007 to May 2009 at Syracuse University (SU) iSchool. The
main goal of the project was to to assess the needs for scientific data literacy education by collaborating
with the science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) faculties, and using information
gathered to design a data management course.

Data literacy as defined by the authors is the ability to understand, manage, and use (science) data. SDL
education has the two main goals of training students to become e-science data literate. and become e-
science data management professionals (i.e. skilled in collecting, processing, managing, evaluating, and
utilizing data). The SDL Project identified two gaps that the SU iSchool could address:
1. What is required of the next generation workforce to manage a new type of information resource
(i.e. data), and the corresponding cyberinfrastructure?
2. How aware is the STEM faculty of their own shifting expectations of the skills required by individuals
to assist them in research (i.e. research assistants), as well as information support (e.g. from the
university library)?

The authors created a full-year data management course, open to both undergraduate and graduate
students. The course utilized a module-based approach, and was designed to represent several different
research fields. The course included student presentations on specific case studies, quizzes, regular and
guest lectures and corresponding readings, interview practice, group work (undergraduates paired with
graduate students), and a multiple stage project based work being done by faculty members. Content
included:
● Data types
● Data formats
● Data management principles
● Relational databases, E-R diagram creation

43
 ● XML schema
● Science data lifecycle
● Metadata and data citation

The authors conducted an evaluative survey at the beginning and end of each semester. Pertinent student
feedback included:
● Positive:
○ Databases and websites are very useful knowledge; case studies were easier to learn
through group study; project work offered real world experience
● Negative:
○ Highly technical terms and jargon; readings were overwhelming; exercises were
ambiguous; no background knowledge in databases made it very difficult to learn

The authors noted some barriers and challenges. Graduate students who were most suited for the course
were bogged down with other courses, and found it difficult to fully commit. The interdisciplinary nature of
the course also caused challenges, as case studies had to apply to all students. SDL education should be
provided at different levels via different venues and be adaptive to students’ skill levels.

Citation: Romani, J.C.C. (2009). Strategies to promote the development of e-competencies in the next
generation of professionals: European and international trends. Publisher’s version. Retrieved from
http://ora.ox.ac.uk/objects/uuid:da0007a3-b504-4c20-858b-21dd359e3cae

Theme(s): 21st Century Skills and Literacies, Teach The Teachers, Delivery and Assessment

Contribution:

Romani’s article focuses on primary and lower secondary level education, but is applicable to higher
education in the grand scheme. The article was written in response to OECD referring to the mismatch of
skills taught in school and workplace demand, in e-competencies and ICT, affecting employability of
graduates in this knowledge-based economy. There is an increased demand for highly-qualified graduates
able to perform cognitive, analytical and interactive complex tasks upon entrance to the workforce. It should
be noted that knowledge of ICT is not enough, students must be able to apply this knowledge in diverse
ways to varying situations, therefore requiring diverse teaching methods.

Romain studies the benefits of adopting ICT as instruments to improve the learning process, to bridge this
gap, and current trends that are likely to impact e-competency development in policies, strategies, and
programmes in European society. This study uses 16 international case studies from Europe, North
America, Israel and Columbia 2001-2009, to identify trends related to impact of ICT in school, with the hope
of improving student preparedness entering the workforce. A review was conducted of 16 studies
concerning ICT use and results, which produced an inconclusive conclusion of 10 points (p.10-11).
Generally, ICT training is informal, independent learning is key, teachers primarily using for administrative
purposes, in class use is not driver of success, lack of coordination between adoption of technology and
teaching-learning strategies.

The “British Qualifications and Curriculum Authority (2008) report that some of the abilities required by
teachers are: Identify problems and defining tasks; Searching and selecting information; Organizing and
structuring information; Analysing and interpreting information; Combining and refining information
Modeling; Controlling events and devices; Exchanging information; Presenting information; Controlling
events and devices; Exchanging information; Presenting information; Reviewing, testing and evaluating and
assessing the impact of ICT” (40). Reskilling the teachers to increase the impact of ICT learning and
outcomes is essential to the success of any initiative. This can be done through self-learning and informal
peer-learning, which are of the most significant approaches to obtaining ICT skills, and the overarching
ability to create, connect, enrich and transfer knowledge among people. Table 6 provides a list of
competence standards for teachers.

44
Romani argues that new technology being adopted by educational institutions is not enough, the teachers
must adopt new teaching and learning paradigms. Some approaches that are proven to improve the
learning process include project-based learning, real-world problems, self-learning activities, collaborative
and interdisciplinary learning, constant acquisition of new competencies and knowledge transfer (33). Digital
devices have been known to increasingly stimulate other 21st century literacies, for example soft skills to
support creativity, innovation, experimentation, problem-solving, collaborative work, and critical thinking
(34). There has been found a strong association between students’ performance and the use of ICTs at
home (OECD, 2005), which highlights the role of parents and the family (and independent motivation/more
comfortable at home); it is not the hours of technology used in the classroom, but the motivation to use it in
diverse ways outside of the classroom that promotes learning with technology. There is evidence showing
that independent learning outside of the classroom is conducive, but the perception that “digital natives” are
competent is not necessarily true. Self evaluation ranks them higher than reality in assessment of e-skills.

The article posits that the definition and underlying concepts must be identified to create a useable standard
for ICT literacy; this can be done through reviewing international standards to help in this development,
such as the European e-Competence Framework and the European Computer Driving Licence Foundation.
These are both focused on creating a framework, standard and certification based on context; it is also
noted that standards and practices should continuously be evaluated and improved.

Five underlying concepts of e-competency are listed:

● e-awareness (understanding of relevance of ICT in society),
● technological literacy (ability to interact with hardware and software, as well as apply, communicate
and manage applications),
● media literacy (how traditional and new media are merging; understanding the nature of media;
skills to identify, judge, and discriminate content and services),
● digital literacy (proficiency to build new knowledge based on the strategic employment of ICTs;
critical, creative, and innovative thinking combined and empowered with information management
skills; access, retrieve, store, organize, manage, synthesise, integrate, present, share, exchange,
and communicate), and
● informational literacy (ability to understand, assess and interpret information from a variety of
sources)
“E-competencies are a set of capabilities, skills and abilities to exploit tacit and explicit knowledge,
enhanced by the utilization of digital technology and the strategic use of information” (43). This article also
provides definitions of ICT specialist, advanced users, basic users, ICT practitioner skills, ICT user skills,
and E-business skills, for reference when implementing targeted changes to education.

Stakeholders must be involved with the training of these skills, because context and practice are important
to implementing the correct level of education to prepare graduates for the workforce, and these people and
organizations can provide perspective to initiatives and tools. Also increases engagement in the system for
both future employers and employees. Involving these groups in the discussion allows for collaboration that
works toward a set of common goals that could be influential in informal, industry-based, and government
supported initiatives. Research and evaluation of initiatives should be addressed regularly, and align with
complexities of the knowledge-based-economy.

Citation: Sapp Nelson, M., Zilinski, L., and Van Epps, A. (2014). Developing Professional Skills in STEM
Students: Data Information Literacy. Libraries Faculty and Staff Scholarship and Research. Paper 85.
DOI:10.5062/F42V2D2Z http://docs.lib.purdue.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1087&context=lib_fsdocs

Theme(s): 21st Century Skills and Competencies, Data Literacy Competencies and Skills, Data Literacy
Best Taught At The Commencement of Post-Secondary Studies

Contribution:

45
Sapp Nelson, et al., provide a variety of competencies based on context
● Technical competencies relating to data consumption for entry level engineer positions include:
○ identify problems through data collection and analysis
○ apply logical processes to analyse information and draw conclusions
○ identify inconsistent or missing information
○ critically review, analyse, synthesize, compare, and interpret information
● Competencies related to discovery and acquisition of data, data conversion and interoperability,
and data quality and documentation
● Related competencies that were particularly appropriate for an undergraduate audience include:
○ ask a question and find a dataset that will have the data required
○ understand that there are fields within datasets
○ understand what the fields within a dataset mean
○ understand relationships between fields within a dataset
○ develop a question based on the data in a dataset
○ read and interpret charts, graphs, and other data visualizations

The authors also provide the reader with a Data Credibility Checklist, which includes important factors in
recognizing quality in a data object
○ Documentation- is there a content map or guide of some sort? What is covered? what is not
covered? is there metadata included?
○ Authority- who created the data? who is managing it? who paid for the data? what bias
might be implicit? is the data object currently maintained? are there any references on how
this data object have been used in the past? are there clear release versions and updates
information?
● Format expectations- are there clear format expectations? what units are used? what fields
are present? what naming conventions are used? are the dates of creation or last update
easily located
● Quality control- is quality control explicitly outlined? who is in charge of checking for
quality? what process do they use? how is missing data handled?
● Human readable/machine readable- can a file be opened and a user understand the
content? is the file available for download in an open format? is there a clear process to
download?

Content map Authoritative Format Quality control Human

expectations readable/Machi
ne readable

What is covered? Who created the What units are Who is in charge Can you open a
data? used? of checking for file and
quality? understand what
is in it?

What is not Who is managing What fields are What process do Is the file
covered? the data? present? they use? available for
download in an
open source
format?

Is it relevant to Who paid for the What naming How is missing Is there a clear

46
 my research data? conventions are data handled? process for
question? used? download?

How is it relevant What bias might Are the dates of

to my research be implicit? creation or
question? update easy to
find?

Is there metadata Is it currently

included? maintained?

Has someone
else used this
data object for
reuse in the
past? How?

Are there clear

release versions,
updates with
release dates?

Citation: Scheitle, C.P. (2006). Web-based data analysis: creating a sociological laboratory. Teaching
Sociology, 34(1), 80-86.

Theme(s): Barriers to Effective Data Literacy Instruction, Delivery and Assessment, Data Literacy
Competencies and Skills

Contribution:

This paper by Christopher P. Scheitle looks at how to encourage students in university sociology courses to
“think sociologically”, by applying theory to real-world applications (Scheitle, 2006, p. 80). Although there
are traditional methods to encourage this style of learning in-class, the author argues that they are typically
limited to student experience and do not allow for the exploration of larger issues and research. To
overcome this, the author puts forth the idea of using sociological laboratories, using analysis of quantitative
data to supplement traditional course activities and assignments.

Data analysis in the social sciences at the undergraduate level is often left out of curriculum. This is due to a
lack of knowledge on the part of students of quantitative data, difficulty in obtaining and using advanced
tools, and due to students feeling that this content is boring. However, the author argues that the use of
web-based data analytics can negate some of these barriers (Consortium for Political and Social Research
(ICPSR), SegMaps, US Census Bureau Data, etc.). Using these tool as opposed to data analytics software
packages or database management systems allows for greater accessibility, and many are free (negating
financial cost as a barrier). Web-based data analytics programs often also simpler interfaces, which lessens
the learning curve for students new to working with data. By working with data, students can effectively
translate the ‘chalk and talk’ of classrooms into more real terms, e.g. briefing notes on issues.

To this end, Scheitle also includes examples of web data-based assignments.

Citation: Stout, A., and Graham, A. (2007). The Data Dilemma. ASEE Annual Conference. Retrieved from
http://dspace.mit.edu/bitstream/handle/1721.1/39640/amystout.pdf

Theme(s): Barriers to Effective Data Literacy Instruction, Data Literacy Competencies and Skills

47
Contribution:

This conference report by Amy Stout and and Anne Graham looks at how the increasing proliferation of
data has caused a paradigm shift in how researchers management and utilize data. With so much data and
information being disseminated and collected, it is more important than ever to improve skills related to
information retrieval. This includes knowledge of metadata, sophisticated databases and search engines, as
well as legal and social issues regarding data sharing and ethical use of data.

The authors interviewed faculty at MIT in 2005 in order to garner their perspective on data and how
academic libraries could best assist them in terms of data management and curation. Relevant themes that
emerged were:
● Technical barriers to data storage and organization
● Haphazard metadata
● Privacy issues and loss of control
● Time and effort needed to manage data effectively;
● Hope that librarians will provided commercial databases (knowledge of relational databases)
● Need for earlier access to datasets
● Perceived need for centralized rather than distributed storage
● Data curation, and retention

The authors argue that librarians are skilled data managers who can provide leadership in the above area,
but must be aware of the social, technical and legal issues that often hinder data creation and management
(and data itself). Some questions and issues for them to consider when thinking about how to provide data
literacy related service or training are:
● What are the benefits of storing, preserving, and sharing your data?
● What happens to research data when researchers leave the institution?
● Issues surrounding Open Access, Creative Commons, and copyright
● Technical issues surrounding data storage
● Preservation issues
● How to access data created by other researchers
● Metadata creation, schema, and the Semantic Web

Citation: Swan, A., & Brown, S. (2008). The Skills, Role and Career Structure of Data Scientists and
Curators: An Assessment of Current Practices and Future Needs. Key Perspectives LTD: Truro, UK.
Retrieved from
http://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/20140702233839/http:/www.jisc.ac.uk/media/documents/program
mes/digitalrepositories/dataskillscareersfinalreport.pdf

Theme(s): 21st Century Skills and Literacies, Barriers to Effective Data Literacy Instruction, Data Literacy
Competencies and Skills, Delivery and Assessment, Data Literacy Best Taught At The Commencement of
Post-Secondary Studies

Contribution:

This report by Alma Swan and Sheridan Brown was prepared for Jisc United Kingdom (UK), a registered
charity aimed at championing the use of digital technologies in research and education. The report was
based on two recommendations from Dealing With Data: Roles, Rights, Responsibilities and Relationships
(Lyon, 2007) reflecting the need for a study to examine the role and career development of data scientists,
as well as the value and potential of offering training to undergraduate and postgraduate students. The
report contains useful perspectives on the future of data science and the related data literacy competencies
and teaching.

The report is based mostly on a qualitative analysis of fifty-seven semi-structured interviews and four focus

48
groups from across the UK, as well as online survey.

Respondents indicated a lack of formal training data training in education, and there was agreement that
data literacy skills should be taught early to undergraduate students. However, there has been push-back
from ut institutions arguing that their curriculum is too full to add more training. That said, data literacy
competencies could be integrated into complementary skills (e.g. relational database training). Formal skills
assessment is not as favored as practical assessment. Continuous training and life-long-learning is also
important due to the rapidly changing nature of data. Therefore, discipline-targeted, intensive, short-term
courses are the prefered method of formal learning. Cross-disciplinary workshops could facilitative learning,
and build on strengths and experiences of different disciplines. Major barriers to creating new courses are
time, financial resources, and full curriculum schedules.

In terms of competencies, respondents agreed teaching should tie in with fundamentals such as statistics,
laboratory practices, methods, and recording findings. This includes:
● Relational databases
● XML
● Principles of data curation
● Documenting work
● Task tracking

Librarians can be integrated into the teaching of these fundamental skills either formally or informally.
However, in order to do so, there is a need to educate librarians more comprehensively in data science, as
academics are expecting them to be familiar with skills that are not necessary taught in library school.

Despite a preference for data training at the undergraduate level, there are potential benefits to instruction
at the post-graduate level:
● Could help researchers understand the importance of the data lifecycle and their role in generating,
handling, curating, archiving, and preserving data successfully
● May provide the impetus for some researchers to go on to become data scientists
● Will equip new data scientists with the basic knowledge they need to get started

The UK Data Archive has further developed a set of training materials consisting of 8 modules that could be
useful for teaching data literacy skills:
● Developing research consent agreements
● Anonymous data gathering techniques
● Data description and metadata
● Data formats and software
● Copyright and IPR
● Data storage, backups, and security
● Digitization
● Providing access to data

Citation: Twidale, M.B., Blake, C. and Grant, J. (2013). Towards a data literate citizenry. In Schamber, L.
(Ed.). iConference 2013 proceedings, 247-257. Retrieved from
https://www.ideals.illinois.edu/bitstream/handle/2142/38385/189.pdf?sequence=4

Theme(s): Delivery and Assessment, Barriers to Effective Data Literacy Instruction, Data Literacy
Competencies and Skills, 21st Century Skills and Literacies, Data Literacy As The Ability To Understand
And Use Data Effectively To Inform Decisions

Contribution:

This article by Michael B. Twidale, Catherine Blake, and Jon Gant focuses on building data literacy within
civil society in order to improve citizens’ engagement in the democratic process, and to understand and

49
participate in data-driven decision-making processes. The article contains relevant points relating to data
literacy instruction and related competencies, barriers to data literacy, and tools for data literate users.

The authors argue that debates on societal and policy issues are themselves informed by analyses of data,
as are other debates on priorities, finance, resource allocation, health care, climate change, etc. Therefore,
it is important that citizens are able to understand data and statistics, how this data can be used to inform
decisions, and how to differentiate between ‘good’ and ‘bad’ representations of data. At its base level,
comfort with using computational technologies, i.e. basic computer literacy, is an important precursor to
being data literate, as many sources of data or tools for interpreting data rely on computers and the
requisite software. Moreover, due to the overlap of issues regarding data, data literacy is also intrinsically
linked to other literacies such as statistical and information literacy.

Links to information literacy are especially important, and could serve as a baseline from which to develop
delivery and content for teaching data literacy. For example, the Big6 approach developed by Eisenberg &
Berkowitz (2011) on teaching information literacy to all ages and grade levels could be readily applied to
teach data literacy:
1. Task Definition
● 1.1 Define the information problem
● 1.2 Identify information (data) needed
2. Information Seeking Strategies
● 2.1 Determine all possible sources
● 2.2 Select the best sources
3. Location and Access
● 3.1 Locate sources (intellectually and physically)
● 3.2 Find information within sources
4. Use of Information
● 4.1 Engage (e.g., read, hear, view, touch)
● 4.2 Extract relevant information
5. Synthesis
● 5.1 Organize data from multiple sources
● 5.2 Present (data visualization) the data
6. Evaluation
● 6.1 Judge the product (effectiveness)
● 6.2 Judge the process (efficiency)

The authors put particular emphasis on the importance of metadata instruction (i.e. what is it, how is it used,
what can it tell a user) in regards to teaching data literacy. Areas that could serve as core concepts/modules
further include:
● Bibliometric search
● Data mining
● Text mining
● Data visualization
● Claims analysis

In regards to tools that help users understand terminologies and methods, the use of ‘popular’ or accessible
examples/case studies when teaching data literacy can help citizens/students connect to the data, and
bring higher concepts down to a more understandable level. Barriers to data literacy include math and
computer phobia, and misconceptions about data and statistics. Misconception analysis can be useful in
overcoming these and other barriers.

Citation: Womack, R. (2014). Data Visualization and information literacy. IASSIST Quarterly, 38(1), 12-17.
Retrieved from http://dx.doi.org/doi:10.7282/T3X92CZF

Theme(s): Data Literacy Competencies and Skills, Delivery and Assessment, Data Literacy Best Taught At

50
The Commencement of Post-Secondary Studies

Contribution:

This article by Ryan Womack focuses on the importance of data visualization as a basic component of
information and data literacy. The article goes on to make recommendations for delivery of data
visualization content at the postsecondary level, and possible curriculum design.

Data visualization represents a major tool for the communication of complex results from large and often
heterogeneous data sources, is a key competency of data information literacy (and could even be
considered another type of literacy alongside statistical and information literacy). Owen et. al. (2013)
classify data visualizations into three areas: 1) scientific or data visualization, in which the data dimensions
correspond to physical reality (e.g., remote sensing); 2) information visualization, for multidimensional data
from a defined field of interest; and 3) visual analytics, which is massive and heterogeneous.

The author asserts that most existing data management courses are taught at the graduate level, focusing
on training students methods to handle and present their data and findings. Although useful, teaching data
management (and data visualization techniques) this late in a student’s educational career limits their data
visualization skills to very specific, discipline-focused areas. Instead, data visualization should be taught
early on (e.g. first year) at the postsecondary level. This capitalizes on students’ still being new to research
methodology, and instills good practices as they build their general study habits.

ACRL Information Literacy Competency Standards for Higher Education 3 and 4 are most relevant in terms
of teaching data visualization at a post-secondary level:
● 3. The information literate student evaluates information and its sources critically and incorporates
selected information into his or her knowledge base and value system
● 4. The information literate student, individually or as a member of a group, uses information
effectively to accomplish a specific purpose.

Focus should be placed on creating an an Intellectual/theoretical framework for data visualization (built off
these two standards), as the tools and technology used for data visualization will continue to change
rapidly. Data visualization curriculum should further focus on three areas:
● Evaluation
○ Refers to the ability to establish quality, accuracy, and reliability of a data visualization
○ Students should be able to ‘interrogate the image’ and find out the source of the data,
reliability of the source, appropriateness of the visualization for that kind of data (e.g.
Tufte’s Lie Factor test).
○ Understanding the methodology behind the data visualization is also key
● Critique
○ Critique involves comparison among different data visualizations in order to develop
understanding of which visualizations exemplify best practices. General principles such as
striving for clarity, avoiding clutter, and emphasizing the most relevant data apply to most
visualizations.
● Use
○ Emphasis is on putting data visualization into practice.
○ Guiding students through introductory examples, working in sandbox environments, and
using various demos and examples will lead students through the process of actually
developing their own visualizations based on the choices before them.
○ The actual form that the ‘Use’ component takes will be determined by current technology
and research needs in a particular setting.

As a concluding example from the literature, Kelleher and Wagener (2011) offer 10 simple guidelines that
apply to almost any kind of data visualization.

51
Citation: Yeh, K., Xie, Y., and Ke, F. (2011). Teaching computational thinking to non-computing majors
using spreadsheet functions. 41st ASEE/IEEE Frontiers in Education Conference: Session F3J. Rapid City,
SD.

Theme(s): 21st Century Skills and Literacies, Data Literacy Competencies and Skills

Contribution:

This paper by Kuo-Chuan (Martin) Yeh, Ying Xie, and Fengfeng Ke, discusses the ability of non-computer
science students at recall, application and problem-solving, and how to best maximize computational
thinking (CT) learning potential due to its importance in society and the workforce where tasks are growing
in scope and complexity. CTis a key 21st century skill that is useful for facilitating data literacy learning and
skills.

CT is defined as “an ability or skill to analyze a problem, create abstraction, and solve it effectively” (p. 1).
Characteristics of CT are:
● Automation of abstractions: focuses on the ability to manage complex situations by generating
abstractions and maintaining the relationships among them
● Precise representations: to generate abstractions, we need to have formal representations that
reflect our cognitive processes and structures (discerning aspects of the situation)
● Systematic analysis: enable us to generate hypothesis and search for a plausible solutions
systematically
● Repetitive refinements: during problem solving, we consistently evaluate the current situation
against our previous experience or out prediction until the best solution is reached (p.1)

The authors carried out a survey of 126 undergraduate non-computing major students who took a required
computer literacy course (introduction to spreadsheets and databases) as part of their major. Students were
recruited while taking their course, with participation being voluntary (albeit participants received 2% extra
credit). The survey was designed to motivate participants to use their problem-solving and analysis skills
through Excel (with no outside help ie. online tutorials).Questions included:
● Recall: Participants were asked to explain the purpose/meaning of a function and its arguments(s)
● Application: Participants were asked to use data and a particular function to generate a correct
answer. They were cued by the data available for which function they should use.
● Problem-solving: Participants were asked to choose functions freely to solve two problems, with
no cue as to function

Results showed that when the complexity of a task increased, performance would decrease. This proved
the hypothesis of the authors that recall of purpose and syntax of a function was simple, but the use of a
function proved much more difficult. Common errors included wrong type of argument, missing arguments,
wrong logic statements, and wrong function syntax. Also students’ data representation was weak, especially
when differentiating between types of data, and function syntax.

Strategies that could promote learning include problem-based learning or case-based reasoning. These
could help students internalize the CT skills and individualize their problem solving styles.

White Papers

Citation: ALA. (2000). ACRL Information Literacy Competency Standards for Higher Education. Retrieved
from http://www.ala.org/acrl/standards/informationliteracycompetency

Theme(s): 21st Century Skills and Literacies

Contribution:

52
ALA defines information literacy as “set of abilities requiring individuals to ‘recognize when information is
needed and have the ability to locate, evaluate, and use effectively the needed information” (2). This is
increasingly important due to technological advancements and available information resources. This
standard forms the basis for lifelong learning, and is common to all disciplines, environments, and levels (as
is data literacy). Implementing this standard in institutions should be a collaborative effort between
professors, faculties, and administration.

An information literate people should be able to:

● determine the extent of information needed
● access the needed information effectively and efficiently
● evaluate information and its sources critically
● incorporate selected information into one’s knowledge base
● use information effectively to accomplish a specific purpose
● understand the economic, legal, and social issues surrounding the use of information, and access
and use information ethically and legally (2-3)

A comprehensive table is provided with seven standards (listed above), as well as corresponding
performance indicators and learning outcomes.

Citation: ALA. (2011). ACRL Visual Literacy Competency Standards for Higher Education. Retrieved from
http://www.ala.org/acrl/standards/visualliteracy

Theme(s): 21st Century Skills and Literacies

Contribution:

ALA in association with ACRL developed a set of standards for helping implement this into university and
colleges to help students develop competencies for academic and professional futures. These standards
can be adapted fully or partially and according to disciplinary need. They are presented in a linear way, but
can be employed as needed. Partnerships and shared implementation strategies across departments is
helpful in successful education: faculty, librarians, curators, archivists, visual resources professionals and
learning technologists.

In an interdisciplinary, higher education environment, a visually literate individual is able to (2)

● determine the nature and extent of the visual materials needed
● find and access needed images and visual media effectively and efficiently
● interpret and analyze the meanings of images and visual media
● evaluate images and their sources
● use images and visual media effectively
● design and create meaningful images and visual media
● understand many of the ethical, legal, social, and economic issues surrounding the creation and
use of images and visual media, access and use visual materials ethically

A comprehensive table is provided with seven standards (listed above), as well as corresponding
performance indicators and learning outcomes.

Citation: Association of College and Research Libraries. (2013). Working Group on Intersections of
Scholarly Communication and Information Literacy. Intersections of Scholarly Communication and
Information
Literacy: Creating Strategic Collaborations for a Changing Academic Environment. Chicago, IL:
Association of College and Research Libraries. Retrieved from
http://www.ala.org/acrl/sites/ala.org.acrl/files/content/publications/whitepapers/Intersections.pdf

Theme(s): 21st Century Skills and Literacies, Data Literacy Competencies and Skills

53
Contribution:

This white paper by the Associations of College and Research Libraries (ACRL) Working Group on
Intersections of Scholarly Communication and Information Literacy looks at scholarly communication and
information literacy, and provides an overview of intersecting literacies (i.e. digital, data, and transliteracy).
Although the article focuses on changes required to scholarly communication in libraries due to the
evolution of information literacy, there are some relevant points relating specifically to data literacy.

Data literacy centers around “understanding how to find and evaluate data, the version of data being found
and used, who is responsible for it, how to cite it, and the ethics of data procurement” (p. 10). Although
competency standards and teaching programs for media and visual literacy are focused on undergraduates,
key questions about teaching data literacy tend to focus on graduate students and faculty.Specifically the
curation, presentation, and interpretation of research data has increased in importance due to the ease and
proliferation of data, thus requiring new approaches. Students, both as users and as future creators of data,
should be trained to understand how their choices affect access, reuse, and preservation. Other
competencies of importance include:
● Use of data management and visualization tools
● Reuse of content in diverse ways not imagined by the creator;
● Data ownership and rights
● Data as preservation and curation

Librarians can be key teachers in this regard, and should be involved in developing ways to handle data
issues, such as determining who should have access, how that access can be managed (given the wide
variety of formats and technologies involved), and what steps will be necessary to ensure that these data
collections remain available over time. The report concludes that data literacy is an area where the impact
of external forces, ranging from increasing demand on students to find and use data to funder mandates to
have data management plans, point to a critical area of intersection between scholarly communication and
information literacy.

Citation: Association of College and Research Libraries. (2014). Top trends in academic libraries. College
& Research Libraries News, 75(6), 294-302. Retrieved from
http://crln.acrl.org/content/75/6/294.full.pdf+html

Theme(s): Data Literacy Competencies and Skills, Teach The Teachers

Contribution:

This white paper looks at the top trends in academic libraries for 2014, as identified by the Association of
College and Research Libraries (ACRL) Research Planning and Review Committee. The document is part
of a series released on an annual basis. The paper covers a variety of trends, with an overall theme of
deeper collaboration between academic libraries and other university actors. Data literacy is identified as
one key trend, and there are some relevant take-away points.

Libraries, IT services, administration, and grant support will increasingly have to collaborate in order to
provide the expertise necessary for data management support as part of the academic research process. In
order to facilitate this, a shared vocabulary for data literacy is required. This would also make it easier to
develop strategies/plans for teaching data literacy competencies that are truly transferable.

In terms of current efforts for teaching data literacy, more and more universities are creating graduate
programs, or certificate programs centered on preparing professionals for analysis and manipulation of big
data , e.g. the Institute for Advanced Analytics at North Carolina State University, and graduate
certificate in data mining offered by Stanford University are placing demands on libraries for cross-
disciplinary expertise in data collection access, metadata, curation, and preservation. Other key areas

54
where libraries can lead the way in terms of preparing students to work with data are:
● Teaching students the skills, as well as the resources that enable them to verify, re-use, and cite
data correctly.
● Teaching students to use tools to manipulate, clean, and transform data, e.g. Open-Refine

may also need to become more familiar with aspects of data literacy, in order to develop and provide robust
support to students and faculty.

Citation: Benito, E.M. (2009). Learning.com joins the Partnership for 21st century skills. Business Wire.
Retrieved from https://global.factiva.com/ha/default.aspx#./!?&_suid=143231383276103258974098134786

Theme(s): 21st Century Skills and Competencies, Delivery and Assessment

Contribution:

The Partnership for 21st century skills brings stakeholders together in business, education, and policy. It
recommends that skills building should be infused with tools and resources to help facilitate and drive
change. Six key elements of 21st century education are identified:
1. Core Subjects
2. 21st Century Content
3. Learning and Thinking Skills
4. Information and Communication Technology (ICT)
5. Life Skills
6. 21st Century Assessment

Citation: Doucette, L., and Fyfe, B. (2013). Drowning in research data: Addressing data management
literacy of graduate students. ACRL. Retrieved from
http://www.ala.org/acrl/sites/ala.org.acrl/files/content/conferences/confsandpreconfs/2013/papers/DoucetteF
yfe_Drowning.pdf

Theme(s): Data Literacy Competencies and Skills, Data Literacy as the Ability to Understand and Use Data
Effectively to Inform Decisions

Contribution:

This paper by Lise Doucette and Bruce Fyfe discusses the authors’ research study on the graduate
students’ level of research data management (RDM) literacy. The research includes an assessment attitude
and behaviours, as well as informal and formal data literacy education experience.

The authors pre-empt the discussion of their findings with a brief look at the importance of data
management.
The proper management of data including organization, protection, preservation, and sharing are “essential
for productivity, securing grant funding, enabling collaboration and ensuring future use of data” (p. 165).
Moreover, strong RDM competencies and the ability to create an RDM plan allows for the re-use of publicly-
funded research data. Graduate students should be competent in terms of the research data lifecycle:
● Production
● Dissemination
● Long-term management
● Discovery/repurposing

The research project consisted of a survey of graduate students in the social science and science
disciplines across Canada. Subject areas included geography, psychology, sociology, chemistry, physics,
and earth sciences. Key areas of interest were attitudes and behaviours toward research data
management, and literacy and education related to RDM (self-assessment, formal, and information

55
education).Relevant results were:
● Most respondents agreed that it was important to effectively manage data within their research
group
● 90% responders ‘confident’ in the ability of their data skills;
● Several respondents often had to to re-collect data because of lost or unopenable files;
● There was agreement (78%) on the importance of reuse of data, but disagreement (38%) over how
to actually carry it out
● 37.8% of respondents did not have written or oral policies related to research data management
● 20.8% of respondents took a research methods course in which RDM was discussed
● 22.3% took another course where RDM was discussed
● 15.4% participated in a workshop where RDM was discussed
● Only 4.7% of respondents discussed the management of research data with a librarian
● 56.1% of respondents agreed or strongly agreed with the statement “I educate myself on best
practices for preserving my data”
Based on the results of the survey, the authors made some relevant conclusions. Social sciences, and
doctoral students have the highest t-test scores for understanding of data literacy and management. Social
science students also had a statistically higher formal education score than science students. Most students
ranked their confidence high in data management, but in the proceeding questions prove that their practices
are in actuality are quite poor, leading to inefficiency, low productivity, and costliness (especially in terms of
duplication of data collection and analysis). Further research could focus on this disconnect between
confidence in skills and actual lack of data management experience. Further formal education (e.g. courses,
workshops, instruction from data librarians, etc.) could serve to close this gap.

Citation: Hogenboom, K., Holler Phillips, C.M., and Hensley, M. (2011). Show me the data! Partnering with
instructors to teach data literacy. ACRL 2011, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. 410-417.

Theme(s): 21st Century Skills and Literacies, Barriers to Effective Data Literacy Instruction, Delivery and
Assessment, Data Literacy As The Ability To Understand And Use Data Effectively To Inform Decisions,
Teach The Teachers

Contribution:

Hogenboom, et al., in association with ARCL, define data literacy as “the ability to read and interpret data,
to think critically about statistics, and to use statistics as evidence” (410). They refer to many perspectives
on this topic: Caravello and Stephenson suggest integrating data literacy into an established information
literacy course, which would allow students to build on existing and complementary skills. Karen Hunt
recognizes that the technical tools and skills required to work with data creates a complication to the
integration process in universities, but recommends using Electronic Data Center or the UK Data Archives,
which provide datasets to courses ready for online analysis, enabling learning without technical issues. This
process would allow for students to become familiar with skills at an accessible level, before learning more
technical programming and formatting skills.

On the flip side of beginning slowly, Czarnocki and Khouri recommend introducing equipment and software
to students through data-intensive assignments. Others recommend that inclass librarian instruction is
helpful in introducing the students to support through data services - collaboration with faculty would enable
the library to provide focused learning modules for students needs, and possibly providing subject-based
data pages that have already been converted into readily-usable formats; increasing referrals from faculty
to the library for instruction in overall critical thinking and skills development would help bridge the gap
between full curriculum and intense skill development with support.

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign conducted a survey to find how instructors are using data in
teaching, demand for software and hardware to support teaching, and prioritizing training for staff. Many
thought that the library was the first point of reference for students with data related questions. Frustration

56
existed primarily in the tools and access to specific data. Many believed that broad training would be
helpful, but also specific tool related training would be valuable as well, but in class, traditional training was
least favored format, because of limited time and copious amount of information understanding decreases

Citation: Johnson, L., Adams Becker, S., Estrada, V., and Freeman, A. (2015). NMC Horizon Report: 2015
Higher Education Edition. Austin, Texas: The New Media Consortium. Retrieved from
http://www.nmc.org/publication/nmc-horizon-report-2015-higher-education-edition/

Theme(s): 21st Century Skills and Literacies, Teach The Teachers, Barriers to Effective Data Literacy
Instruction

Contribution:

Johnson, et al., posit that universities must foster conditions for innovation to happen: creativity, risk-taking,
collaboration can lead to entrepreneurial spirit. systems to be more adaptive with evidence, and data-based
decision-making. This white paper outlines key trends, significant challenges and important technological
developments likely to impact higher education in the next five years.
● Trends:
○ Policy: measuring learning through data-driven practice and assessment is currently on the
rise in universities, and will only become more important in 3-5 years
○ Leadership: collaboration between different higher education institutions-innovation can
scale better when ideas are shared between institutions
○ European Commission’s goals “stimulating a more open research environment, fostering
stronger partnerships with businesses, and rethinking how qualifications are recognized”
○ The non-profit organization Unizin “focuses on interoperability and open
standards...facilitating learning analytics with the aim of improving student outcomes.”
○ University of Maryland has a predictive analytics reporting framework. Discussion to
incorporate data analytics into professional development. Analytics are becoming key to
data-driven learning and assessment.
○ Channel 9 provides online learning for a variety of in-demand skills including computer
coding and programming through streaming videos, interactive events and more. “Getting
and Cleaning Data” video lectures and online quizzes on obtaining data through APIs and
databases. More social experience with peer-to-peer evaluation
● Challenges
○ Must educate the educators
○ Creating policies that better advance digital literacy. Key component is finding training
techniques that prioritize creativity, and being able to leverage technologies for innovation
is vital to fostering real transformation in higher learning. Intention, reflection, and
generativity
○ “digital literacy is an iterative process that involves students learning about, interacting with,
and then demonstrating or sharing their new knowledge” (24), as well as leveraging digital
tools to navigate, evaluate, create, and critically apply information
○ “Complex thinking is the applications of systems thinking, which is the capacity to decipher
how individual components work together as a part of a whole, dynamic unit that creates
patterns over time. Computational thinking is another higher-order thinking that
complements complex thinking, and it entails logical analysis and organization of data;
modeling, abstractions, and simulations; and identifying, testing, and implementing possible
solutions” (28)
○ Providing a more competency-based curriculum, increasing workforce preparedness
● Technologies to help in learning:
○ consumer technologies, digital strategies, enabling technologies, internet technologies,
learning technologies, social media technologies, and visualization technologies

Citation: Manyika, J., Chui, M., Brown, B., Bughin, J., Dobbs, R., Roxburgh, C., and Hung Byers, A. (2011).
Big data: The next frontier for innovation, competition, and productivity. McKinsey Global Institute. Retrieved

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from http://www.mckinsey.com/insights/business_technology/big_data_the_next_frontier_for_innovation

Theme(s): 21st Century Skills and Literacies

Contribution:

This industry white paper presents a current issue of Big Data facing society today. It is an issue because
there will be a severe shortage, approximately 140,000-190,000, of trained professionals to deal with this.
Big Data is only growing due to the increasing number of devices being used, which is valuable only if it is
being used. If this shortage is addressed, and professionals can embrace big data is can become key to
productivity growth and consumer surplus, although privacy will become a growing issue with society in
relation to personal data use, as well as the sharing of data for public welfare.

Seven Key Insights are presented:

1. Data have swept into every industry and business function and are now an important factor of
production;
2. Big data creates value in several ways: creating transparency; enabling experimentation to discover
needs, expose variability, and improve performance; segmenting populations to customize actions;
replacing/supporting human decision making with automated algorithms; and improving new
business models, products, and services;
3. Use of big data will become a key basis of competition and growth for individual firms;
4. The use of big data will underpin new waves of productivity growth and consumer surplus;
5. While the use of big data will matter across sectors, some sectors are poised for greater gains;
6. There will be a shortage of talent necessary for organizations to take advantage of big data;
7. Several issues will have to be addressed to capture the full potential of big data: data policies,
technologies and techniques, organizational change and talent, access to data, industry structure

Citation: McKendrick, J. (2015). Data driven and digitally savvy: The rise of the new marketing
organization. Forbes Insights. Turn: New York, N.Y. Retrieved from
https://www.turn.com/livingbreathing/assets/089259_Data-
Driven_and_Digitally_Savvy_The_Rise_of_the_New_Marketing_Organization.pdf

Theme(s): Data Literacy Competencies and Skills, Data Literacy As The Ability To Understand And Use
Data Effectively To Inform Decisions

Contribution:

This Forbes Insight Report looks at the rise and importance of data-driven marketing and decision-making
in the business world. The report includes sections covering leadership skills and competencies that are
required to engage and succeed in this new data-driven business world. Part of the results of the report
were based on a survey to top executives (with salaries of $500,000+) concerning their thoughts on data-
driven marketing and the role of technology and interviews with six executives and thought leaders to
provide context.

Data-driven decision-making is central to all successful marketing today.It provides actionable insights from
the copious amount of data available, and is critical to answer the ‘why’ and ‘so what’ of business.
Moreover, marketing “is now an ongoing process of engagement and learning” (p. 5), and the global
economy demands data-driven campaigns to be successful in this hypercompetitive environment.

The key findings of the report were:

● Demonstrable Results
○ Data-driven marketing has delivered demonstrable results in terms of customer loyalty,
customer engagement, and market growth.
● Commitment to Data

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 ○ Committed efforts to use data are difficult due to siloing within organizations.
● Integration
○ Data-driven action requires expertise and innovative thinking from many individuals and
teams, integration and interdisciplinary cooperation are key.
● Training
○ Training is essential. Majority of businesses do not offer training and education to develop
data-driven marketing skills. Successful enterprises encourage employee development
usually through online programming or informal mentoring or coaching

The top industries making use of data-driven decision-making and marketing according to the report are:
technology (39%), telecommunications (39%), retail (37%), advertising and/or marketing (22%), the media
(19%), travel (13%), banking (10%), consumer goods (10%), automotive (7%), energy (5%).

Using data and analytics allows businesses to carry out targeted customer group campaigns, instead of
putting a large amount of resources into one generalized campaign (thereby increasing cost-effectiveness).
The most important aspect of a data-driven marketing campaign is integrating data from a variety of sources
into a comprehensive picture in order to tell a ‘story’ and create understanding. Types of data being
collected for data driven marketing and decision-making by firms include: customer data, website usage
data, CRM data, campaign metrics, social metrics, online transactions, behavioral data, and demographic
data. This is expected to grow, as 7/10 executive leaders see reliance of data only increasing over the next
three years. As one executive puts it, “[Marketing] Leaders always measure results with analytics, strive to
make data-driven decisions and actively transform personnel roles to be more digitally savvy...data moves
freely and is consistent across all channels, and is considered trustworthy and timely…[and] is integrated
into operations across the enterprise and its partners” (p. 8).

A pronounced organizational trend occurring is the need to bring in new skills sets to be able to manage
data collection, analysis, and decision-making process. According to the report, data analytics and critical
thinking are highly valued skills, almost more so than basic marketing skills. Integrated thinking, the ability to
recognize the different types of data available with a good fundamental understanding of people, is crucial
(i.e. human interaction and active engagement).

Important competencies are:

● Input side
○ Knowledge of data collection and analysis tools
○ Understanding of data modelling
○ Critical analysis skills
● Output side
○ Communication and synthesis skills (including the ability to communicate results to a non-
technical audience)
○ Ability to comprehend results (i.e. data comprehension) and make decisions based on
analysis

Knowledge of specific technologies is also key. Technologies currently employed for data-driven marketing
include website analytics (56%), data management platforms (47%), analytics software (38%), marketing
automation software (29%). However, the report also states that 17% of executives are unsure or do not
know what kind of technology their firms use to carry out data management. This points to a knowledge
gap, but also an opportunity for growth. It is essential to hire people who are comfortable analyzing and
looking at
various type of data, and have a sense of curiosity (i.e. people who can separate the signal, from the noise).

Citation: Oceans of Data Institute. (2014). Profile of a big-data-enabled specialist: Executive summary.
Waltham, MA: Education Development Center, Inc.
http://oceansofdata.edc.org/sites/oceansofdata.org/files/ODI%20Panel%20Exec%20Summary_FINAL.pdf

59
Theme(s): 21st Century Skills and Literacies, Data Literacy As The Ability To Understand And Use Data
Effectively To Inform Decisions

Contribution:

The Oceans of Data Institute did a cross industrial analysis skills required by data specialists. They
identified essential tasks: defining problems and articulating questions; developing deep knowledge of data
sources; developing methods and tools; and staying current on emerging technologies, data types, and
methods. They recognize that industries across the board put emphasis on practices such as ethical
standards, and protecting the data and results; critically evaluating the results of analysis to determine the
level of confidence in the results and estimate the precision and accuracy of answers; and telling a “data
story” to convey insights, identify limitations, and provide recommendations based on the results of data
analyses.

Overall, the ODI’s key findings included unexpectedly “soft skills” such as analytical thinking, critical
thinking, and problem solving dominates the 20+ big data skills and knowledge requirements identified by
the panel and endorsed by experts who completed the validation survey; apply statistical methods also
ranked among the most important skills, as well as knowledge of algorithms; and among other behaviours,
experts and reviewers said that a successful big-data-enabled specialist is willing to question, and is a
lifelong learner, a seeker of patterns, open minded, and curious.

Citation: Oceans of Data Institute. (2014). Profile of a big-data-enabled specialist. Waltham, MA: Education
Development Center, Inc. OR Ippolito, J., and Malyn-Smith, J. (2014). Profile of a big-data-enabled
specialist. Ocean’s of Data Institute. Retrieved from http://oceansofdata.org/our-work/profile-big-data-
enabled-specialist

Theme(s): 21st Century Skills and Literacies

Contribution:

The previous executive summary is in relation to this document, which lists skills in, knowledge of,
behaviours, equipment/tools/supplies, trends/concerns, and duties of a data specialist. This document can
be very useful when creating a course with the goal of preparing students to enter the workforce with usable
and employable skills.

Citation: OECD Skills Outlook 2013. Retrieved from http://skills.oecd.org/OECD_Skills_Outlook_2013.pdf

Theme(s): 21st Century Skills and Literacies, Data Literacy Competencies and Skills

Contribution:

The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD)’s Skills Outlook provides an
overview and assessment of the skillsets of OECD member states. The skill levels set by the OECD tend to
influence policy of member states, and provide a benchmark for competency. The report identifies literacy,
numeracy, and problem-solving as the foundation for effective and successful participation in the social and
economic life of advanced economies. The assessment of literacy and data/technology usage is especially
telling.

Finland and Japan have the highest performance in literacy, enabling them to “perform multiple-step
operations to integrate, interpret, or synthesize information for complex inferences and appropriately apply
background knowledge as well as interpret or evaluate subtle truth claims or arguments”. Citizens of these
states are further able to analyze and engage in complex tasks involving data, statistics, and chance,
spatial relationships. They can also perform tasks involving multiple steps and select appropriate problem-
solving strategies and processes, as well as understand arguments and communicate well-reasoned

60
explanations for answers or choices.

Out of five levels, 14% of adults are level 1 with no data usage; 33% level 2 with interpretation of relatively
simple data and statistics in text, tables, and graphs; 34.4% at level 3 with basic analysis; 11.4% level 4
more complex analysis involving statistics and chance, spatial relationships, change, proportions, and
formulae; and 1.1% with level 5.

Problem solving in technology-rich environments is defined as the ability to use digital technology,
communication tools, and networks to acquire and evaluate information, communicate with others, and
perform practical tasks. The assessment focuses on the abilities to solve problems for personal, work, and
civic purposes by setting up appropriate goals and plans, and accessing and making use of information
through computers and computer networks.
● Technology- hardware devices, software applications, commands and functions, and
representations (ie. text, graphics, video, etc.).
● Tasks- intrinsic complexity, and explicitness of the problem statement
● Cognitive strategies: Set goals and monitor progress, plan, acquire and evaluate information, and
use information
● Context: work-related, personal, and society and community

The description of proficiency levels is as follows:

● Below level 1: tasks are based on well-defined problems involving the use of only one function
within a generic interface to meet one explicit criterion without any categorical or inferential
reasoning, or transforming or information. Few steps are required and no sub-goal has to be
generated.
● Level 1: tasks typically require the use of widely available and familiar technology applications; little
or no navigation to access information to solve problems and require few steps and minimal
operators, and simple forms of reasoning.
● Level 2: tasks require the use of both generic and more specific technology applications; some
navigation of pages and applications is required to solve the problem; use of tools can facilitate
resolution. Tasks may involve multiple steps and operators, with higher monitoring demands,
unexpected outcomes or impasses may occur; some integration and inferential reasoning may be
needed.
● Level 3: typically require the use of both generic and specific technology applications, and some
navigation across pages and applications mis required for solving problem. The use of tools is
required to make progress toward solution, and may include multiple steps and operators. Goal to
be defined and criteria may or may not be explicit, with high monitoring demands , and likely
unexpected outcomes/impasses. Tasks may require evaluating the relevance and reliability of
information, as well as integration and inferential reasoning may be needed to a large extent (p. 88)

The Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) is provided by the OECD and tests literacy,
numeracy, and problem-solving proficiencies in 15 year olds, and could be a useful as a baseline for
building other assessment tools. The OECD recommends formal and informal education, as well as practice
to ensure that literacy and technology skills don’t depreciate.

Citation: Open Data Institute. (2012). Open Data Institute Business Plan 2012-2017. Retrieved from
https://theodi.org/about-us

Theme(s): 21st Century Skills and Literacies, Delivery and Assessment

Contribution:

This White Paper consists of the business plan for the United Kingdom (UK)’s Open Data Institute (ODI), an
independent non-profit limited guarantee company set up by the British Government. The purpose of the
ODI is to serve as a centre to innovate, exploit, and research opportunities created by the UK’s Open Data

61
Policy. It does so by providing a policy, research, and training hub for academia, business, public sector,
and international actors regarding open data. The ODI also has a number of international open data hubs
that assist in projects and research, including Open Data Toronto.

The ODI provides a number of courses and training streams.The two main open data training streams are:
● 3-month intensive short course in Open Data Technology leading to a post-graduate in diploma in
Open Data Technology
○ Designed to equip students with tools, techniques, and business methods of Open Data
publication and application construction
● Open Data Fellows program for professionals
○ Same core material of the as the 3-month Open Data Technology stream
○ Fellows will be involved in the acquisition of experience and knowledge around open data
policy, standards, and mentoring skills suitable for developing open data capabilities within
organizations
○ Fellows will be be able to create sustainable knowledge and understanding of open
government data

Follow-up course content can be found on the ODI website, https://theodi.org/courses

Citation: Swan, K., Vahey, P, Kratcoski, A., van ‘t Hooft, M., Rafanan, K., and Stanford, T. (2009).
Challenges to cross-disciplinary curricula: Data literacy and divergent disciplinary perspectives. Presented
at the Annual Conference of the American Educational Research Association, San Diego, CA. Retrieved
from http://www.sri.com/work/publications/challenges-cross-disciplinary-curricula-data-literacy-and-
divergent-disciplinary-p

Theme(s): 21st Century Skills and Literacies, Data Literacy Competencies and Skills, Data Literacy As The
Ability To Understand And Use Data Effectively To Inform Decisions, Delivery and Assessment, Barriers to
Effective Data Literacy Instruction

Contribution:

Swan, et al., define data literacy as the ability to formulate and answer data-based questions; use
appropriate data, tools, and representations; interpret information from data; develop and evaluate data-
based inferences and explanations; and use data to solve real problems and communicate their solutions”
(1). They argue that data literacy is a civic skill, and should be taught through relating the learning to real-
world events/data to bridge the gap between learning facts and acquiring inquiry skills, critical reasoning,
argumentations, and communication.

Cross-curricular education and real world data provide varying perspectives and context, promoting genuine
inquiry, reflective discourse, and fosters students’ understanding that data can be queried to help make
informed decisions about relevant problems. Although this study focuses on middle school students, there
is opportunity to integrate this type of teaching method into higher education.

Thinking With Data (TWD) consists of four, two week modules, respectively in social studies, mathematics,
science, and English language arts. They “address issues of data representation, common measure, and
proportional reasoning, using real data accessed from real world media sources in discipline-specific,
problem-solving contexts and align with relevant subject area standards” (2). This requires students to
formulate and answer data-based questions; use appropriate data, tools, and representations; and develop
and evaluate data based inferences based on world water issues. This relates to the approach Preparation
for Future Learning that highlights structure, internalizing key dimensions and applying it in a variety of
contexts.

The modules consist of social studies - analyzing data for water availability in Turkey, Syria and Iraq, and
how best to share it; mathematics - proportional reasoning and data analysis; science - defending/disputing

62
various hypotheses concerning quality and availability, and use data to compare to US watersheds; English
language arts - using research to develop persuasive arguments identifying major water issues and
proposing solutions. The lecture-and-apply process if flipped, allowing students to recognize their
inadequate knowledge, which makes learning more practical.

The assessment measures if students could (a) interpret complex tables of data; (b) understand arguments
that used the tables of data; and (c) create their own proportional measures, which provide a more complete
understanding of the data and arguments that one would have without the proportional measures. Students
were asked to complete a pre and post course test measuring skill levels, which indicated that the students
were able to improve their understanding through engagement in more sophisticated activities

Overall, the cross-disciplinary approach is most enriched teaching method, because it helps students in real
world decision making, where differences are obscured, and things are not clearly laid out, critical thinking
and the ability to recognize which approach is appropriate are important skills to hone in middle school to
build on in higher education.

Citation: Zalles, D.R. (2005). Designs for assessing foundational data literacy. Center for Technology in
Learning, SRI International. Retrieved from
http://serc.carleton.edu/files/NAGTWorkshops/assess/ZallesEssay3.pdf

Theme(s): 21st Century Skills and Literacies, Data Literacy Competencies and Skills, Delivery and
Assessment

Contribution:

This paper by Dr. Daniel R. Zalles describes four different assessment methods developed by SRI
International that measure data literacy at the elementary and middle-school level. The paper is written
through the lens of assessing foundational data literacy skills (examples outlined include sample size,
sample selection, database structure, data distribution, central tendency, natural variability, and
measurement error) required for courses in geosciences. The author outlines how data literacy (in the
United States) is recognized as a key element of national standards relating to science, math, and social
studies curricula (i.e. transliteracy). Students must be able to analyze evidence and data, carry out data
manipulation, and report on conclusions based on evidence presented.

The paper goes on to describe the assessments designed by SRI International, designed to engage
students in investigating real data sets, score them for deeper understanding, and provide an overall
assessment of data literacy competency. These assessments are outlined below.

EPA Phoenix is an assessment carried out at the eighth grade level. It is a modular program that aims
assess the outcomes of information communication technology (ICT) learning in schools. A problem is
posed to students, and they must use stylized data to provide the best solution. Students must assess
graphs showing air quality ratings in Phoenix that have been generated from the Environmental Protection
Agency’s Air Quality System (AQS) database. They must then compare air quality trends to ozone rating in
other states, and come up with an evidence-based recommendation.
Assessed data literacy outcomes included:
● Comparing trend lines on graphs
● Transferring relevant data about air quality from one type of representation (line graphs) to another
(data table) in order to facilitate analysis
● Critiquing the relevance of specific data for answering a research question; and
● Synthesizing data from different representations to formulate an overall conclusion

Solar Power (no longer active) was a modular program designed to assess the outcomes of ICT learning in
schools. Students were required to use GIS representations to compare and contrast air temperature data,
as well as compare and contrast model-generated data about incoming solar radiation. Students were also

63
required to also weather data, including the percentage of cloudy days within specific areas and seasons.
The culminating activity of the Solar Power project was for the student to create an evidence-based
recommendation on whether or not a given state should invest in solar power for energy generation.

GLOBE Integrated Investigation Assessments (no longer active) consisted of a number of web-based
assessment tools and frameworks that provided teachers and students updates on GLOBE initiatives
related to data literacy. Participating students were required to take atmosphere, hydrology, soil samples,
etc. and post their data on the internet. Students would then be required to create maps and graphs with the
data. Assessed data literacy outcomes included::
● Finding observable trends in the data
● Examining data for possible measurement or entry errors
● Identifying relationships between two variables
● Representing data in a graph or tables
● Using data to generate new representations in order to analyze trends
● Summarizing graphed data (i.e. mode, mean, median, range)
● Comparing data sets
● Generating evidence-based conclusions based on the data

The Thinking With Data (TWD) (see Vahey, P., Rafanan, K., Patton, C., Swan, K., van’t Hooft, M.,
Kratcoski, A., & Stanford, T., 2012) consists of a number of foundational tools for data literacy designed to
assess outcomes of integrated math/life science units at the fourth and sixth grade levels. Fourth grade
students are required to collect, organize, and analyze data about pulse rate from samples of people drawn
from different populations.Sixth grade students are required to conduct experiments in which they grow sets
of "fast plants" under different conditions, test hypotheses, and analyze results. At the time of writing, both
grade levels utilized the computer program Tabletop to view data and carry out analysis. Assessed data
literacy outcomes included:
● Understanding what types of research questions can be answered by collecting data
● Determining the appropriateness of different data representations for different analyses; and
● Analyzing data distributions (i.e. strength of relationships between variables, detecting
measurement error, detecting central tendency, and critiquing the viability of conflict claims about
data)

The author makes the point that teaching the fundamentals of data literacy can straddle multiple content
levels (at the K-12 level). Therefore, cooperation and collaboration among teachers is crucial in order to
create a systematic and comprehensive approach to teaching data literacy.

Websites

Citation: P21: Partnership for 21st Century Learning. (2012). Teaching critical thinking skills through project
based learning [blog]. Retrieved from http://www.p21.org/news-events/p21blog/1097-teaching-critical-
thinking-skills-through-project-based-learning

Theme(s): 21st Century Skills and Literacies

Contribution:

This blog post by Dr. John Mergendoller looks at the importance of critical thinking as a foundational 21st
century skill, and how this skill can be built within post-secondary students. The author argues that Project
Based Learning (PBL) can serve as a useful pedagogy to teach students to think critically. As critical
thinking is a key underlying component of becoming data literate, there are some relevant take-away points.
Moreover, practical exercises in data literacy workshops or courses could potentially benefit from using the
PBL approach.

PBL requires that to be planned around topics that lend themselves to thoughtful consideration. Projects

64
must be structured to demand deliberative, reflective thought, with examples provided of what is correct.
Students should be provided with the tasks, supports and scaffolds needed to develop critical thinking tools
and strategies. Project topics or questions should be “non-Googleable”, in order to provoke deeper thinking.

Competencies relating to PBL include:

● Define terms of a project
● Consider whether information and concepts vary according to context
● Ability to weigh multiple explanations, evaluate evidence, and compare alternative actions based on
their probability of success
● Ability to create a project plan

Actionable feedback from teachers and peers is essential for the development of skills and evaluation of
arguments and reasoning can help students further develop in their own processes.

Policies

Citation: Chinien, C., and Boutin, F. (2011). Defining Essential Digital Skills in the Canadian Workforce.
Human Resources and Skills Development Canada. Retrieved from
http://www.nald.ca/library/research/digi_es_can_workplace/digi_es_can_workplace.pdf

Theme(s): 21st Century Skills and Literacies, Data Literacy Competencies and Skills, Delivery and
Assessment

Contribution:

Purpose of the HRSDC policy was to ensure that the federal government’s Essential Skills Framework was
accurate and current, in response to the G20 Summit’s recognition that a skilled workforce is essential to
ensuring a strong, sustainable and balanced growth (11) (Government of Canada 2010). This framework
was developed for Canadian workers through amalgamating various skills concepts/skill clusters:
1. foundational skills;
2. transversal skills;
3. *technical digital skills
4. *digital information processing skills, including cognitive and metacognitive skills. (6)
- All include subskills and represent various economic sectors
- * is identified as most important skills

The method used in this study included a national and international literature review, as well as interviews
and consultation with key informants. These professionals identified important skills:
1. use of digital systems and tools
2. use of software applications
3. applications of security measures in digital environments
4. processing of digital information
- Note: there are varying levels of skill which should be indicated in any framework
- 80% of key informants believed this framework to be useful and comprehensive, and that
the clusters were relevant, accurate, and clearly defined
- Information processing skills: ability to scan information visually, analyze information,
interpret information, make effective and efficient use of information, use information to solve
problems, and behave and act ethically in handling information, were ranked very important

“The most common ones [terms]are: IT literacy, ICT literacy, digital literacy, digital competence, ICT fluency,
computer literacy, ICT skills, e-Skills, technological literacy, media literacy, information literacy, e-literacy,

65
generic skills, 21st century skills, multiliteracies, and new literacies. The overlaps between the various
literacy concepts can be explained by: ―the evolution of literacies from a skills focus through an
applications focus towards a concern with critique, reflection, and judgement, and the identification of
generic cognitive abilities or processes, or meta-skills. (Martin & Grudziecki, DigEuLit: Concepts and Tools
for Digital Literacy Development, 2006, p. 253).” (15) Chinien & Boutin present several ways to assess
competencies: self-assessment, demonstration of digital tools, pre-screening and testing, on-line
assessment tools, performance assessment as an indicator, and test of workplace essential skills
(TOWES). They recommend consulting a variety of resources depending on purpose:
● Educational Testing Service (ETS) developed an assessment for ICT skills, this includes three
sections: cognitive proficiency, technical proficiency, and ICT proficiency - uses scenario-based
tasks to measure
● UK Skills for Life Survey is a large scale survey and is a test for computer skills, not broader digital
skills, and has 2 parts: test of awareness and test of practical skills
● Qualitative analysis of skills can be useful, but is much more relevant joined with quantitative
analysis of data - this can be done through scenario-based testing, which measures cognitive and
technical skills
● The Internet and Computing Core Certification 2005 is an internationally recognized standard, and
covers three areas: Computer hardware, computer software, and using an operating system.
● Internet Digital Skills Assessment consists of 4 clusters:operational, formal, information, and
strategic; these are measured with 3 indicators: successful task completion, main outcome
achieved, and time spent on task completion
● European (International) Computer Driving License (ECDL) involves standardization, assessment,
and certification for various levels. It is a non-proprietary program in partnership with not-for-profit,
and so more widely available and affordable for the everyday person or organization. There are 12
modules:
○ 1. Concepts of information and communication technology; 2. Using the computer and
managing files; 3. Word processing; 4. Spreadsheets; 5. Using databases; 6. Presentation;
7. Web browsing and Communication; 8. 2D Computer-aided design; 9. Image editing; 10.
Web editing; 11. Health information systems usage; and 12. IT security
● Figures 24 and 25 offer assessment tools for indemand/important digital skills according to key
informants Levels 1-5; Figure 27 offers skills-based assessment broken down into explained levels
1-4

Several countries were evaluated in consideration with what a successful digital skills framework should
incorporate; although most of this article refers to “digital skills” and “ICT” there is much overlap with data
literacy competencies and skills.
● Australia and New Zealand Skills Framework developed from ACRL:
○ Use: ICT infrastructure, devices to find content and services
○ Understanding and Interpretation: ability to understand and evaluate media content of
various forms in order to judge the quality and trustworthiness of online information
○ Creation and Participation: ability to participate in social media and to generate digital
content
○ Customer Protection/Security: understand cyber threats and be able to protect oneself
against cyber crimes
● UK ICT and digital skills framework:
○ Improving productivity using IT: ability to plan, evaluate and improve the use of ICT to
improve efficiency and productivity
○ Using IT systems: ability to use ICT systems safely, securely, sensibly, and purposefully to
meet needs
○ Using IT to find and exchange information: ability to access, search, retrieve and exchange
information using ICT, using digital networks and communication systems
○ Use IT software applications: ability to select and use software applications to process data
and to produce and present information
● US - Technical, cognitive and ICT proficiencies are all essential to developing a comprehensive
framework and an engaged society

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 ○ define: use digital technology to identify information needs; access: use digital technology
to collect and/or retrieve information; manage: organize and classify digital information;
integrate: interpret, summarize, compare and contrast digital information; evaluate: judge
the quality, relevance, usefulness or efficiency of digital information; create: adapt and
apply existing information to generate new knowledge; and communicate: use digital
technology to exchange information with others
● EU Digital Competence
○ statement: to state clearly the problem to be solved or task to be achieved and the actions
likely to be required
○ identification: to identify the digital resources required to solve a problem or achieve
successful completion of a task
○ locate: to locate and obtain the required digital resources
○ evaluate: to understand the meaning conveyed by a digital resources
○ organization: to organize and set out digital resources in a way that will enable the solution
of the problem or successful achievement of the task
○ integration: to bring digital resources together in combinations relevant to the problem or
task
○ analysis: to examine digital resources using concepts and models which will enable solution
of the problem or successful achievement of the task
○ synthesis: the recombine digital resources in new ways which will enable solution of the
problem
○ creations: to create new knowledge objects, units of information, media products or other
digital outputs which will contribute to task achievement
○ communication: to interact with relevant others whilst dealing with the problem or task
○ dissemination: to present the solutions or output to relevant others
○ reflection: to consider the success of the problem-solving or task-achievement process, and
to reflect upon one’s own development as a digitally literate person
● Netherlands Digital Skills Framework:
○ operational skills: skills to operate digital media
○ formal skills: skills to handle the structures or digital media
○ informational skills: skills to locate information in digital media
○ strategic skills: skills to employ the information contained in digital media towards personal
(and professional) development
● The UNESCO framework can be used to facilitate digital skills development, assessment, and
certification:
○ Information Literacy: definition and articulation of information; location and access of
information; assessment of information; organization of information; use of information,
communication and ethical use of information; and other information skills
○ ICT Skills-Media Literacy: Digital technology use; use of communication tools; use of
networks; sift media messages; analyze media messages; and other ICT media skills
○ Literacy: Reading, writing, numeracy, and other basic skills
○ Reasoning: thinking skills

Proposed Canadian digital skills framework:

● determine information needs: recognize, define and articulate digital information needs
● access information: locate, select and retrieve digital information
● create information: generate new digital contents and knowledge by organizing, integrating,
adapting and applying digital information
● assess information: judge the quality, relevance, usefulness, validity and applicability of digital
information
● integrate information: interpret, analyze, summarize, compare and contrast, combine, repurpose
and represent digital information
● apply information: use information of various digital formats effectively and efficiently to perform job
tasks
● organize information: decode, restructure, and protect digital information

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 ● input information: identify, recognize, record and store digital information to facilitate retrieval and
use
● communication information: share digital information with others at work

Overall, Chinien & Boutin argue that “[d]igital skills are essential survival skills for the 21st century” (8)
people must be able to process more complex cognitive problems quickly, effectively, and efficiently,
because of the emergence of the global knowledge-based economy; in this type of environment human
resources and technical infrastructure are the assets, because even today it is reported that almost all
(92%) new employees being hired must have at least some basic level of digital technology skills (e-skills),
and will be a key driver for job creation, and are essential to fully participate in the economy, which is only
increasing in momentum.

Citation: Ontario Ministry of Education. (2008). The Ontario Curriculum Grades 10 to 12: Computer
Studies. Retrieved from https://www.edu.gov.on.ca/eng/curriculum/secondary/computer.html

Themes: 21st Century Skills and Literacies, Teach The Teachers

Contribution:

This Ontario Ministry of Education document outlines the Computer Studies curriculum currently being
followed in Ontario high schools, and the associated outcomes for student learning. Although data literacy is
not mentioned explicitly, there are related themes and competencies that warrant inclusion.

At its core, the Computer Studies curriculum involves defining and analyzing problems, and designing and
testing solutions. Critical thinking, and analysis skills are integral. The document further explains that
computer studies is relevant for all studies, as it incorporates a broad range of transferable skills, e.g. critical
problem solving, logical thinking, knowledge strategies required for research, creative design, synthesis of
ideas and data, evaluation, and communication. These skills all tie in with the notion of developing life-long
learning habits that will help students adapt to new technology in the 21st century workplace and wider
world. In particular, the ability to locate, question, and evaluate information allows a student to become an
independent, life-long learner. It is also meant to reinforce mathematical and information literacy.

In terms of delivery, teachers are encouraged to use scaffolding or a modular style, wherein skills and
competencies that reinforce each other are built by students successively. Teachers are also expected to
model the skills that they expect students to learn. The document also states that teachers should take into
account the diversity of students’ abilities, educational backgrounds, interests, level of technological
capability, and learning styles, and tailor material appropriately. Categories of learning for Computer Studies
are defined as follows:
● Knowledge and understanding
● Thinking:
○ Planning skills, i.e. focusing research, gathering information, selecting strategies,
organizing projects
○ Processing skills, i.e. analyzing, interpreting, assessing, reasoning, generating ideas,
evaluating, synthesizing, seeing different perspectives
● Critical/Creative Thinking, i.e. problem solving, decision-making, research
● Ethical use of computers
○ Students should be made aware of issues relating to privacy, safety, and responsible use of
computers and the internet (also applies to data)

Students are also expected to develop an awareness of environmental stewardship and sustainability
relating to computer studies, as well as critical thinking, citizenship, and personal responsibility when using
computers and the Internet. Relevant course learning outcomes related to data literacy are as follows:
● Course: Computers and Society
○ Explain on privacy of techniques for collecting and processing data

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 ○ Describe legal and ethical issues relating to computers (also applies to data literacy)
● Course: Programming Concepts and Skills
○ Data types and expressions, including using one-dimensional arrays of compound data
types

Citation: Ontario Minister of Education. (2008). The Ontario Curriculum Grades 9 and 10: Technological
Education. Retrieved from https://www.edu.gov.on.ca/eng/curriculum/secondary/teched.html

Themes: 21st Century Skills and Literacies

Contribution:

This Ontario Ministry of Education document outlines the Technological Education curriculum currently
being followed in Ontario high schools for grades 9 and 10, and the associated outcomes for student
learning. Although data literacy is not mentioned explicitly, there are some related themes and
competencies that warrant inclusion.

The document outlines how technological innovation influences all areas of life, both in daily interactions as
well as the wider global social, business, and government contexts. Stemming from this, students must be
able to meet the challenges and opportunities of the 21st century. To this end, students must be technically
literate, i.e. able to understand, work with, and benefit from a range of technologies. The document makes
mention of the Mention of the Ontario Skills Passport (OSP); a bilingual web-based resource designed to
enhance school-workplace connections, and which provides clear descriptions of Essential Skills (e.g.
reading, writing, text, computer use, etc.).

In terms of delivery, technological education courses should lend themselves to a wide range of
approaches, requiring students to discuss issues, identify problems, plan solutions, work collaboratively,
conduct research, and think critically.

Course content for Technological Education ranges broadly from communications technology to hairstyling
and aesthetics. The most relevant course learning outcomes fall within the field of computer technology, but
still fall more towards the programming side:
● Computer Technology Fundamentals
○ Data Representation and Digital Logic
■ Describe how computers and represent and process data using the binary number
system (e,g, binary counting, binary codes, ASCII code)
■ Derive the truth tables of the fundamental logic gates (e.g. AND, OR, NOT, NOR,
NAND, XOR)
■ Write Boolean equations for the fundamental logic gates

Citation: Ontario Minister of Education. (2008). The Ontario Curriculum Grades 11 and 12: Technological
Education. Retrieved from https://www.edu.gov.on.ca/eng/curriculum/secondary/teched.html

Themes: 21st Century Skills and Literacies

Contribution:

This Ontario Ministry of Education document outlines the Technological Education curriculum currently
being followed in Ontario high schools for grades 11 and 12, and the associated outcomes for student
learning. Although data literacy is not mentioned explicitly, there are some related themes and
competencies that warrant inclusion. This document is a continuation of the fundamental learning
outcomes covered in the prior grades (9 and 10).

Technological courses at this level should involve an open, collaborative, activity/applied approach that

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takes into account students’ interests (e.g. allowing them to pick from a range of practical projects in which
to apply theory and taught content). Literacy, mathematical literacy, and inquiry/research skills are critical to
students’ success, and key aspects of technological courses. Students also learn to analyze the context
and background of challenges in order to explore a variety of possible solutions to said challenges. The
document states that the ability to locate, question, and evaluate information is crucial for a student to
become an independent, life-learn learner.

Course content and delivery is mostly in-line with the prior grades, but teachers should work collaboratively
in order to plan and deliver different courses/modules when possible, and avoid unnecessary overlap.

Citation: Ontario MInistry of Education. (2008). The Ontario Curriculum Grades 9 and 10: Mathematics.
Retrieved from https://www.edu.gov.on.ca/eng/curriculum/secondary/math.html

Themes: 21st Century Skills and Literacies

Contribution:

This Ontario Ministry of Education document outlines the Mathematics curriculum currently being followed in
Ontario high schools for grades 9 and 10, and the associated outcomes for student learning. Data literacy is
not specifically mentioned, but hard skills/competencies relating to it are covered.

Processes that are key for students to be successful in mathematics (and related to data literacy) include
problem solving, reasoning and proving, reflecting, selecting tools and computational strategies, connecting,
representing, and communication. Representing mainly involves representing mathematical ideas and
models in different ways, e.g. numeric, geometric, graphical, etc., as well as using dynamic software to
create representations (i.e. Excel).Students should be able to go from one representation to another, and
identify and understand differences, similarities, and other relationships. Communication includes being
able to create visualizations of data.

Relevant course learning outcomes

● Grade 9 Math Linear Relations unit
○ Using data management to investigate relations
■ Interpret the meaning of points or plots on a graph representing a linear equation
■ Design and carry out an investigation or experiment involving relationships
between two variables, including the collection and organization of data, using
appropriate methods, equipment, and/or technology (e.g. surveys, scientific probes,
online sources, etc.), and techniques (i.e. generating tables and graphs to visualize
data)
■ Describe trends and relationships observed in data

Citation: Ontario Ministry of Education. (2008). The Ontario Curriculum Grades 11 and 12: Mathematics.
Retrieved from https://www.edu.gov.on.ca/eng/curriculum/secondary/math.html

Themes: 21st Century Skills and Literacies

Contribution:

This Ontario Ministry of Education document outlines the Mathematics curriculum currently being followed in
Ontario high schools for grades 11 and 12, and the associated outcomes for student learning. Although
data literacy is not mentioned explicitly, there are some related themes and competencies that warrant
inclusion, especially within the curriculum`s data management component. This document is a continuation
of the fundamental learning outcomes covered in the prior grades (9 and 10).

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The curriculum makes direct mention of preparing students for working, living, and contributing to the 21st
century society. It goes on to say that in order to meet the demands of the world in which they live students
will need to adapt to changing conditions and learn independently.This includes using technology effectively
to process large amounts of quantitative data.

The most relevant areas to data literacy relate to the Data Management stream of math courses offered in
Grade 11 and 12. Students apply methods for organizing and analyzing large amounts of information, solve
problems involving probability and statistics, and carry out a culminating investigation that integrates
statistical concepts and skills. Students have a choice in which math stream they enrol in, and thus not all
students will be learning the foundational data management competencies offered at the secondary level.

Relevant course learning outcomes are as follows:

● Mathematics of Data Management (Grade 12)
○ Organization of Data For Analysis unit
■ Recognize and describe the role of data in statistical studies
■ Identify and explain reasons why variability is inherent in data
■ Distinguish different types of statistical data
■ Determine and describe principles of primary data collection
■ Explain the distinction between the terms population and sample, and what
characterizes a good sample
■ Collect data from primary and secondary sources
○ Statistical Analysis unit
■ Analyze, interpret, and draw conclusions from one variable and two variable data
■ Evaluate validity of data
○ Culminating Data Management Investigation
■ Pose a significant problem that requires the organization and analysis of a set of
primary or secondary quantitative data
■ Design a plan to study the problem
■ Gather and organize data related to the study of the problem
■ Interpret, analyze, and summarize data
■ Draw conclusions from analysis of data
■ Evaluate strength of evidence
■ Specify limitations, next steps
■ Compile a comprehensive report
● Present a summary to peers using technology (e.g. PowerPoint)
● Answer questions and respond to critiques

Citation: Ontario Ministry of Education, (2008). The Ontario Curriculum Grades 11 and 12: Interdisciplinary
Studies. Retrieved from https://www.edu.gov.on.ca/eng/curriculum/secondary/interdisciplinary.html

Themes: 21st Century Skills and Literacies

Contribution:

This Ontario Ministry of Education document outlines the Interdisciplinary Studies curriculum currently being
followed in Ontario high schools for grades 11 and 12, and the associated outcomes for student learning.
Data literacy is not specifically mentioned, but there are certain related themes and skills that warrant
mentioning.

The content of Interdisciplinary Studies at the secondary level recognizes the changing 21st century
context, and the need to respond to challenges with insight and innovation. These challenges often arise in
areas that combine or cut across different subject disciplines, e.g. space science, information management,
alternative energy technologies, etc. To deal with these issues, students require competencies and skills
from a range of discrete disciplines. To this end, the Interdisciplinary Studies curriculum aims to build the

71
following skills in students:
● Research processes
● Information management
● Collaboration
● Critical and creative thinking; and
● Technological applications

The document also makes note of the importance of teaching students to be information literate. Students
must be able to combine diverse models of research and inquiry, integrate a range of information
management skills and technologies, and apply the processes of information organization, storage, and
retrieval to new situations and across disciplines. These principles could be readily applied to data literacy
as well. Actual courses can be built at the discretion of teachers, as long as these learning outcomes are
addressed in the course content and evaluation techniques.

Courses and Workshops

McCaffrey, M. (2015). INF 2115H Data Librarianship [Syllabus]. iSchool, University of Toronto. Retrieved
from http://mccaffrey.ischool.utoronto.ca/2115/syllabus.pdf

Key Points:
● Assignments:
○ Statistics- definitions, literacy, concepts, interpretation, identification, location, and retrieval
○ Data- identification and location. Extraction, recoding, subsetting, manipulation, etc. (from
pre-determined datasets)
○ Statistics and Data- advanced (reference questions based)
○ Group Assignment
● Class Schedule
○ 1- Syllabus, expectations, outcomes, technical requirements, introductions to statistics
○ 2- Introduction to statistics part II, statistical literacy, the administrative environment
○ 3- Canadian statistical programmes and policies
○ 4- Finding Canadian statistics
○ 5- American statistics, international statistics
○ 6- Microdata, part I
○ 7- Microdata, part II
○ 8- Canadian Microdata
○ 9- Foreign and international microdata, other repositories, business data
○ 10- Data visualization, geographical information systems
○ 11- Reference work
○ 12- Data services administration, issues and trends
● Lists readings for each session

MIT. (2014). [Pamphlet] Tackling the Challenges of Big Data. Retrieved from
https://mitprofessionalx.mit.edu/courses/course-v1:MITProfessionalX+6.BDx+5T2015/about

Key Points:

This is an online course held over 6 weeks with 5 modules, 18 topics, 20 hours of video, case studies,
community wikis, and discussion forums (provoking though in medicine, social media, finance, and
transportation. It covers areas such as: data collection (smartphones, sensors, the Web); data storage and
processing (scalable relational databases, Hadoop, Spark, etc); extracting structured data from unstructured
data, systems issues (exploiting multicore, security); analytics (machine learning, data compression,

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efficient algorithms); visualizations, and a range of applications.

The course aims to reduce the time from research to industry dissemination and expose participants to
some of the most recent ideas and techniques in Big Data. Students will learn the state-of-the-art in Big
Data, and will be able to:
● Distinguish what is Big Data (volume, velocity, variety), and learn where it comes from, and what
are the key challenges
● Determine how and where Big Data challenges arise in a number of domains, including social
media, transportation, finance, and medicine
● Investigate multicore challenges and how to engineer around them
● Explore the relational model, SQL, and capabilities of new relational systems in terms of scalability
and performance
● Understand the capabilities of NoSQL systems, their capabilities and pitfalls, and how the NewSQL
movement addresses these issues
● Learn how to maximize the MapReduce programming model: What are its benefits, how it
compares to relational systems, and new developments that improve its performance and
robustness
● Learn why building secure Big Data systems is so hard and survey recent techniques that help;
including learning direct processing on encrypted data, information flow control, auditing, and replay
● Discover user interfaces for Big Data and what makes building them difficult

The course consists of 5 modules:

● Module One: Introduction and Use Cases The introductory module aims to give a broad survey of
Big Data challenges and opportunities and highlights applications as case studies. > Introduction:
Big Data Challenges > Case Study: Transportation > Case Study: Visualizing Twitter
● Module Two: Big Data Collection The data capture module surveys approaches to data collection,
cleaning, and integration. > Data Cleaning and Integration> Hosted Data Platforms and the Cloud
● Module Three: Big Data Storage The module on Big Data storage describes modern approaches to
databases and computing platforms. > Modern Databases > Distributed Computing Platforms>
NoSQL, NewSQL
● Module Four: Big Data Systems The systems module discusses solutions to creating and deploying
working Big Data systems and applications. > Multicore Scalability > Security> User Interfaces for
Data
● Module Five: Big Data Analytics The analytics module covers state-of-the-art algorithms for very
large data sets and streaming computation> Machine Learning Tools> Fast Algorithms I > Fast
Algorithms II > Data Compression> Case Study: Information Summarization> Applications:
Medicine> Applications: Finance

Associations and Organizations

Citation: BizEd Editorial Staff. (2014). Big data gets bigger on campus. AACSB International, (March/April).
Retrieved from http://www.bizedmagazine.com/archives/2014/2/research/big--data-gets-bigger-on-campus/

Contribution:

Authors argue that analytics-related positions are predicted to increase 25% by 2018, and universities are
developing focused training:
● Babson College in Wellesley, Massachusetts-undergraduate and graduate concentrations available

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 in data analytics with four paths functional depth, marketing analytics, financial analytics, and
industry sectors. Students must complete courses in foundation, application, and depth courses
● MIT Cambridge provides a four week online course for technical professionals and executives
“Tackling the Challenges of Big Data”
● John Molson Executive Centre at Concordia University in Montreal offers a three week $4000
online and face-to-face certificate program in data analytics for middle managers
● Goodman School of Business at Brock University in Ontario offers a specialization in business
analytics to its two year MBA program
● IBM Analytics Talent Assessment measures preparedness for real world. It takes 30-40 minutes
and includes sections that measure cognitive ability, verbal and logical reasoning and provides
students with report
● Pilot testing big data analytics programs: Fordham University, George Washington University,
Illinois Institute of Technology, Northwestern University, The Ohio State University, Southern
Methodist University, University of Massachusetts Boston, and the University of Virginia.
● Scott Moore, Babson’s undergraduate dean: “this kind of knowledge if becoming increasingly
important..soon, every business organization will be an analytics-focused organization” (para. 9).

Digital Edition 2015 http://www.bizedmagazine.com/current-

issue/~/media/5B840464B0AB425D918342919A9D8699.ashx
The edition provides information on American post-secondary institutions that offer courses and programs
that are data centred, as well as information on a new program for real-time student evaluations, from a
Canada based learning solutions provider eXplorance. They have introduced bluepulse, a real-time online
social collaborative hub and course evaluation tool that allows professors to solicit student feedback on and
suggestions for the course as it progresses. (60).

The website is business centered, and provides the user with seminar sessions based on skill building
activies, and School Profile Search through DataDirect (most comprehensive business education database
in the world http://www.aacsb.edu/knowledge/data/datadirect/.

Citation Data Science Central. (2015). Homepage. Retrieved from http://www.datasciencecentral.com/

Contribution:

This website is an online resource for big data practitioners. It offers the users a wide variety of tools and
skills relating to data, including workshops beginning at Intro to Data Science to more advanced topics such
as programming tools, data wrangling, data story, inferential statistics, and machine learning
https://www.mysliderule.com/workshops/data-science-
intensive?utm_source=DSC&utm_medium=newsletter&utm_campaign=DS2Workshop

Citation: Cavique, L. (2015, June 18). 3 issues with big data. [Blog]. Data Science Central. Retrieved from
http://www.datasciencecentral.com/profiles/blogs/big-data-3-data-issues

Contribution:

Cavique explains that Big Data refers to amounts too large to be processed by traditional tools, won’t fit into
a single server, and is unstructured meaning cannot fit into a database. 3 Vs: Volume-too big; update
Velocity-too continuously flowing; and Variety of formats-too unstructured. Structured consists of SQL

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databases, data warehouses, XML databases, and recently NoSQL databases, and unstructured of plain
text that is not tagged or specifically formatted.

Three subproblems are identified due to their complicated nature: video production increasing
exponentially, but difficult to search for, because of the many variables associated with it; NoSQL allows us
to deal with large volumes of data and provides flexibility, but there are also a large number of consultants;
and event logs refers to the execution of a computer command program recorded, highly used surveillance,
and can be key in Business Process Management technology.

This website also provides many relevant articles for people interested in learning:
● How to avoid a data disaster http://www.datasciencecentral.com/profiles/blogs/how-to-avoid-a-data-
disaster-infographic
● 10 common NLP terms explained for the text mining novice
http://www.analyticbridge.com/profiles/blogs/10-common-nlp-terms-explained-for-the-text-mining-
novice
● Harnessing Big data for Security http://www.datasciencecentral.com/profiles/blogs/harnessing-big-
data-for-security-intelligence-in-the-era-of-cyber

Citation Government of Canada. (2015). The Federal Geographic Data Committee Retrieved from
https://www.fgdc.gov/

Contribution:

This website provides users with online lessons:

● Geospatial Data Discovery and Access: Geospatial One-Stop Portal; Geospatial Metadata; and
Geospatial Web Services
● Geospatial Data Integration: NSDI (National Spatial Data Infrastructure) Standards; NSDI Data
Themes; and The National Map
● Geospatial Partnership, Policy and Planning: NSDI Policies and Practices; NSDI Partnership
Opportunities; and Geospatial Business Planning
○ Each includes PowerPoint slides with notes
○ Module based learning

Citation: NASA. (2015). NASA Earth Data. Retrieved from https://earthdata.nasa.gov/earth-observation-

data/tools

Contribution:

Provides users with tools to use while manipulating earth data. They focus on search and order tools; data
handling (reading/ingesting, format conversion, and data manipulation); subsetting and filtering tools
(temporal, spatial, parameter, and channel), geolocation, reprojections, and mapping tools; and data
visualization and analysis tools. Additionally, online webinars and tutorials are available through YouTube,
all centred around earth data in some facit
- SIPS (Science Investigator-led Processing System) provides support for targeted learning
https://earthdata.nasa.gov/about/science-investigator-led-processing-systems

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