Where Can and Do Our Students Find Data -- And How Can We Steer them to Reputable Data?

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Where Can and Do Our Students Find Data -- And
How Can We Steer them to Reputable Data?

• Kristin Partlo
• Carleton College

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Hannahs Story

• Junior beginning to prepare for capstone project
  - wants to work over the summer
• Started with the data specialist (Paula)
• Somebody in ITS whos really good with
  statistics
• Once suspicious, Paula referred her to me
• How do I search for data thats complete?
• In the very first stages of forming a topic

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Undergrads are just learning quantitative
reasoning skills
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So they need lots of help

• Undergrads are at a stage where they lack
• Knowledge
• What data are out there
• Familiarity with the body of literature in their
  area
• Knowledge of specialized tools
• Habits
• Ability to use the literature instrumentally
• Instinct to look for and use data documentation
• Patience to read while searching
• Ability to take effective notes
• Experience
• Dont come to the service point with clearly
  defined need
• Expectations of the search for data
• Unproblematized conception of numbers as
  unauthored facts

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Where do they find data?
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Standard social science data sources
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Government Web Sites
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IGOs Data Products
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Where they find data

• Standard social science data sources from
  ICPSR, data archives, etc.
• Government web sites
• IGOs data products
• Research institutions
• Data project web sites
• Disciplinary associations and tools and journal
  web sites
• Individual researchers web sites
• Files procured directly by students
• IGOs non-data products
• Harvested from print sources
• Wikipedia
• Self-made datasets with GIS-derived variables

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But how do they find it?

• Wouldnt that be great to know?
• Faculty recommendations
• Google
• Recommendations from other students
• My secret wish ethnographic user studies

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What can we do to direct them to reputable data?
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Direct and Indirect Strategies

• Direct
• Provide them with tools and strategies
• Publicize services and improve approachability
  and availability
• Indirect
• At sites of support, improve referrals
• On campus, get involved

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Data fluency -- developing habits of research

• Help them become familiar with using the
  literature instrumentally (Hannah example)
• Model good searching behavior, walking through
  searches, taking example notes, and articulating
  clues. This is especially important for teaching
  students to look for and use documentation (BLS
  example).

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Finding Aids and Search Tools
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Publicize
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Strengthen Cooperation Among Service Points

• Referrals
• Training general reference staff and subject
  librarians about data sources
• Team teach when possible

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Work with Campus Data Fluency Efforts

• Get involved in the QR effort
• Communicate with faculty
• Know the assignments
• Get into classes