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Hi,

I had a quite similar question. I think what Spencer meant to ask (or that's at least what I would like to know) is if there is a website where the data literacy assessment is set up for the whole organization (in a private link) and where the results would be saved.

Please correct me if I am wrong but currently only individuals can take the assessment on your site and also only those individuals see their personal result/ persona.

I would be even interested in a solution that would lock the user's Qlik account until they have taken the assessment. Kind of like a welcome screen that blocks the view on the Qlik hub until the assessment is completed.

Percentages and probabilities. Because we live in a soundbite world, often times limited to 280 characters, and with some outlets (not the good ones) using clickbait, it seems that the more shocking the statistic the better. And yes, it's completely the responsibility of the reader/media consumer to dig in, but the general public is being bombarded constantly (with dare I say, crap), and so their defenses are often worn down (not letting anyone off the hook, here). I think on top of just being more data literate about the facts, it's really also understanding:

(1) Who are the players you can trust, who is using good data practices.

(2) Where your own biases are so you don't just fall into the land of an echo chamber, and you are actually seeking out real, meaningful stories backed by real, meaningful facts.

(3) It's more important than ever to be curious. Don't take things at face value, ask questions, and VERIFY!

Alan, I'm glad that you're involved with this effort. The New York Times has been an amazing example of what data journalism can achieve. The NYT information design team (I mostly know Amanda Cox, but I'm sure the whole group is massively talented) sets a standard that other media outlets should aspire to. They aren't alone -- The Guardian, 538, The Washington Post, The Economist -- have all built effective teams and capabilities as well.

In my mind, the work of these organizations has been vital to planting a seed for data literacy. More and more people are exposed to powerful data stories and well-considered data visualizations. Perhaps the challenge is in spreading the data journalism capabilities from these top-tier media organizations to the rest of the media world. I'd be curious if you agree and how that might happen.

Of course there are infuriating examples of the media's misunderstanding of data presentation (or misrepresentation) like this old chestnut: https://www.nbcchicago.com/news/local/FOX-News-Chart-Fails-Math-73711092.html

Thanks @joewarbington for sharing this. I'm really interested in beginning discussions like this in my community.

Have you found any successful techniques for nurturing these conversations? It seems that it is difficult to choose any audience for the messaging, and some audiences require pre-work or additional discussions to get a level of data literacy where this can make sense.

In the video pair over distributions, you referred to test scores as continuous. While they can be non-integer, they are not continuous.  A test score is based on a ratio of correct questions to total questions. Since the number of total questions is finite, the scores are discrete. Even if the number of questions is prime and the ratio is a repeating decimal (e.g. 2 out of 3). The number of possible scores is still finite and discrete.

You referred to weights in another example. Weights are continuous.

I think it helps to draw inspiration from some of the experts at communicating data. Like kids who follow their favorite ballplayer, it gives you a sense of what is possible (if difficult to attain) and a sense of the components that need to come together to tell engaging data stories. Here's a collection of my favorite places to go to be inspired:

The New York Times’ interactives

The Upshot

The Washington Post

Google News Lab

The Guardian's interactives

The r/dataisbeautiful subreddit

Kantar's Information Is Beautiful Awards

Andy Kirk's Visualizing Data

Pudding

SightlineVis

Is anyone aware of any resources to grade/score/benchmark your organization's Data Literacy?

Thank you!

I was reading the recent blog from journalist and consultant Bernard Marr on 'Beyond Big Data: Why data diversity is a crucial success factor’ – and it really made me think about which data sets many businesses are often missing that could give them even greater, workable insights?

Would love to hear about any current examples of or plans to use different types of data sets that you have?

And don’t miss the original blog for more background on the importance of variety in data: https://thedataliteracyproject.org/posts/beyond-big-data-why-data-diversity-is-a-crucial-success-factor

Thanks for sharing that article. Nice read! Especially for a Liverpool fan like me :)

Thanks for sharing, @eelcolambers! This is also a great example of the implications and importance of data in industries outside the standard tech, education, health, etc. With data, organizations across the board are better equipped to make sound decisions that will yield long-term results. Not sure if anyone else saw this article: https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-7095041/Data-experts-Klopps-charisma-turn-Liverpool-kings-Europe.html, but the Liverpool Football Club (owned by the same parent company as the Major League Baseball team Boston Red Sox) owe their recent 2019 UEFA Champions League win (in part 😊) to a team of data analysts, leveraging data insights to help the team gain a winning edge.