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Hey @Data_Dave, you might find this report on the Human Impact of Data Literacy useful! https://thedataliteracyproject.org/files/downloads/Qlik_Accenture_Human_Impact_of_Data_Literacy.pdf

The report highlights how leaders can boost data literacy in their workforces to increase productivity – including arming employees with the tools they need to use data as required and meet business goals.

We also have lots of free e-learning courses and resources available on the Data Literacy Project site, which could be a great place to start. More than a third of employees think that data literacy training would make them more productive so it’s clear there’s definitely appetite to upskill. 

I came across a new one recently by Mico Yuk Analytics On Fire. It was dormant for a while and has come back!

I wonder if this might be a sort of chicken-and-egg problem. In order to know the need to, and how to, train employees there must be at least some sense of data's value. The two best ways to develop this are to hire or to train employees. Even then, once a business has a small set of data literate people, it may not be enough of the right people to facilitate organizational change.

How do we make this kind of transformation? I'm still trying to learn how.

Until it is clearer and more accessible for employer to do so, I suspect we will continue seeing the bias toward Ivy League graduates.

Do you think this may also be reminiscent of the way that data science has recently boomed in popularity? By which I mean, the pattern of concentrating on scarce, high-perceived-value resources while the market is left to manage for training for candidates.

Hi all,

Having sought an organisational Data Literacy test for individuals across the organisation to do, then resulting in an aggregate view of the organisation - I’m afraid I’m yet to find one.

I’m therefore resulting to a “if you want something done...do it yourself” approach and building my own! I have some ideas in mind with suitable tools which enable this, tailored to individual organisations.

I’d be happy to discuss my approach in more detail and perhaps collaborate with anyone from any other organisations who would be keen to engage on this?

Chris

Head of Data Analysis & Insights, BCA Marketplace.

[email protected]

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