Data Librarians Represent! Integrating Data Services into the Social Science Research Process Lynda...

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Data Librarians Represent!Integrating Data Services into the Social Science Research Process

Lynda KellamData Services & Government Information LibrarianUniversity of North Carolina at Greensborolmkellam@uncg.edu

Katharin PeterSocial Sciences Data LibrarianUniversity of Southern Californiakpeter@usc.edu

The aim of this workshop is to begin an ongoing dialogue about incorporating data services and numeric resources into the social science research process.

L. Kellam, K. Peter May 2009

Data Librarians Represent!Integrating Data Services into the Social Science Research Process

Warm-up scenarios

What does “integrating data services” mean?

Who are your users?

Teaching

Data Users Non-data users Other librarians

Collaborations across campus

Workshop overview

Scenario 1

You have been invited as a guest speaker to a freshman seminar on national politics and current events. The professor casually requests that you “just talk about polling data for 10-15 minutes”. How would work within these limitations and what would you cover?

Scenario 2

You are providing a 50-minute library research workshop for lower-level comparative politics students. The students’ assignment is to write a paper comparing two countries and you have been asked to instruct them on locating scholarly articles and primary sources. How might you also incorporate numeric sources into the larger workshop?

Scenario 3

You have been asked to give a 30-minute presentation on available data sources at the all-day, new PhD student orientation for the Sociology Department. Students are wide-ranging in knowledge, ability and research interests. How would you outline your presentation so it would be appropriate for this audience?

Scenario 4

Tired of last-minute grant proposal questions, you decide to offer a “Data Resources and Tips for Faculty Writing Grant Proposals” brown bag workshop. What might you include in this 45 minute workshop/discussion? What specifically do you want the faculty to walk away knowing?

Scenario 5

It is your turn to provide the monthly 1-hour lecture for reference providers at your library (including social science and non-social science librarians as well as paraprofessionals that staff the reference desk). Given the diverse computer and mathematical skill levels of your colleagues, what sources/concepts would you cover so that they could confidently field (or refer) statistical reference questions?

Integrating Data Services

What is does this even mean?

Why is it important?

Who are your users?

Who are the users on your campus?

What the problems/challenges do you have in working with those users?

How do you fit into their social science research process?

Teaching: Data users

Incorporating data search into larger literature review http://www.hawaii.edu/edper/pdf/Vol37Iss2/Reflections.pdf

Putting data in context

Teaching: Non-data users

Finding the story in the data

Stepping stones and gateway resources

Example: Polling data and active-learning

Finding the story in the data

Source: World Development Indicators

Stepping stones and gateway resources

Source: EIU Country Reports

Source: http://data.un.org

Polling data and active-learning

Example:

What is a public opinion poll? Can results be trusted? How do you vet a polling statistic? How are the results displayed? For more information

Polling data and active-learning (cont.)

Source: Roper Center iPoll

Polling data and active-learning (cont.)

Teaching: Non-data users (cont.)

Try and get students to think about the topic beforehand.

Differentiate between walk away (knowledge) vs. take away (directions/tutorials).

How can data literacy and statistical literacy fit into small assignments or limited class time?

Teaching: Other librarians

Preparing non-social science librarians and staff for the reference desk.

Teaching advanced topics to interns.

Source: http://www.census.gov

Teaching about the American Community Survey

1. Find a partner and work on the questions below together!

2. Navigate to http://www.census.gov/

3. On the left navigation click on American FactFinder

4. Look up Winston-Salem, NC in the Fact Sheets and look through the data categories. Under which category would school enrollment appear?

5. What is the estimate for total school enrollment for Winston-Salem, NC in the 2005-2007 ACS? What was it during the 2000 Census?

Let’s Play with Fact Sheets!

Source: http://www.census.gov

Estimates Sample is small and requires aggregation of data over time

for smaller locations

Point in time versus period data Counting on April 1 of census year versus counting

continuously throughout year

Margins of error and confidence intervals Figures are an estimate with a confidence interval of 90%

What are critical concepts?

Village A has 15,000

Only 5 year estimates available (2005-2009)

Town B has 30,000

Three sets of 3 year estimates (05-07, 06-08, 07-09) & one 5 year estimate are available

City C has 80,000 or more

Five sets of 1 year estimates, three sets of 3 year estimates and one 5 year estimate are available

Collaborations across campus

Course specific outreach.

Students collecting their own data for thesis.

Starting out with PhD cohorts.

How have you collaborated?

What have we missed?

Undergraduate versus graduate students

Incorporating statistical literacy and data literacy

Active learning

Assessment

Other outreach ideas?

Selected Bibliography

Jacobs, Jim. 1991. Providing data services for machine-readable information in an academic library: Some Levels of Service. Public-Access Computer Systems Review 2(1) 144-160.

Mahoe, Rochelle. 2004. Reflections on the Dissertation Process and the Use of Secondary Data. Educational Perspectives, 37(2) 34-37.

Reed, Eleanor J. 2007. Data services in academic libraries: Assessing needs and promoting services. Reference and User Services Quarterly, 46(3) 61-73.

Stephenson, Elisabeth and Caravello, Patti Schifter. 2007. Incorporating data literacy into undergraduate information literacy programs in the social sciences: A pilot project. Reference Services Review, 35(4) 525-540.

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