Data Services 101

Data is an institutional asset and key to Ohio State’s daily operations and long-term viability. 

• Data is the collecting, measuring, and using of information. For example, checking the weather forecast before you get dressed or leave the house. 
• Data is organized into domains to provide a common structure to clearly define boundaries, interdependencies, and stewardship areas of responsibility. 

Get started with the Onboarding Checklist for Tableau.

Common Sources

RAE (Reporting and Analytics Environment)

The RAE is Ohio State's centralized data repository that integrates and enhances information from various systems like Workday, SIMS, Salesforce, and Peoplesoft SIS, supporting comprehensive querying and analysis of university business processes. 

To enhance data usability for analytics, we collaborate with data analysts and engineers to apply well-designed transformations, categorizing the progressively refined datasets as Bronze, Silver, or Gold using the Medallion Data Architecture.

• Bronze schemas (raw data), end with _brz.
• Silver schemas (filtered, cleaned, augmented data), end with _slv.
• Gold schemas (business level aggregates), end with _gld. 

RAE access is available to current employees who are up to date on Institutional Data policy (IDP) training. To request access, please complete an Enterprise Data for Analytics request. 

• If you had access to Student Records roles in the ODS, please email oaa-help@osu.edu to request access to job aids.

To see what data is currently available in the RAE and permissions needed, see the RAE Object Domain Directory (Tableau access required). 

There are two types of access:

• Direct (for directly connecting and writing SQL)
• Reporting (for viewing data in the RAE, such as reports that may be in Tableau Server). This access should suffice for most users. 

More information may be found the Data Lake (RAE) page, including instructions on how to install DBeaver to connect directly to the RAE. Additional questions about the RAE or data integrations? Email Enterprise-Analytics@osu.edu.  

Qualtrics

Qualtrics is used to create surveys. It may be used by current faculty, staff, and students with a valid Ohio State name.# and password. Please visit the support site for more information about Qualtrics at Ohio State.

• If using Qualtrics with the intention of visualizing the data in Tableau, please review the job aid around Survey Data in Tableau.

SIS (Student Information Systems)

SIS (Student Information Systems) is used by future and current students for items such as class scheduling, tuition payments, and managing contact information. Faculty may use SIS for class schedules, rosters and grades or academic advising tools. More information on SIS may be found in the Administrative Resource Center. Many colleges and units utilize the ODS to directly source information found in SIS.

Common Tools

• Data.World  is Ohio State’s data catalog. It provides a repository for storing business definitions and metadata about key datasets, reports, domains, and stewards.
• DBeaver is one SQL-capable desktop tool to query data from the RAE.
• Data Visualization is the graphical representation of information and data. There are two tools Tableau and Power BI. Analysts can find trainings, resources, and best practices for Tableau in BuckeyeLearn, the Administrative and Resource Center (ARC), or brand.osu.edu.

Common Terms

• Data stewards oversee the creation, management, and appropriate use of institutional data, serving as primary contacts for their designated data domains.
• Project leaders oversee the use of Tableau in their area.