Data can be intimidating! We’ve all been in a situation where a conversation was going on, but we were unsure how to make sense of data but don’t want to admit it. This job aid will provide guidance around understanding and talking about data.
There are four basics when it comes to talking about data.
- Be curious and ask questions.
- Curiosity and questions help us make sense of our daily lives. If you’ve ever looked at a weather forecast or traffic or even used Google, you’ve asked yourself a question and found an answer. A good place to start with data is the how, what, when, why, and where.
- Speak the lingo
- This doesn’t cover all the data terms, but there are two fundamental terms when it comes to making the most of your data.
- The first is population. It doesn’t mean the number of people, but instead means a collection of things you are trying to learn about.
- Imagine you are looking at reviews for a restaurant. One restaurant has 5 stars, but only three people have reviewed it. The other restaurant has 5 stars, but over 200 people have reviewed it. It’s harder to have a five-star rating with 200 reviews than it is to have a 5-star rating with three reviews. Knowing the size of the population can change our understanding of the data.
- The second is variable. This is a way of saying a measurement, property, or characteristic that can vary or change.
- Sticking with the restaurant example, if you’re trying to find a place to eat, you may know what is most important to you. Is it location? Cuisine served? A special occasion? Price range? All of those are variables that can change giving you the specifics you need to make your decision.
- The first is population. It doesn’t mean the number of people, but instead means a collection of things you are trying to learn about.
- This doesn’t cover all the data terms, but there are two fundamental terms when it comes to making the most of your data.
- What is data and how is it collected?
- Oftentimes when people hear “data”, they think of spreadsheets or complex math. Data is nothing more than information that’s been collected to better understand something. As complicated as it sounds, it’s no different than asking your friends’ opinions and using that information to make a decision.
- Know where data is stored
- Data is information, but it must have a home. Some commons places data is stored are spreadsheets and databases (think of organized, digital spaces that house many spreadsheets or “tables”).