Data literacy

Data literacy is the ability to read, create and communicate data as information and has been formally described in varying ways. Discussion of the skills inherent to data literacy and possible instructional methods have emerged as data collection becomes routinized and talk of data analysis and big data has become commonplace in the news, business, government and society in countries across the world.

Related terms

Data literacy focuses on the ability to build knowledge from data, and to communicate that meaning to others. It is related to other fields, including:

• Statistical literacy
• Media literacy
• Information literacy
• New literacies
• Numeracy
• Transliteracy
• 21st-century skills

Definitions

• A data-scientific view emphasizes the numeric, statistical nature of data as information, including "... understanding what data mean, including how to read graphs and charts appropriately, draw correct conclusions from data, and recognize when data are being used in misleading or inappropriate ways."
• A population-focused education view describes it as "... the knowledge of what data are, how they are collected, analyzed, visualized and shared, and is the understanding of how data are applied for benefit or detriment, within the cultural context of security and privacy."
• A workforce-focused example includes varying technical and digital formats by describing data literacy as "... competence in finding, manipulating, managing, and interpreting data, including not just numbers but also text and images."

Applications

• Journalism
• Education

List of libraries provided data literacy

The Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s (MIT) Data Management and Publishing tutorial, The EDINA Research Data Management Training (MANTRA), The University of Edinburgh’s Data Library and The University of Minnesota libraries’ Data Management Course for Structural Engineers.