1. Data Discovery and Access Kristin Partlo and Danya Leebaw Reference and Instruction Librarians, Carleton College Session for NITLE Series, “Special Topics in Quantitative Analysis” November 17, 2009

2. Today’s Agenda 1.Data Are Different 2.Presentation of Need – Marriage of Discovery and Analysis 3.Mechanisms for Data Discovery 4.Specific Manifestations at Carleton 5.How About You?

3. If You Take Away Nothing Else… Data discovery is intrinsically tied – To analysis – To your curriculum and existing models of support

4. Introductions Your Name Are you a: A.Data librarian B.Subject librarian C.Technologist D.None of the Above The weather where you are today Kristin Partlo Data and Subject Librarian Sunny but chilly Danya Leebaw Subject Librarian (Social Sciences) Bright and cold

5. We Tell Our Students… Searching for data is different from searching for other kinds of information in the library.

6. We Tell Our Students… Requires additional strategies and different ways of thinking about looking for information

7. How Does the Need for Data Present Itself?

8. Q: I’m supposed to find a data set, and I wanted to find one on pollution. Do you know of any books that would have that kind of thing? Q: We need data -- anything for our regression -- well, maybe environmental. Q: I’m writing a research proposal on political violence and whether there is a connection between that and political stability, but don’t know what kind of data to use. Q: I’m starting my comps [capstone project] idea for Economics and I found this really great article. How do I get at the data it cites, and how do I find more articles like this?

9. Q: I’m supposed to find a data set, and I wanted to find one on pollution. Do you know of any books that would have that kind of thing? Q: We need data -- anything for our regression -- well, maybe environmental. Q: I’m writing a research proposal on political violence and whether there is a connection between that and political stability, but don’t know what kind of data to use. Q: I’m starting my comps [capstone project] idea for Economics and I found this really great article. How do I get at the data it cites, and how do I find more articles like this? Do these questions look familiar? Do you get questions like these at your reference desk and/or in appointments?

10. Q: I’m supposed to find a data set, and I wanted to find one on pollution. Do you know of any books that would have that kind of thing? Q: We need data -- anything for our regression -- well, maybe environmental. Q: I’m writing a research proposal on political violence and whether there is a connection between that and political stability, but don’t know what kind of data to use. Q: I’m starting my comps [capstone project] idea for Economics and I found this really great article. How do I get at the data it cites, and how do I find more articles like this? Do these questions look familiar? Do you get questions like these at your reference desk and/or in appointments? Would you consider answering these questions to be providing support for data discovery?

11. Need for Data Support Discovery Analysis

12. Need for Data Support Discovery Analysis

13. Need for Data Support Discovery Analysis

14. Need for Data Support Discovery Analysis

15. Need for Data Support Discovery Analysis Comps Students Comps Students Students Analyzing Data Provided Them Students seeking numeric information without much analysis

16. How Do We Meet the Need?

17. Liberal Arts Colleges are Different Increasing emphasis on quantitative literacy initiatives on campuses, especially across the curriculum – Also, social science focus on quantitative analyses Data support is virtual and personal – Typically, LACs do not have physical data support centers We have fuzzy roles – Often train on the job – “Who does what” is fluid – Data support is usually just one part of an individual’s job Some data sets & data products are beyond our means Professional development from national organizations (IASSIST, ICPSR) is most attuned to research universities

18. Support for Data Discovery Evolves from the Overall Service Model

19. Who Provides Data Support at Liberal Arts Colleges? Librarians Information Technologists Faculty GIS Specialist, Others

20. Data Support at Carleton Discovery Analysis Librarians Technologists Faculty GIS specialist Math Lab Need

21. Data Support at Carleton Discovery Analysis Librarians Technologists Faculty GIS specialist Math Lab

22. Data Support at Carleton Discovery Analysis Librarians Technologists Faculty GIS specialist Math Lab

23. Data Support at Carleton Discovery Analysis Librarians Technologists Faculty GIS specialist Math Lab

24. Data Support at Carleton Discovery Analysis Librarians Technologists Faculty GIS specialist Math Lab

25. Data Support at Carleton Discovery Analysis Librarians Technologists Faculty GIS specialist Math Lab

26. Data Support at Carleton Discovery Analysis Librarians Technologists Faculty GIS specialist Math Lab ?

27. Data Support at Carleton Discovery Analysis Librarians Technologists Faculty GIS specialist Math Lab ? Matching variables to questions Codebooks Opening data files Descriptive statistics

28. Data Support at Carleton Discovery Analysis Librarians Technologists Faculty GIS specialist Math Lab

29. What Mechanisms Are In Place to Help Students and Faculty Discover Data? CollectionsWeb Guides Service Point for appointments and Drop-Ins Class & Assignment Support Faculty Development An Instructional Approach

30. Collections Subscription and membership resources – Microdata (ICPSR, SSEDL) – Aggregate data (WDI, IFS) One-time purchases – LAPOP Government documents Free web resources Collections

31. Web Guides LibGuides – Subject: Comparative Political Data – Course: Family Demography, Econ 395: various sections – Overall: Data, Datasets, and Statistical Resources Delicious Kristin’s Data Blog Web Guides

32. Strengthen Cooperation Among Service Points – Referrals – Training general reference staff and subject librarians about data sources – Team teach when possible Service Points for Appointments and Drop-Ins

33. Economics Capstone research projects Principles of Macroeconomics Political Science Political Economy of Latin America Methods of Political Science Research Environmental Politics and Policy Sociology/Anthropology Myths of Crime Family Demography Class & Assignment Support

34. Involvement in the Quantitative Reasoning effort Increased credibility Helped some faculty see an expanded role for librarians – E.g., more than just catalog searching Faculty Development Avoid weasel words. Don’t just say “many,” say how many.

35. Data fluency -- developing habits of research Data searching is frequently a matter of turning to the literature – Learning to read the literature instrumentally Model good searching behavior An Instructional Approach

36. Political Science 322: Political Economy of Latin America Extensive use of WDI, IFS, statistical compendia, LAPOP, Latinobarometro Collections Web guide used across department: Comparative Political Data Web Tools 25 individual library appointments (17 students in class) Reference desk drop ins Service Points Librarian participation on class Moodle (e.g. sent resource suggestions) Class & Assignment Support Faculty received QuIRK grant to increase quantitative literacy elements of course Faculty DevelopmentInstructional Approach

37. Free Government information online Statistical compendia, LexisNexis Statistical Collections Research guide to financial statistics available online and through library Web Tools Reference Desk Librarian available for appointments, chat, email, etc. Service Points Class & Assignment Support Faculty member heard librarian’s presentation at a workshop and invited to help Faculty Development Brief presentation focused on understanding sources (BLS, Census, Fed, etc.) Instructional Approach Economics 110: Principles of Macroeconomics

38. General Social Survey ICPSR, Social Science Electronic Data Library Collections Specialized web guide for course Web Tools 15 individual library appointments (19 registered) Referrals to Academic Technologist for analysis help Service Points Presentation on finding data Planned a team-taught session with Academic Technologist Class & Assignment Support Faculty Development ?? Instructional Approach Sociology 229: Family Demography

39. CollectionsWeb ToolsService Points Class & Assignment Support Faculty DevelopmentInstructional Approach This Is What We Do. How About You?

40. Questions? Kristin Partlo kpartlo@carleton.edu 507.222.7668 Danya Leebaw dleebaw@carleton.edu 507.222.5179 Links from this presentation http://gouldguides.carleton.edu/datadiscovery