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Data Literacy
A User's Guide
- David Herzog - Missouri School of Journalism, USA
February 2015 | 224 pages | SAGE Publications, Inc
A practical, skill-based introduction to data analysis and literacy
We are swimming in a world of data, and this handy guide will keep you afloat while you learn to make sense of it all. In Data Literacy: A User's Guide, David Herzog, a journalist with a decade of experience using data analysis to transform information into captivating storytelling, introduces students and professionals to the fundamentals of data literacy, a key skill in today’s world. Assuming the reader has no advanced knowledge of data analysis or statistics, this book shows how to create insight from publicly-available data through exercises using simple Excel functions. Extensively illustrated, step-by-step instructions within a concise, yet comprehensive, reference will help readers identify, obtain, evaluate, clean, analyze and visualize data. A concluding chapter introduces more sophisticated data analysis methods and tools including database managers such as Microsoft Access and MySQL and standalone statistical programs such as SPSS, SAS and R.
We are swimming in a world of data, and this handy guide will keep you afloat while you learn to make sense of it all. In Data Literacy: A User's Guide, David Herzog, a journalist with a decade of experience using data analysis to transform information into captivating storytelling, introduces students and professionals to the fundamentals of data literacy, a key skill in today’s world. Assuming the reader has no advanced knowledge of data analysis or statistics, this book shows how to create insight from publicly-available data through exercises using simple Excel functions. Extensively illustrated, step-by-step instructions within a concise, yet comprehensive, reference will help readers identify, obtain, evaluate, clean, analyze and visualize data. A concluding chapter introduces more sophisticated data analysis methods and tools including database managers such as Microsoft Access and MySQL and standalone statistical programs such as SPSS, SAS and R.
Chapter 1: Data Defined
Chapter 2: Clues for uncovering data
Chapter 3: Online databases
Chapter 4: Identifying and requesting offline data
Chapter 5: Data dirt is everywhere
Chapter 6: Data integrity checks
Chapter 7: Getting your data in shape
Chapter 8: Number summaries and comparisons
Chapter 9: Calculating summary statistics and number comparisons
Chapter 10: Spreadsheets as database managers
Chapter 11: Visualizing your data
Chapter 12: Charting choices
Chapter 13: Charting in Excel
Chapter 14: Charting with Web tools
Chapter 15: Taking analysis to the next level
Supplements
Student Study Site
The open-access Student Study Site includes the following:
- Easy to use data sets for lessons
- "On Your Own"exercises aimed to help students test their data literacy
Great overview of the data process using spreadsheets, which seems reachable for our students.
Communications, University of Deusto in San Sebastian
September 24, 2019
It is a very useful and easy-to-follow book. I intend to recommend it to my students as a complimentary source to gain an understanding of the context, concepts and main steps for doing data driven journalism.
Communication Sciences, Dogus University
May 7, 2018
A very useful book, and I am using it as a supplemental text. The book uses Excel as the analytic tool -- normally a very good choice -- be we are using SPSS in the class. I have recommended the students buy their own copies if they intend to conduct analyses on their own or for their employer in the future, where SPSS may not be available.
College Of Commmunication, Marquette University
September 5, 2015
Sage College Publishing
