{"id":586,"date":"2026-11-04T08:00:50","date_gmt":"2026-11-04T13:00:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.bsu.edu\/irds\/?p=586"},"modified":"2026-11-03T15:28:01","modified_gmt":"2026-11-03T20:28:01","slug":"introducing-data-literacy-101","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.bsu.edu\/irds\/2026\/11\/04\/introducing-data-literacy-101\/","title":{"rendered":"Data Literacy Unlocked: Introducing Data Literacy 101"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Office of Institutional Research and Decision Support’s (IRDS) institutional data efforts go beyond simply providing and using clean and reliable data. IRDS is also focused on helping to increase data literacy across campus.<\/p>\n

Indeed, one of the long-term goals charged by the University\u2019s MIDAS Committee<\/a> is the following:<\/p>\n

Data Literacy Training and Internal Consulting: <\/em><\/strong>End-user training and consultancy that educates the campus community about how to access and where to go for the data and management information they need to monitor progress and inform both strategic and operational decision-making.<\/em><\/p>\n

With that, our journey in IRDS to bring the MIDAS Committee\u2019s goals to fruition continues with our launch of Data Literacy 101 on November 10th<\/sup>.<\/p>\n

To help understand the importance of this foundational data literacy course, let us first set the stage for where literacy efforts have taken us, and where they will continue to lead.<\/p>\n

Our Data Literacy Goals:\u00a0 A Retrospective<\/h2>\n

Readers may remember a previous post<\/a> detailing the launch of the Data Literacy Institute cohorts\u2014groups of individuals across campus interested in taking their data knowledge to the next level. These cohorts engaged in a semester-long training program through the Association for Institutional Research (AIR). During the program, participants learned the foundations of asking good questions and best practices in evaluating and using data. Participants also worked in small groups throughout the semester to develop a research question the group felt was important to investigate.<\/p>\n

For a small percentage of our data enthusiasts across campus, the Data Literacy Institute offered a hands-on, intensive opportunity during the Fall 2024 and Spring 2025 semesters to become more data literate.<\/p>\n

Now, two years later, we aim to operationalize data literacy more broadly across the University.<\/p>\n

The Data Literacy Series:\u00a0 An Overview<\/h2>\n

Our data literacy strategic plan is built upon our Data Literacy Series, <\/em>a three-part series currently in development. In line with the objectives of the licensed training materials we received from AIR\u2019s Data Literacy Institute, our in-house Data Literacy Series aims to empower data users and consumers on campus to master four domains: knowledge, mindset & habits, and skills (as shown below).<\/p>\n

\"Graphic<\/p>\n

To accomplish this, the three-part series is tailored in a way to allow participants to:<\/p>\n