What Do We Mean When We Talk about Data Literacy?

Academic institutions manage massive and complex data. The information we generate from research, education, and administrative functions all contributes to the wealth of data assets we own and protect. Not surprisingly, as our data ecosystem grows, college and university staffs are also increasingly challenged to balance compliance and security with broad data access needs from a large and diverse set of users. One frequent goal in enterprise-wide data management and data governance efforts is to “increase data literacy” on our campuses. But what do we really mean when we talk about data literacy? This talk will explore the various interconnected concepts and related knowledge, skills, and abilities (KSAs) of data literacy, data management education, and data curation across the data life cycle. The presentation will include research on the different and somewhat competing views that academic institutions may hold for these concepts and then explore a framework for a delineated training program that may help institutions pinpoint the various user needs and deliver targeted training for their diverse data user populations. Finally, with this shared understanding of data literacy, we will discuss a few key steps that academic institutions might take to better meet user needs, with opportunities for audience participation and feedback.