Data Resources

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Below you will find resources written and spoken by Dr. Rankin relating to the best ways to display data for data users (such as educators using data to inform decisions that impact students). These include books, resources (like Over-the-Counter Data Standards and templates), articles and journal papers (many of which can be accessed online), presentations (such as her TED Talk at TEDxTUM, keynote presentations, and recorded presentations), and media interviews.

 

WRITTEN RESOURCES

 

Most of the 10 books and many articles and papers Dr. Rankin has written relate to data. See the Publications & Research page for details.

Additional resources include:

  • Over-the-Counter Data (OTCD) Standards, which summarize (in 8-page checklist format) over 300 different studies and other expert sources concerning the best ways to display data so the data is easily, accurately, and quickly understood

  • Templates for creating reference sheets and reference guides, as well as "real life" samples, to help you make your own report-specific supplemental documentation.

  • Data Table detailing some of the infinite data types educators use (data systems should provide reporting capabilities to support all key data types)

  • Question Table detailing some of the key questions educators seek to answer with the support of data (data systems should provide reports allowing users to answer key questions)

  • Resources referenced in the book How to Make Data Work: A Guide for Educational Leaders (e.g., evaluation tools, pre-crafted emails educational leaders can send to advocate for OTCD aspects in their data tools, and more)

 

PRESENTATIONS & MEDIA APPEARANCES

 

Dr. Rankin's presentations (such as her TED Talk at TEDxTUM, keynote presentations, and recorded presentations), many of which focus on data, can be perused in a visually robust gallery on Dr. Rankin's Speeches & Presentations page, or within a long list (in traditional CV format).

Dr. Rankin's media interviews relating to data can be found within a long list on her Media Appearances page.

Third-Party Resources

 

Data Use Standards

To better understand what data knowledge and skills educators should possess, refer to SLDS Data Use Standards: Knowledge, Skills, and Professional Behaviors for Effective Data Use (Statewide Longitudinal Data Systems Grant Program, 2015). These standards serve as a comprehensive resource in many other areas of data use, as well, and are worth examining.

 

OTHER STANDARDS

National standards have been available over the last 2 decades to offer guidance concerning the best way to communicate test results (standards applicable to data systems & data system reports should be balanced with an understanding of data display research):

 

Data Visualization Experts Not Exclusive to Education

Experts who study and write about data visualization as it applies to all fields (e.g., graphing data outside of Education, which includes many aspects that can be applied to - and/or modified for - OTCD) include: