NEW!
https://www.slideshare.net/nebraskaccess/ys-census-bureau-data-tools-handout
1440's analysis of the importance of the 1950 Census, and how to access it:
"1950 Census Data Unveiled"
The US National Archives yesterday released a batch of census records from 1950, shedding light on the life of more than 150 million Americans at the midpoint of the 20th century and after World War II. The records were kept private under federal rules, restricting public access for 72 years.
The 1950 census is one of the last of its kind, with more than 20 detailed questions asked of every person. The data span 6.4 million digitized pages and include names, ages, addresses, as well as answers to questions about ancestry, the kinds of toilets and kitchen sinks families had, and more. Census forms from later decades were eventually changed to ask fewer questions, with the 2010 census asking ten and the 2020 census asking only nine. The detailed questions give historians and genealogists an unprecedented look at the personal dynamics, relationships, and sentiments of society at the time.
About 26 million Americans living in 1950 are still alive, according to online genealogy platform My Heritage.
See the full census data here, and see a visual evolution of the census here."
1440's primer on how the Federal Budget works (More)
(from the U.S. Census -- Youtube Video)
United States Demographics:
- Find statistics by race, as well as figures on minority groups such as the foreign-born, same-sex couples, and the differently-abled. Most reports include figures for the U.S. as a whole, as well as by state.
Arkansas Demographics:
"These statistics include 2011 information on minority populations in Arkansas." --
from a David. W. Mullins Library Libguide (UofA)
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Heatmapper: Data Visualization
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Data Science |
| www.heatmapper.ca |
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"Heat maps use color to visually summarize information and make the relationship between data values immediately apparent.
Heatmapper is a free data visualization tool that allows users to generate, cluster, and visualize five different types of heat maps: Expression, Pairwise, Image Overlay, Geomap, and Geocoordinate. Users upload their own data and can easily customize their heat map's appearance and plotting parameters.
The tool can also be applied to explore datasets using the searchable and sortable data table view, or by hovering the cursor over the heat map to view numeric data values.
For detailed information, example images, and instructions on making each of the five classes of heat maps, users can click the "About" drop-down menu at the top of the page and select "Instructions."
Sample datasets are provided to experiment with each type of heat map. Heatmapper was developed by the Wishart Research Group at the University of Alberta, with financial support provided by the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) and Genome Alberta"
from the ISR, August 6, 2021
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From the Internet Scout Report, July 16, 2021:
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Data Science |
| rspatial.org |
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"R is a software package and programming language widely used for data analysis by researchers in the social sciences, natural sciences, and humanities.
The materials offered in this resource provide instruction on using R for spatial data analysis and modeling. Readers who are unfamiliar with R should not fear, because the materials begin with an introduction to using R that covers everything from the installation and basic data types, to generating complex graphics like scatter plots.
Once users are comfortable with R programming, they can move on to the spatial analysis instructions, which guide users through the basics of spatial data, remote sensing image analysis, and MODIS data.
The site is easy to navigate by clicking the "Next" and "Previous" buttons to move through the materials in order. Each section of the instructions offers an introduction to the concept covered, programming language to apply and practice, and links to other materials for further reference.
This resource was created by Robert J. Hijmans, a researcher at the University of California-Davis."
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Apache Superset
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Data Science |
| superset.apache.org |
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"Apache Superset is a fast, lightweight, intuitive tool for users of all skill levels to visualize and explore data.
The feature-rich, highly customizable, cloud-native tool is used by companies such as Airbnb, American Express, Lyft, Netflix, Shopkick, Twitter, and Yahoo!.
Novice readers can use the interface to build appealing data visualizations from simple line graphs to interactive maps, all without the need for coding skills.
Superset offers features that make it an asset for many types of projects, including the ability to design an interactive dashboard for data extraction, define custom dimensions and metrics, add custom visualization plugins, and configure detailed security and access rules. The tool is easily scalable and can connect to any SQL based datasource. On the homepage, users can click the "Get Started" button for an overview of how to use the tool and an FAQ, which can be navigated using clickable section headings in the left sidebar.
The "Gallery" tab showcases examples of data visualizations created with Apache Superset. Users can check out the "Resources" tab for external resources and tutorials and a link to a GitHub repository (just click on "Awesome Apache Superset").
Apache Superset is a project of The Apache Software Foundation."
from the Internet Scout Report, (ISR) July 30, 2021
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Data Science |
| earthtime.org/stories/renewables |
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"With our feet firmly planted on the ground, it can be challenging to see the global impact of our energy choices.
Renewables, an open-source data visualization and narrative created by Ryan Hoffman, tells the story of the global spread of renewable energy resources from 1984 to the present.
Readers can use navigation arrows to explore slides showing satellite imagery of the spatial distribution and growth of renewables. Slides in the visualization focus on specific types of renewable energy generation (wind, solar photovoltaic, and solar farms) and regions, with curated notes about what to observe. Renewables is a product of EarthTime, a project launched by the Community Robotics, Education and Technology Empowerment (CREATE) Lab at Carnegie Mellon University, in partnership with the World Economic Forum. EarthTime aims to "support positive future decision-making," through narrative animations of satellite imagery showing the Earth's natural and human-driven transformations.
In addition to Renewables, users can click on the "Stories" tab along the top of the page to access more curated visualizations around themes including Mining, Pandemics, and Crisis in the Sahel.
Readers looking for a deeper dive can use the "Data Library" to build their own visualizations with data from a wide range of sources, such as the U.S. Geological Survey, Google, and GlobalData.
From ISR, July 30, 2021
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The Solutions Project: 100% Clean Energy Vision
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Data Science |
| thesolutionsproject.org/why-clean-energy |
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"What would 100% renewable energy look like where you live?
This interactive world map encourages readers to explore the possibilities of a green energy transition by laying out a projected renewable energy mix for the year 2050, including residential and commercial solar, wind, water, and geothermal energy.
There are a number of ways to interact with the map.
Readers can use the bar at the top of the map to toggle between "Countries," "Cities," and "U.S. states," then click on regions on the map for details. Alternatively, users can click "List" on the left side to scroll through different visions, from San Jose (26% solar plants) to Montreal (36% offshore wind).
Each vision estimates the number of jobs that would be created, health and energy cost savings, lives saved by reducing air pollution, and other encouraging metrics. Even better, they can be downloaded as colorful PDFs, making it easy to teach and share.
The Solutions Project also shares energy-related stories on its Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter pages (@100isnow on all platforms).
Its YouTube channel hosts an eight-part series, "Climate Curious," exploring how climate issues intersect with antiracism, food and nutrition, student activism, policy, and more.
The Solutions Project is funded by private, corporate, and institutional donors that are listed in the "Who We Are"
section under 'Our Funders.' "
From the ISR, July 30, 2021
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The Stability of Ships and Other Bodies (a 2021 Textbook from the Open Textbook Library)
(A Data-rich resource)
"Facets offers two powerful data visualization tools. The first, Overview, gives users a quick visual analysis of the distribution of values across the features of one or more datasets. Overview provides users with summary statistics that give the general shape of each feature of their dataset and may help identify issues like unexpected values, missing values for a large number of observations, training/serving skew, and train/test/validation skew. The second tool, Dive, is an interactive interface for exploring large numbers of data points at once. Dive visualizes the relationships between data points across all different features of a dataset and allows a data point to be bucketed in multiple dimensions. The tool can help users identify classifier failure, systematic errors, and potential new signals for ranking."
from ISR, July 9, 2021 (ISR = INTERNET SCOUT REPORT)
DATA VISUALIZATION *and* DATA VISUALIZATION SOCIETY
DATA SOURCES FOR ANALYSIS OF RACIAL BIAS
("Member-sourced list of available datasets to help visualize racial bias and inequality")
THE TOP VISUALIZATIONS OF 2020
HARVARD DATAVERSE ABOUT DATAVERSE
DATA ON WORLD POVERTY AND HUNGER
by Amanda Rachel Johnson (Provides a New Way of Looking at Data)
(From her Thesis:
PUBLIC ABSTRACT:
"This body of work explores multiple technical and aesthetic methods of representing complex statistical information in an approachable visual language, bridging the boundaries between data science, graphic design and fine arts.
Ordinary data charts are combined together with other charts and diagrams and transformed in unexpected ways in order to form the basic structure of imaginary landscape scenes. Line plots over time become the rising and falling curves of hills and mountains, bar charts are morphed into industrial factories on the horizon, and bubble charts become billowing smoke, a forest of trees, or a school of fish. The hope is that the work will act as an engaging alternative to traditional data representation and will encourage curiosity and a fresh perspective."
The below is from the INTERNET SCOUT REPORT (UW-MADISON) dated May 28, 2021
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Why Do Cats and Dogs
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Data Science |
| whydocatsanddogs.com |
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"Data visualization projects are popular with Scout staff and subscribers alike. This light-hearted data viz project struck a chord with readers for its exploration of questions surrounding beloved pets. The lovable subject is only rivaled by the impressive display of coding and design, so even animal-averse readers will have plenty to gain by giving it a click.
It is a question that has divided people for centuries: Are you a cat person or a dog person?
Whether you prefer felines or canines, many questions surround both species.
For example, Nadieh Bremer, a data visualization designer and long-time cat owner, wondered, "Why does my cat go crazy for my sweaty gym clothes?"
Recognizing that many people turn to the internet for answers, Bremer created Why Do Cats and Dogs, a project using Google Trends data from 2014-2018 to examine the "most asked questions about cats and dogs that start with the word 'why' in Google Search."
The project's landing page welcomes users to choose a track: dogs, cats, or "Surprise me!" (which randomly selects one or the other).
After making this selection, readers can explore the popular inquiries people Googled for each animal.
Questions are grouped topically (e.g. Likes and Dislikes and Licking, Biting & More) and visualized by the popularity of search terms.
Users can toggle over search terms for additional backstory, or click on them to generate the Google search for themselves.
Scrolling to the bottom of either dataset, readers will find a query bar to free-form search the data, as well as additional content comparing cat and dog searches on a global scale.
Whether visitors learn something insightful (such as why dogs bark) or silly (such as why cats are scared of cucumbers), this data visualization project is definitely worth checking out."
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Following the Science
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Science |
| pudding.cool/2021/03/covid-science |
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"Following the Science:
is a data visualization project that celebrates the collaborative efforts of the global science community to help humankind understand and survive the pandemic. A testament to the value of empirical research, a feel-good perspective on the pandemic, and a toast to the hard work of science, the project explores research about COVID-19 published on PubMed Central (an online database of biomedical and life sciences research articles). In 2020, about 1 in 10 articles added to PubMed Central was related to coronaviruses. Using animated data visualizations, Following the Science honors the synergistic work of the researchers behind those articles, illustrating cooperation across the globe and across disciplines. Simply scroll down the page to view the project, and navigate all the way to the bottom to learn about the methodology behind it. Following the Science was created by Jeff MacInnes, a data scientist, visualization designer, and visual storyteller."
FROM ISR, JUNE 11, 2021
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The below review of Data and Society is found in the April 2021 issue of College and Research Libraries News, Vol. 82, no. 4 (2021)
The author of the review is: Ken Fujiuchi, Buffalo State College, fujiuck@buffalostate.edu
My thanks and gratitude to Mr. Fujiuchi for his review:
"Data & Society is a nonprofit research institute dedicated to providing empirical research on data-centric technology and its impact on society. The resource library contains various media types, including scholarly articles, reports, and multimedia covering multiple topics, including artificial intelligence, surveillance, privacy, disinformation, automation, and how these new technologies affect the individual and communities.
There are five major sections: “About,” “Research,” “People,” “Events,” and “Library.”
“About” provides its mission and values, annual reports, and financial statements to support the nonprofit organization’s goal to remain transparent and independent.
“Research” allows the user to browse the collection using curated research tracks. The section highlights featured tracks and recent works added to the collection, followed by a complete listing of the research tracks. Selecting a research track takes users to a page that features research on the topic and a list of works filtered by the research track topic. Using the research tracks is an easy way to find works on a curated topic, but sections can have inconsistent content.
The “People” section lists members and researchers involved with the organization. The list can be filtered using roles or research topics, and clicking on individuals reveals a short biography and a list of individual’s authored works.
“Events” provides access to recordings of their recent events and podcast series. Here you will find discussions between experts on
current topics related to the research tracks the organization covers, as well as a regularly scheduled speaker series called “Databites.”
“Library” allows users to search through the resources listed in the other areas and provides access to peer-reviewed content.
Researchers can use a basic keyword search or combine filter options to narrow down the list by topic or content type.
There are listings for academic articles authored by their members, but it’s not always clear how the work relates to the research tracks or why it is part of the collection.
The organization publishes a variety of original research provided by members of their expert networks. This website is a good resource with a relatively narrow focus. It does an excellent job of delivering empirical research sources, though many are not necessarily peer-reviewed.
For researchers interested in the social implications of new technology, this site provides timely content."
—Ken Fujiuchi, Buffalo State College, fujiuck@buffalostate.edu
The specific website for this review may be found here
Internet blackouts
“At least 35 countries have restricted access to the [I]nternet or social media platforms at least once since 2019, according to Netblocks, a group (that) tracks [I]nternet freedom. Authorities have used the outages to reduce or prevent unrest—or to hide it from public view.”
Sara Fischer, “Axios Media Trends,” Axios, February 2, 2021,
https://www.axios.com/newsletters/axios-media-trends-980eaff9-01b3-441b-8983-58dd9301fe59.html (retrieved February 5, 2021)
Outcomes of higher education
“During 2018, about 10 years after completing the 2007-08 bachelor’s degree, 63 percent of graduates owned a home and 86 percent had a retirement account. Forty-three percent of 2007-08 bachelor’s degree recipients had completed another degree or certificate program as of 2018. Among 2007-08 bachelor’s degree recipients who were working in 2018 . . . 85 percent were employed full time.”
Melissa Cominole, Erin Thomsen, Mihaela Henderson, Erin Dunlop Velez, and Jennifer Cooney, Baccalaureate and Beyond (B&B:08/18): First Look at the 2018 Employment and Educational Experiences of 2007–08 College Graduates (NCES 2021-241),
U.S. Department of Education, Washington, DC: National Center for Education Statistics, January 2021,
https://nces.ed.gov/pubsearch/pubsinfo.asp?pubid=2021241 (retrieved February 5, 2021).
Social media users
At the start of 2021, there were 4.20 billion active social media users worldwide. That equates to nearly 54 percent of the total global population. “The typical user has an account on more than 8 different social media platforms, and spends an average of close to 2½ hours using social media each day.”
“Social Media Users,” DataReportal–Global Digital Insights, January 2021,
https://datareportal.com/social-media-users (retrieved March 1, 2021).
Global Internet users
The number of Internet users worldwide grew by more than 330 million over the past year, reaching a total of 4.72 billion at the start of April 2021. There are 5.27 billion mobile phone users and 4.33 billion active social media users.
Simon Kemp, “Digital 2021 April Global Statshot Report,” DataReportal, April 21, 2021,
https://datareportal.com/reports/digital-2021-april-global-statshot (retrieved May 4, 2021).
Digestible news
“The average word count for news articles (online) has fallen from about 449 in September 2019 to about 380 in February 2020, according to data from Chartbeat.”
Sara Fischer, “Newsrooms Get Creative about Presenting Long-Form Journalism in the Internet Era,”
Axios, https://www.axios.com/journalism-podcasts-longreads-phones-word-count-1d446e9d-433f-4bbc-94da-a7d18e1a2f5c.html
(retrieved March 29, 2021).
News engagement
"Social media interactions with news articles were down 65 percent in 2021 compared to 2020. Cable news primetime viewership was down 36 percent. News media app downloads were down 33 percent. Unique visits to the top five news sites were down 8 percent.
Sara Fischer and Neal Rothschild, “News Engagement Fell off a Cliff in 2021,” Axios, January 4, 2022, https://www.axios.com/media-ratings-traffic-2021-a6be4d72-ba5f-4f8a-ae3e-0872ecd87677.html (retrieved January 6, 2022)."
Newspaper circulation
“The estimated total U.S. daily newspaper circulation (print and digital combined) in 2020 was 24.3 million for weekday and 25.8 million for Sunday, each down 6 percent from the previous year.” For comparison, the weekday circulation in 1984 was 63.3 million (print).
Pew Research Center, “Trends and Facts on Newspapers | State of the News Media,” Pew Research Center’s Journalism Project (blog), June 29, 2021,
https://www.pewresearch.org/journalism/fact-sheet/newspapers (retrieved December 2, 2021).
Postsecondary campus safety
While the overall number of reported on-campus crimes fell from 34,100 in 2009 to 28,500 in 2018, and the rate of crime fell from 23.0 to 19.5 incidents per 10,000 FTE students, the number of reported forcible sex offenses on campus increased from 2,500 in 2009 to 12,300 in 2018 (a 383 percent increase). “Although changes in the reporting guidelines for forcible sex offenses in 2014 likely contributed to the largest single-year percentage increase in that year (36 percent, from 5,000 to 6,800), the number of reported forcible sex offenses on campus continued to increase steadily between 2014 and 2018, from 6,800 to 12,300.”
Véronique Irwin, Ke Wang, Jiashan Cui, Jizhi Zhang, and Alexandra Thompson, “Report on Indicators of School Crime and Safety: 2020 (NCES 2021-092/NCJ 300772),” July 2021, National Center for Education Statistics, U.S. Department of Education, and Bureau of Justice Statistics, Office of Justice Programs, U.S. Department of Justice, Washington, D.C.,
https://nces.ed.gov/pubsearch/pubsinfo.asp?pubid=2021092 (retrieved December 2, 2021).
Text mining index
The General Index is a “gigantic index of the words and short phrases contained in more than 100 million journal articles—including many paywalled papers. The catalogue, which was released on 7 October and is free to use, holds tables of more than 355 billion words and sentence fragments listed next to the articles in which they appear.”
Holly Else, “Giant, Free Index to World’s Research Papers Released Online,” Nature, October 26, 2021,
https://doi.org/10.1038/d41586-021-02895-8 (retrieved November 30, 2021).
WorldCat growth
“In FY21, WorldCat grew beyond 500 million records and 3 billion library holdings, a 6.74 percent growth in bibliographic records and a 4.35 percent growth in holdings from FY20.”
“OCLC Annual Report 2020-2021,” OCLC, November 12, 2021,
https://www.oclc.org/content/annual-report/en_us/2021/home.html (retrieved December 1, 2021).
Copyright Gary Pat
Declining reading scores:
“In 2019, the average reading score for twelfth-grade students was 2 points lower (285) compared to 2015, the previous assessment year, and 7 points lower than 1992, the first reading assessment year.
Average scores are reported on the NAEP reading scale that ranges from 0 to 500.” A score of 302 is considered “proficient.”
The National Assessment of Educational Progress, “NAEP Reading: National Average Scores,”
https://www.nationsreportcard.gov/reading/nation/scores/?grade=12 (retrieved April 6, 2022).
Internet usage among U.S. teens
“Nearly half of all U.S. teens (46 percent) say they use the internet ‘almost constantly,’ according to a new poll, around double the percentage (24 percent) that reported the same usage in 2014–15. Nearly all (97 percent) say they use the internet daily. More than half (53 percent) of teens who almost constantly use at least one social network say they are on social media too much.
Most teens (75 percent) say they visit YouTube daily, and around half say they use TikTok daily, Snapchat and Instagram at least daily.”
Sara Fischer, “Internet Usage Skyrocketing among U.S. Teens,” Axios, August 13, 2022,
https://www.axios.com/2022/08/13/teens-online-habits-study.
(COLLEGE AND RESEARCH LIBRARIES NEWS, OCTOBER 2022)
News deserts
“A fifth of the country’s population—70 million people—now live in an area with no local news organizations, or one at risk, with only one local news outlet and very limited access to critical news and information. The United States continues to lose newspapers at a rate of two per week. . . . About 7 percent of the nation’s counties, or 211, now have no local newspaper.”
Erin Karter, “As Newspapers Close, Struggling Communities Are Hit Hardest by the Decline in Local Journalism,” Northwestern Now, June 29, 2022, https://news.northwestern.edu/stories/2022/06/newspapers-close-decline-in-local-journalism (retrieved July 12, 2022).
(from College and Research Libraries News, September 2022)
Textbooks
“The average postsecondary student spends between $628 and $1,471 annually for books and supplies as of the 2021–2022 academic year. Hard copy books can cost as much as $400, with an average price between $80 and $150. The price of textbooks increases by an average of 12 percent with each new edition. Between 1977 and 2015, the cost of textbooks increased 1,041 percent. The increase in the cost of textbooks outpaced currency inflation by 238 percent from 1977 to 2015.”
Melanie Hanson, “Average Cost of College Textbooks [2022]: Prices per Year,”
Education Data Initiative, July 15,2022, https://educationdata.org/average-cost-of-college-textbooks.
(NOTE: Data Facts on Internet Blackouts, Declining Reading Scores, Outcomes of Higher Education, Digestible News, Global Internet Users, and Social media users, plus the Rising Costs of Texts all came from the "Fast Facts" feature of the
College and Research Libraries News.)
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