17 KEY TRAITS OF

17 key TRAITS OF DATA LITERACY

 Data literacy is A Highly Data Literate Person:
Data literacy is the ability to “read, If poor data literacy is such an
understand, create and communicate incredibly large opportunity for
data as information.1” It’s quickly the advancement of our corporate HAS KNOWLEDGE OF:
becoming a fundamental requirement cultures and for society as a whole, 1. Basic Elements of Data............................................................................................................ 05
for professionals in every discipline and I believe that it is, then it behooves 2. Data Storage Methods............................................................................................................ 05
and industry. Much like word us to have a clear understanding of
3. Data Analysis Principles........................................................................................................... 06
processing or internet navigation in what it means to possess it.
previous decades, data literacy has 4. Data Visualization Rules of Thumb................................................................................. 07
shifted from a specialized skill to a I have collaborated with a number
commonly sought-after attribute, as of industry thought-leaders to come PUTS TO USE THE FOLLOWING skills:
companies both small and large seek up with a starting-point list of 17 5. Reads Visual Displays of Data............................................................................................. 09
to transition to a data-driven culture. characteristic traits that apply to
6. Prepares Data For Analysis.................................................................................................... 09
individuals who can participate in and
The current state of affairs, though, is contribute to a data-driven cultural 7. Explores Data................................................................................................................................... 10
that there’s a major gap between the transition. People who possess and 8. Creates Clear Visuals....................................................................................................................11
level of fluency in data disciplines that demonstrate the following knowledge, 9. Communicates Data Effectively...........................................................................................11
companies and organizations of all skills, attitudes and behaviors can be
types require of their people, and the described as highly “data literate”.
actual level of fluency that the people
EMBODIES THESE attitudes:
in those groups have. 10. Inclusive..............................................................................................................................................13
11. Confident...........................................................................................................................................13
In a 2018 Gartner report entitled 12. Alert.......................................................................................................................................................14
“Fostering Data Literacy and
13. Ethical..................................................................................................................................................15
Information as a Second Language”,
research director Valerie A. Logan
found that 152 Chief Development PRACTICES THESE Behaviors:
Officers who responded to a survey BEN JONES 14. Resourcefully Utilizes Data.....................................................................................................17
ranked “poor data literacy” as the Founder of Data Literacy, LLC 15. Continuously Improves Data.................................................................................................17
“second biggest internal roadblock to https://dataliteracy.com 16. Effectively Advocates for Data...........................................................................................18
success2” out of 13 different factors.
17. Enthusiastically Spreads Data Literacy..........................................................................19

1 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Data_literacy
2 https://www.gartner.com/technology/research/data-literacy/

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BASIC ELEMENTS
OF DATA
The data literate person knows how to Just as the poet studies vowels and

KNOWLEDGE
distinguish between different types of consonants, verbs and nouns, highly
data, such as categorical and numer- data literate individuals embrace the
ical variables, discrete versus contin- fundamental building blocks of the
uous values, and ratio or interval data language of data. This enables them
fields. Beyond merely being able to to see data for what it is - informa-
identify data types, however, the data tion that can be grouped, aggregat-
Our knowledge is the body of facts and information with literate person also understands what ed, summarized and assembled into
which we are aware or familiar. It’s the first category of can and can’t be done with them in powerful insights and messages.
analysis and visualization.
data literacy traits enumerated because our development
starts with the knowledge that we obtain either through
academic study or through practical experience.

What does a data literate person know?

A data literate person knows...
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DATA STORAGE
METHODS
The data literate person is famil- Similar to how farmers are knowledge-
iar with ways that data is collected, able about growing, harvesting and stor-
structured and stored, and the at- ing grain in silos, data literate people
tributes associated with each ap- are familiar with various ways that data
proach. Spreadsheets with their is collected, structured and archived.
cells in rows and columns are seen They’re also aware of different ways data
as distinct from databases with their is imported into and exported out of var-
records arranged in relational tables ious storage types, and basic methods to
or non-relational documents. transfer data from one place to another.

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Working with data requires a certain
degree of numerical and graphical literacy,
respectively called numeracy and graphicacy.
Numeracy isn’t just mathematics, statistics, or
DATA ANALYSIS logic, but a sixth sense that is grounded on a
PRINCIPLES grasp —even a tenuous one— of fundamental

Those who are data literate under- Much like the way an investigator knows
concepts of those areas. Graphicacy, on the ALBERTO CAIRO
stand that storing data is not an end what types of deductive and inductive other hand, consists of developing intuitions Knight Chair at the
in and of itself, but rather a means reasoning are useful when breaking down of what kinds of graphs, charts, or maps are University of Miami
of extracting valuable insight about and combining facts and clues to solve a www.thefunctionalart.com
more adequate to either explore our data or
one’s environment. The data literate crime, a data literate person appreciates
person must therefore grasp the fun- sound epistemology, the foundational communicate the main insights we obtained
damental principles of analysis and concepts of statistical significance, and from other people.”
statistics and when they apply. what types of comparisons, conclusions
and projections are legitimate and rea-
sonable based on data.

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DATA VISUALIZATION
RULES OF THUMB
Since the human visual system is a chart types that make use of these
“very high bandwidth channel to the encodings.
brain” 3,1 the data literate person un-
derstands various ways to visualize Like a doctor who knows how the body
data and their respective pros and will react to prescribed medications and
cons. The principles of cognition re- therapies, those who practice data liter-
lating to how humans decode visual acy know how the mind of their patients
encodings such as position, length, - the audience members - will interpret
area, and color, are well known to various visual treatments of data that
the data literati, as are the different they take in through the eyes.

Modern analytics tools allow for effective data visualization & dashboard design.

07 3 https://www.cs.ubc.ca/labs/imager/tr/2009/VisChapter/akp-vischapter.pdf 08
 05
READS VISUAL
DISPLAYS OF DATA
Organizations of every type are mak- They’re adept at viewing and interacting

SKILLS
ing use of tables, charts, graphs, maps, with such visual aides to answer questions,
dashboards and scorecards to inform formulating new questions based on what
owners, employees, customers and they see, and identifying shortcomings
other stakeholders on the status of with how the data has been presented.
the organization and its environment. Whenever the language of data is shared
Therefore, those who are data literate with them, they’re able to consume and
Simply defined, skills are the abilities we possess to know how to read and understand vi- comprehend the meaning being conveyed
sual displays of data created by others. in the statements and visuals.
do something well. Data literacy doesn’t just involve
knowledge about concepts and principles related to data,
it also involves the ability to perform tasks and activities
that uncover and convey meaning in data. It’s the second

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group of data literacy traits because it naturally follows
that when we know the elements of a language, we want
to take action and put it to use.

PREPARES DATA
What can a data literate person do? FOR ANALYSIS
A data literate person...
The answers to our questions can rare- These data preparation activities, often
ly be answered by one single, clean called ‘data wrangling’ or ‘data mung-
data set. Data is most often ‘dirty’ - full ing’, are critical skills to learn, and can
of errors and formatting issues - and take up the largest amount of time in
relevant information is often stored in a given analysis. Data literate people
multiple places. For this reason, people know how to find and fix problems in
who are data literate know how to clean data and blend, join or union disparate
dirty data and combine multiple data data sets together to set themselves
sets together for analysis. up for successful analytics.

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 EXPLORES
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CREATES
DATA CLEAR VISUALS
Like gold in a mine, insights do not re- Fundamental exploration of data can Building on their knowledge of prin- Whether they’re sharing explanatory vi-
veal themselves without effort - they involve making use of visual analytics, ciples of visual cognition, data lit- suals that articulate a key finding, or ex-
must be actively mined and extract- summary statistics, hypothesis testing, erate individuals create clear visual ploratory ones that allow their audience to
ed using helpful tools and effective projection and forecasting, and regression displays of data to reveal insights to interact in such a way as to glean import-
techniques. For this reason, those who analysis, among others. A higher level of others. They design, craft and pub- ant insights relevant to them, data literate
would be data literate need to know fluency in the language of data involves lish effective visuals that their audi- people employ a task-oriented mindset
how to explore data sets and identify more advanced analytics, data mining, ence members notice, clearly under- to help people get a particular job done.
relevant facts, patterns and trends. and machine learning - skills that take the stand, and remember down the road. This often involves appropriate chart type
practitioner beyond basic data literacy. choices, good design and layout, and effec-
tive use of color and annotation.

Exploratory analysis expands your

personal knowledge. Probing generates
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COMMUNICATES
insights and produces visual artifacts that
document what the data has to show. As DATA EFFECTIVELY
you begin to understand the data, a new
Data literate people know that the true on the circumstances, channel and meth-
sense of what is emerges. You note that power of data is in shaping the minds and od - whether they’ll be presenting data in
some views might also help others see directing the decisions of their fellow hu- person to a live audience or publishing it
man beings. For this reason, they know to the web for others to read on their own.
what you have learned, and search for
even better forms for conveying those
RJ ANDREWS how to communicate effectively using
data and information gleaned from it. Put
Furthermore, they augment the facts and
figures with helpful annotations and im-
Author of Info We Trust
insights. Your attention turns to focusing another way, they speak data well. ages that drive the message home. More
www.infowetrust.com advanced levels of fluency in data com-
the story to the audience.” They craft their message to their audience, munication involve animation, multimedia,
and they adapt their approach depending and other storytelling techniques.

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INCLUSIVE
Depending on the situation, data can and comfort in the different parts of

ATTITUDES
the data working process at any giv-
either be an individual or a team sport.
For instances when other people are en moment, they’re not of the opin-
involved, those who are data literateion that certain individuals are in-
fundamentally believe that data is capable of developing competency
a language that anyone can learn to given enough time and instruction.
read and speak. Furthermore, they recognize their
Attitudes are ways of thinking or feeling that often affect own opportunities for improvement
While they do appreciate that peo- and they’re patient with the defi-
how we behave. Our attitudes stem from our knowledge ple have varying degrees of literacy ciencies of others.
and skills, and are also shaped by our interactions with
others. It’s possible to know a great deal about data and
build many powerful skills, and yet to be held back by
unhelpful and sometimes even harmful attitudes.

How does a data literate person think & feel?

A data literate person is...
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CONFIDENT
While there’s always more knowledge The data literate person sees data as one of
to acquire and skills to build, people many resources at their disposal to gain in-
who are data literate feel confident sight or inform a decision. When an import-
using data as a resource to ask and ant question arises, they quickly consider
answer questions. They don’t shy what sources of data could be brought to
away from diving into a relevant data bear to help answer the question or shed
set, and they actively apply their skills light on the situation. Their willingness to
or develop new ones as needed. be data-driven leads them to make use of
their skills on a regular basis.

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 We every day look at numbers, indicators, - factors - every time. This is why we have
percentages and electoral maps thinking they are to reclaim a personal approach to how data
the final answers to our questions, but they rarely are. is captured, analyzed and displayed, proving
No data is perfect, nor objective. And if we recognize that subjectivity and context play a big
this, we can start seeing data as the beginning of the role in understanding even big events and
conversation, not the end. Data is already human, in a social changes—especially when data is
way, and if we recognize it’s less perfect than we think, about people. To make data faithfully
then we can finally feel authorized to consider data as representative of our human nature, we
the starting point, not the end of the conversation. It’s need to start designing new ways to GIORGIA LUPI
its interpretation according to the context that matters. include empathy, imperfection and Founder of Accurat & Co-Author
Data has an unique power to abstract the world, to human qualities in how we collect – of Dear Data
www.giorgialupi.com
help us understand it according to different - relevant process - interpret and display it.”

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ALERT
13ETHICAL
Since errors abound, the data literacy Data literate people don’t let these Data can be used to help or to harm, Data literate people value truth and
person is alert to common pitfalls into common pitfalls deter them from and data literate people consider eth- transparency, and they actively seek to
which people fall when working with forging ahead, but they are constantly ical use of data and the impact on recognize and mitigate any biases with-
data. Their education and experience on the lookout for warning signs. Over society to be of utmost importance. in themselves and within the data they
have led them to appreciate that there time they build a sense of familiari- Data literate people find ways to use use. They are open to feedback about
are many common mistakes that we ty with the territory that empowers data to help their organizations grow, their work, and they invite dialogue
often make when working with data, them to avoid pitfalls themselves as but they only do so while respecting about its effect on others, including
from epistemic errors to mathemati- well as to provide helpful guidance to the rights and privacy of others and any unintended negative consequenc-
cal miscues to graphical gaffes. others with whom they interact. while seeking to improve the lives of es. Whenever possible, they use data to
those affected. help solve real-world problems.

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UTILIZES DATA
RESOURCEFULLY
A data literate person actively seeks out Not content with simply using the data

BEHAVIORS
and creates data as a means of gather- that’s readily available to them at the
ing information. If data exists that will moment, they generate or compile
help them make an important decision new data when so doing will help them
or come to a much-needed under- achieve their goals. They implement data
standing about the current situation, collection processes and build reposito-
they can be counted on to find it and ries of data that relate to their most im-
Our behaviors are the ways in which we act or conduct make good use of it. portant questions and challenges.
ourselves in the world. This is the final category of data
literacy traits because our actions are the outcome of our
knowledge, skills and attitudes, and how we ultimately
make a difference with data. The other three categories

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don’t amount to anything if they don’t drive behaviors
that reflect our level of data literacy.

How does a data literate person act?

CONTINUOUSLY
A data literate person... IMPROVES DATA
Knowing that analyses and their un- They also sense, however, when the cur-
derlying data are always imperfect rent state of data and analysis is sufficient
and incomplete to some degree, data for the task at hand, and they aren’t par-
literate individuals identify areas of alyzed by an impractical need for perfec-
improvement in the data and associat- tion. They capture, convey and document
ed analysis. Once identified, they pro- any known issues or uncertainties and
actively seek to implement improve- they move forward, committing to make
ments as time and resources permit. incremental improvements to continually
evolve their data capabilities.

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 EFFECTIVELY
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ENTHUSIASTICALLY
ADVOCATES FOR DATA SPREADS DATA LITERACY
Data literate team members advo- When data is being utilized in a par- Like any other language, the language use of the language for others to observe.
cate for the effective use of data in ticular scenario, they act as a helpful of data thrives and spreads with ef- Like teachers or speaking coaches, they
communication and decision-mak- advisor and humbly point out issues fective usage and refinement. Data provide instruction and feedback on
ing. When data is not being utilized they see with the data or analysis, literate individuals spread data literacy how to speak the language of data well.
in important discussions and deci- or opportunities to improve upon through the active and competent use Like evangelists, they encourage others
sions, they proactively suggest ways the approach and methods used. They of the language. to build their skills. Like change-agents,
to add a data-driven perspective, and find the right way to provide the they help organizations incorporate
they offer their advice or assistance to feedback and go beyond critique to Like articulate orators or writers, those data into their processes, their products
make it happen. act as an advocate and resource. who are data literate emulate effective and their culture.

Anyone who has worked with data knows that it

doesn't all come in pristine form. For this reason,
a data literate person needs to learn how to handle
data that needs some work, or that doesn't even CHERYL PHILLIPS
Lorry I. Lokey Visiting Professor
exist in a data form and needs to be gathered. This
in Professional Journalism at
is often missed, but it's one of the key points in Stanford University
becoming data literate.” https://comm.stanford.edu/
faculty-phillips/

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 Conclusion YOUR DATA LITERACY CHECKLIST
Someone who is “data literate” possesses the following knowledge, skills, attitudes and
These are 17 key traits that characterize highly data literate individuals, behaviors. A data literate person:
separated into the knowledge they possess, the skills they acquire, the
attitudes they convey, and the behaviors they demonstrate. Knowledge:
1. Knows how to distinguish between different elemental forms of data
While individuals who index highly in each and every one of these 2. Is familiar with ways that data is collected, structured and stored
are rare, they can be found in every organizational department and
3. Grasps fundamental principles of analysis and statistics and when they apply
discipline and from every walk of life and background. They’re incredibly
4. Understands ways to visualize data and their respective benefits and drawbacks
valuable to the companies in which they work, the communities in
which they interact, and the planet on which we all dwell.

Our belief is that together we can educate and encourage people in our
Skills:
world to learn to speak the language of data similar to how they learn 5. Reads and understands visual displays of data created by others
to speak any foreign language - through exposure, study and practice. 6. Cleans dirty data and combines multiple data sets together for analysis
And like any skill, data literacy involves multiple levels of proficiency, 7. Explores data sets and identifies relevant facts, patterns and trends
and data literate individuals can go on to develop their data skills 8. Creates clear visual displays of data to reveal insights to others
further to become more fluent with advanced tools and methods. 9. Communicates effectively using data and information gleaned from it

The ability to successfully attract, hire and retain such individuals

will become a major competitive advantage for firms in the 21st Attitudes:
century. Even more importantly, our ability to mobilize data literate 10. Believes that data is a language that anyone can learn to read and speak
individuals to solve our world’s major challenges and problems will 11. Feels confident using data as a resource to answer questions & identify new ones
affect how well our species thrives in coming generations. 12. Is alert to common pitfalls into which people fall when working with data
13. Considers ethical use of data and the impact on society to be of utmost importance

Behaviors:
14. Seeks out and creates data as a means of gathering information
15. Identifies areas of improvement in the data and associated analysis
16. Advocates for the effective usage of data in communication and decision-making
learn the language of data 17. Spreads data literacy through the active and competent use of the language
https://dataliteracy.com

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