Data Fluency — The Skill Covid-19 is Forcing us All to Learn

Data fluency is a term typically discussed in large corporations but is a term we can all benefit from understanding. The Covid-19 pandemic has made the need to read and discuss data graphs a required skill for all of us. The challenge is that for some people understanding data analysis is like learning a new language and the marketplace for learning this skill is overwhelming.

This is where data fluency comes in. Data fluency allows people to speak about data in a common language. I’ve worked in data for the past 10 years and I recognize most learning content on data assumes you want to dig deep into a career in data analysis. If that is your desire, I’d love to talk data and that journey with you in more depth. If you are merely looking to confidently read and disucss a Covid-19 graph, here are some great resources and tips.

Data — Data at its core is a digital representation or documentation of real life. Unfortunately not all data is accurate but with the correct context most data is useful.

Data Point — A data point is where data that is a number is marked on a graph in relation to data that is a descriptor (often words or dates). For example the count of Covid-19 cases is the number and the date of testing is a descriptor; the data point is when a point on a graph represents the relation of the Covid-19 cases and date of testing.

Data Visualization — This is where data is presented to you in a form of a picture. This is commonly shown in the form of interactive maps for Covid-19. John Hopkins Covid -19 Map is a good example of a data visualization used often for reliable information on Covid-19.

Trend line — Below is a data visualization where various data points are connected via a line that shows the change over time. Tip — Be careful reading a trend line that doesn’t clearly show you where zero is in relation to the trend line. Many use this to trick your eye to skew the data for their agenda or viewpoint.

Photo by Markus Spiske on Unsplash

Heat Map — Below is a data visualization called a heat map where size &/or color is used to indicate the count of something in relation to a descriptor. Geographic maps with various colors representing locations with more or less confirmed Covid-19 cases are common heat maps. Tip — be careful to understand if the heat map creator changes size or just color to represent a different number count. Sometimes larger states or countries can appear to have a higher count purely due to size of their geographic boundaries.

Photo by Martin Sanchez on Unsplash

There are many more concepts to learn in data fluency, but I hope these descriptions help ease your mind and allow you to feel more confident when reading and discussing data on the news or online.

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