Drawing Across the Disciplines: Data Visualization Workshop
Session Description
September 27, 2023 @ 10:00 am - 12:00 pm EDT
Join us for a limited-enrollment workshop of the new Centre for Research Innovation and Support (CRIS) series Drawing Across the Disciplines: Data Visualization. This in-person workshop is co-hosted with Aurora Mendelsohn and Tony Gray.
In the session participants will be introduced to how to tell narratives with data, become more comfortable working with data visualizations. Questions guiding the workshop are: What is the difference between data and evidence? What turns data into evidence? How do I evaluate evidence? What is good evidence?
The workshop will be divided into two parts: a lecture / presentation section will be followed by a guided, interactive – and fun – hands-on group project and presentation section where participants tryout and hone their skills.
Demand for data analysis and quantitative, evidence-informed decision-making is rising, as such, researchers’ ability to analyze data and evaluate evidence are critically important. At the same time sources of data, access to data, and deployments of data are exploding. More people have access to more data and the tools to manipulate them than ever before. This might seem to be a positive development for institutional researchers, and in many regards, it is. But it is also true that the availability and democratization of data have made good data analysis and strong, evidence-backed argumentation more difficult and more important.
If you are interested in participating in the workshop, please register your interest in participating by Wednesday, September 13th, 2023, by 5:00pm.
We thank all applicants for their interest; however, in order to optimize the workshop’s impact, registration will be limited to 20 faculty participants. Faculty with continuing appointments will be prioritized. If faculty researchers want to bring additional team members to the workshop, please note this in the application form. A waitlist will be enabled, and all applicants will be notified of the results by email by September 20th, 2023.
Learning Objectives
In this workshop participants will:
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Explore differences between data and evidence and consider what turns data into evidence
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Evaluate what makes good evidence and how to improve use of tools for creating, assessing, and presenting evidence
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Create data visualizations that support claims and explore ways to effectively tell stories with data
Additional Information
Presenters:
Dr. Aurora Mendelsohn is the Director, Research Analytics, Division of the Vice President Research and Innovation and Strategic Initiatives, at the University of Toronto. She leads a team that creates, assesses, and presents institutional-level research and innovation performance metrics. She has extensive experience and expertise in all aspects of data science, from assessment and statistics to visualization and presentation. Dr. Mendelsohn received her undergraduate degree at U of T and her PhD at Northeastern University.
Dr. Anthony Gray is Director of Strategic Research, Office of the President, at the University of Toronto. He works on institutional, system-wide, and international analyses, contributing to the President’s papers, speeches, and presentations delivered in various venues in many countries around the world. His work includes data analysis, visualization, and governance. Dr. Gray received his undergraduate degree at U of T and his PhD from MIT.