Dear Data

Love Data Week

As a part of UMD's Love Data Week 2024, we introduced UMD's Dear Data Project. Want to learn more about Love Data Week and what's going on? Visit the Love Data Week page.

Ready to get started with the Dear Data activity? Jump to the Instructions!

Data* is personal.

*We know that "data" is plural and "datum" is singular, but we didn’t want semantics to distract us from the awesomeness of this activity.

We are surrounded by data in virtually every moment of our lives, but in the rush of our busy days, we rarely take the time to notice exactly what surrounds us. Working with data does not always mean using formal data sets received in class or sophisticated software programs - working with data also includes conceptualizing data in its most ancient form: sketching.

Do you keep track of how many assignments you have due this week or choose a different place to eat in STAMP because your favorite food line is too long? That’s using data.

When it comes to interpreting data, we need as many voices at the table as possible. However, we have found that, at times, the most critical voices may self-select out of a conversation because they don’t consider themselves a "data person." That’s just not true.

Any conscious effort that you make to log or track something that is meaningful makes you a "data person." Your perspectives and insights are critical for creating an inclusive campus data culture. As part of UMD's Love Data Week, we’re challenging you to choose one of four themes to attend to, and to share with us through sketches and pictures, an aspect of your life as a Terp.

Instructions

Pick a theme from the list below and send us a data visualization that showcases your experience as a Terp.

• Get a postcard. Dowload and print your own copy for faculty and staff or students. Already got one? Great, keep going!
• Pick what to track and for how long. Choose to track one of the following for an hour, a day, or a week:

• Collect your data (on your phone, tally marks in your notebook, whatever works for you).
• Explore your data. Graph and/or draw your data in different ways to see what you can learn from it.
• Sketch out your favorite graph and ah-ha finding on the postcard.

Need a little inspiration? See below to check out some completed postcards from your fellow Terps!

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Want to learn more about Love Data Week? Check out UMD's Love Data Week website, the International Love Data Week website, or the Big 10 Love Data Week website.

Have questions? We'd love to answer them. Please email us at lovedata@umd.edu.