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Data and Society 9-12 / Week 12 / Wednesday
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Week 12 · Who Owns the Data?

Wednesday

Count Lab: The data story
// Sharing what we learned without harming the people in it
⏱ about 20 min

Wednesday: Count Lab: The Data Story

Count Lab day, and the last big job before the council meets.

Comet spreads every page of Commons Count across the floor: survey sheets, the cleaning log, graphs and the bias audit.

"We have so much," she says. "Let's put all of it in the report!"

Wren picks up one page at a time and checks it against his clipboard. "What do you notice? The council asked one question."

Nova hovers over the pages. "Would you like a hint?" she asks. "A data story answers the question, shows the evidence and is honest about its limits."

Comet nods slowly. "So every page has to earn its spot."

Wren hands you a blank sheet. "Data analyst, you build the story."

Your mission

Tables, diagrams, text and other visuals can all share what data show. A data story uses a few of each.

A graph's title tells what it shows. Its source says where the data came from and gives credit to those who collected it.

A correlation found in data does not prove that one thing causes the other. A good claim says what the data cannot prove.

  • Two sheets of paper and a pencil
  • Graph paper, or lined paper and a ruler
  • The fact card below (every number you need is on it)
Fact card for the reportValue (made-up data from the Commons Count story)
QuestionWhat should the Commons add next?
MethodA survey of 40 of the 120 members (a sample), run for one week
How people answeredFront-desk screen 31, paper form 9
Q3 after cleaningLonger evening hours 13, quiet study room 11, repair bench 9, bike rack 5
Not counted in Q3Blank 1, invalid 1 (38 valid answers)
Typical visits last week, evening groupMedian 3, mean 5 (one volunteer's 23 visits pulls the mean up)
Bias auditEvening members gave 3 more answers than their fair share; morning members gave 2 fewer
  1. At the top of your first sheet, write the council's question.
  2. Under Method, write who was asked, how many answered and how.
  3. Under Cleaning, write that 40 Q3 answers became 38 valid ones, with 1 blank and 1 invalid.
  4. On graph paper, draw the Q3 bar graph of the four valid answers. Start the y-axis at 0 with equal steps.
  5. Give the graph a title and the source line: Commons Count, made-up data.
  6. Write one typical value, the evening median of 3, and say why you chose it.
  7. Write one claim and its limits. Say who was over-heard and what the data cannot prove.
  8. Add a privacy statement: no names were collected, and only totals are shared.
  9. Add a credit line for the members, the sign-in book and the crew.
CHECK YOUR STORY
  • Read the question.
  • Tap your answer.
Which answer got the most votes?
Of the 38 valid answers, how many did not pick longer evening hours?
Did most of the valid answers pick longer evening hours?
Which limit belongs next to the claim?
StatementTrue or false?
A correlation in data proves that one thing causes the other.?
Tables, diagrams, text and other visuals can share what data show.?
A graph's source line gives credit to those who collected the data.?
WHY THIS EXERCISEA data story is only as strong as its honesty about limits and credit.
On graph paper, finish your Q3 bar graph. Check each bar's height against the fact card before it goes in the report.

Wonderful lab work, data analyst. Tomorrow you will look at how rules and laws shape data.

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