Quality Reports Come from Quality Data

Andrew BaldwinCollege of ManagementUniversity of Wisconsin-Stout

Jan BoydInformation School

University of Washington

Overview

• What is the “why”?

• What is the best way to display this information?

• Is the data accurate?

What is the “why”?

What questions need to be answered?

ASK!

What’s important to you, Prof?

me in!

fence

Don’t

What’s important to you, Prof?

Don’t fenceme in!

AdvisingHighlightResearchServiceTeachingOther

From “Scheduled Teaching” Screen:

Screen is “read only” for faculty except comment field.

From the Yearly Narratives Screen

From the Scheduled Teaching Screen

Capture all my efforts regardless of current status.

Capture all my efforts regardless of current status.

Ask me what makes sense.

Outcome: Evidence of the effect of our research activities is felt and understood in many places.

Indicator: Researchers create artifacts or tools that are implemented and used by others.

Target: Percentage increase in number and variety of artifacts/tools developed.

Evidence of Impact Screen

FeaturedIncorporatedReferencedReviewedQuotedOther

Internet SiteMagazineNewspaperPodcastRadioSoftwareTVOtherSelectors and

dates for research group websites

“Evidence of Impact” on the Faculty Activity Report

Make my accomplishments visible externally.

Faculty Directory

What is the best way to display this information?

Formatting

• Level• Aggregate vs. Individual

• Organization• Tables vs. Free Form

• Medium• Report vs. Website

Staff

ActivityInsight

Admissions loves the Experts page for recruiting students.

Curriculum Manager uses the same data to see who can teach what.

Research Projects for the Webspecial screen that integrates multiple faculty/current PhDs and has DSAs allowing multiple:• People or Collaborators• Partners• Associated Groups or Centers• Sponsors• Geographic Impact Locations

Research Services staff can easily report status of grants to the Deans. Staff

ActivityInsight

Program Evaluation Initiative

IntellectualContributionsBy Type and

Year

Required:TitleContribution typePeer-reviewed?Current Status

Is the data accurate?

Data Quality

Good data

Good reports

Bad data

Bad reports

Data Imports and Proxies

• Import as much as possible from central data sources

• Data entry assistance• Graduate students if possible

Make data entry links easy to find (especially for faculty!)

Most teaching is uploaded

from central data

sources.

After Scholarship/Research on Main Menu:

What staff need and faculty seldom do is at the bottom of the menu.

Is the data captured accurately?

• Does the data make sense?• Does anything appear to be

missing?• Is something included that

shouldn’t be?

Strategic Plan Reports – Tables!!

Provide tools for data cleaning.

• Reports faculty can run themselves:• Intellectual Contributions Metadata• Presentations Metadata• Professional Service Metadata

• Reports for staff or grad assistants:• DCR - Intellectual Contributions with Students• DCR - Presentations with Students• DCR - Research Projects• DCR - Research Projects for the Web• DCR - Student Participation

Intellectual Contributions Metadata

Easier to spot errors:Contribution typeCurrent statusPeer-reviewed

Student Participation

Report combines:Intel ContributionsPresentationsResearch Projects

Spreadsheet DCR version of student participation: filter for inconsistency

Macro-Level Data Cleaning

Who is a “researcher?”

Macro-Level Data Cleaning

Macro-Level Data Cleaning

Summary

• Need to ask questions!• What is the “why”?• What is the best way to display

this information?• Is the data accurate?

Questions?