Data Exploration

Your assignment is to explore the following historical dataset and write a post about it on your sandbox website: https://repository.upenn.edu/mead/22/. I am not providing you with any additional information about the dataset beyond the above link. You will need to put on your detective hats and try to familiarize yourself with the data. Download and open the file, look at the metadata from the website, and try to get a handle on what it is.

In the first part of your post you will write a short “data biography.” Read Heather Krause, “Data Biographies: Getting to Know Your Data” Global Investigative Journalism Network (March 27, 2017) then follow Krause’s example to address the following:

  • Introduce the dataset and its contents. Use a screenshot or two to illustrate some of its features.
  • Where did it come from?
  • Who collected it?
  • How was it collected?
  • Why was it collected?

You will then use Tableau Public to explore the contents of the dataset in more depth and the kinds of information it contains. Once you have a handle on the different kinds of information, choose a specific aspect of the data to analyze and visualize in some way (chart, map, etc.). Communicate your findings in the second part of your post, through a combination of written explanation and either exported images from your Tableau Public workbook or an embedded Tableau Public sheet in your post.

URL to post due on Canvas by Sunday, 3/27 at 11:59PM