Love Data Week 2024
International Love Data Week is a celebration of data, taking place every year during the week of Valentine's day. The theme for 2024 is "My Kind of Data." Data are personal. We hope you will join us to learn about data equity and inclusion, disciplinary communities, and creating a kinder world through data.
The Office of Institutional Research, Planning & Assessment (IRPA), the Division of Information Technology (DIT), the College of Information Studies, and the University Libraries are coordinating a series of data-related activities and events throughout the week to celebrate the use of data on campus.
Dear Data
Inspired by the 2024 theme of International Love Data Week and our friends at the Dear Data Project, we are excited to introduce a new activity to UMD's celebration of Love Data Week! Data are all around us and we observe them, track them, and use them to inform our decisions every day - in the classes we take, the work that we do, even the route we took to get to campus! During this year's Love Data Week, we want to be mindful that we are ALL data people.
This year to help each celebrate "My Kind of Data," we’re challenging you to participate in UMD's Dear Data Project. To participate, you will 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.
Want to learn more about the project? Visit the UMD Dear Data page for more info. All ready to get started? Skip ahead to the Instructions.
We can't wait to see what you'll choose to attend to!
Love Data Events
BTAA Data Viz Championship Voting
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Voting is Open for the BTAA Data Viz Championship
Feb. 6 - Feb. 16, 2024
We asked and UMD responded! Your fellow UMD students and staff submitted some very competitive entries to the Big Ten Academic Alliance (BTAA)'s Data Viz Championship! Support your UMD community by voting for our entries to to win! Voting is open to all members of the BTAA community. The visualization with the most votes for their category will win the Challenge, so cast your vote for UMD!
To learn more about the championship, visit the BTAA's championship website, or see the description below.
Friday, February 9th
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Immersive Research Internship Experience (IRIE) Information Session
2:00pm - 3:00pm EST
Once upon a time, working with enormous data sources as a core part of research was the domain of data and information specialists. Today, researchers of all disciplines are empowered to learn the fundamentals and toolsets of data-centered work. Are you an undergraduate who would like to gain these skills through research? Learn more about the Office of Undergraduate Research's Immersive Research Internship Experience (IRIE) program in a Zoom session!
Monday, February 12th
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Using reports.umd.edu
10:00am - 11:00am EST
Learn how to use reports.umd.edu, a resource for faculty and staff to get the information they need on demand.
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Qualitative Data Analytics with NVivo
2:00pm - 3:30pm EST
Dive deep into the world of qualitative data analytics with this hands-on workshop on NVivo. Whether you're new to the field or looking to refine your skills, this session will guide you through the robust capabilities of NVivo, helping you transform raw data into meaningful insights through qualitative analysis and data mapping techniques. Join us to explore the best practices, techniques, and tools that will elevate your research to the next level.
Tuesday, February 13th
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Data Journeys and Professional Pathways
10:00am - 11:00am EST
Embark on an illuminating journey into the diverse realms of data careers with insights straight from trailblazing professionals from a variety of academic backgrounds and professional organizations. In an inspiring session moderated by Dr. Megan Masters, panelists will take us through their own data journeys by sharing how they first started working with data and how the nature of their work has evolved as a professional data practioner. It's not just a session; it's an opportunity to learn from some of our most insightful campus colleagues and to think about how you can chart your own course in the dynamic world of data-driven careers. So, pop in your earbuds as you walk across campus or cue up this session on your laptop - you won't want to miss this!
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Explore Student Perceptions from CAWG Survey Results
2:00pm - 3:00pm EST
This session will introduce a new report with over a decade’s worth of Campus Assessment Working Group (CAWG) survey results from first-time students and upperclassmen about their perceptions of wide-ranging topics such as diversity, academic challenges, and attitudes toward UMD.
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Introduction to R - R Basics
2:00pm - 3:30pm EST
R is an extremely powerful, versatile, and best of all FREE statistical package that runs on Windows, Macintosh and Unix platforms. Join this workshop and gain hands-on experience on learning R! It is okay if you do not have programming experience. This workshop will cover: An overall introduction to R Basic mathematical functions, Summary statistics, and Summary report.
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Immersive Research Internship Experience (IRIE) Information Session
4:00pm - 5:00pm EST
Once upon a time, working with enormous data sources as a core part of research was the domain of data and information specialists. Today, researchers of all disciplines are empowered to learn the fundamentals and toolsets of data-centered work. Are you an undergraduate who would like to gain these skills through research? Learn more about the Office of Undergraduate Research's Immersive Research Internship Experience (IRIE) program in a Zoom session!
Wednesday, February 14th
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Data Open House
10:00am - 2:00pm EST
Join us at the Edward St. John (ESJ) Atrium on Valentine's Day for some games, treats, and to celebrate how we all observe data in our lives.
Complete and submit your Dear Data postcards so that we can showcase the data you are choosing to attend to!
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Introduction to Python
12:00pm - 1:30pm EST
Python is a high-level programming language used for solving range of problems from machine learning to web development. In this workshop, we will introduce participants to python programming from installation, to getting started with Jupyter notebook and syntax understanding. This workshop is for those who have never used python programming before or are unfamiliar with the programming.
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Data Helpdesk: GIS
12:00pm - 2:00pm EST
Unlock the potential of your data with expert assistance in analysis, visualization, cleaning, and transformation. UMD Libraries GIS and Data Service Center provide a wide range of support for various tools like ArcGIS, StoryMapping, Open Source GIS, Python, R, SAS, SPSS, NVivo, Tableau, and Power BI.
Thursday, February 15th
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Introduction to ArcGIS
12:00pm - 1:30pm EST
GIS is a computer-based platform for the storage, visualization, analysis, and interpretation of geographic data to understand spatial relationships, patterns and trends. In this workshop, participants will have an opportunity to understand the fundamentals of GIS, including data types, applications, examples of GIS software, and live demos and hands-on exercise in ArcGIS Pro.
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Data Helpdesk: Data Science
12:00pm - 2:00pm EST
Unlock the potential of your data with expert assistance in analysis, visualization, cleaning, and transformation. UMD Libraries GIS and Data Service Center provide a wide range of support for various tools like ArcGIS, StoryMapping, Open Source GIS, Python, R, SAS, SPSS, NVivo, Tableau, and Power BI.
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Reporting Community of Practice
1:00pm - 2:00pm EST
Campus report authors using Tableau and SAS Visual Analytics will share their experiences, tips, and tricks for using the data visualization tools to explore data and build reports for campus.
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Introduction to Tableau
2:00pm - 3:30pm EST
Tableau is a visual analytics platform widely used by people and organizations for data-driven decision making. This workshop will introduce the basics of Tableau Public, a free data visualization software. This workshop will provide a live demo in Tableau Public interface where one can drag-and-drop different tools to explore, visualize, and securely share data in the form of interactive Workbooks and Dashboards.
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Love + Data = Action
5:30pm - 7:00pm EST
2024 Chandni Kumar Annual Lecture on Asian Americans and Activism ft. Wei Ming Dariotis, PhD.
Wei Ming Dariotis has been a typical Gemini; a cis-gender Bisexual woman, mixed-race Asian American, arts activist in academia, working through collaboration and community to achieve transgressive transformation.
Friday, February 16th
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Data-Rich Internships: Student Stories from the Field
10:00am - 11:00am EST
Hear from UMD students about their exciting internship experiences working with qualitative and quantitative data. Moderated by Dr. Katy Lawley from the INFO College, this session will include student perspectives and tips for finding and applying for internship opportunities. Panelists will share about the problems they solved, the tools they used, and the lessons they learned, all with time for questions at the end!
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ArcGIS Online Mapping and StoryMapping
10:00am - 11:30am EST
ArcGIS Online is a cloud-based mapping and analysis solution. Use it to make maps, analyze data, and collaborate. Get access to workflow-specific apps, maps and data from around the globe, and tools for being mobile in the field. Work with smart, data-driven styles to explore and visualize 2D and 3D data. Share your maps with anyone or keep them private. Work collaboratively with your colleagues to build maps, scenes, apps, and notebooks. Access intuitive analysis tools that help you better understand your data. Combine it with ArcGIS StoryMaps to help you tell remarkable stories with custom maps that inform and inspire. Maps are an essential component of many narratives, which may affect change, shape opinion, and raise awareness. ArcGIS StoryMaps can give your narrative a stronger sense of place, illustrate spatial relationships, and add visual appeal and credibility to your ideas.
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Voting Closes for the BTAA Data Viz Championship
11:00am EST
Support your UMD community by voting for our entries to the BTAA Data Viz Championship! Voting is open to all members of the Big Ten Academic Alliance community. The visualization with the most votes for their category will win the Challenge.
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Broadening Identity Demographics in Our Data
11:30am - 12:30pm EST
UMD has recently integrated the non-binary marker, X, into its Student Information System and student reports. Additionally, the Office of Institutional Research, Planning and Assessment is working to expand its reporting beyond the federal race and ethnicity categories. This session will talk about how we integrated more recent understanding of identity into our existing technology system.
BTAA Love Data Week Events
To see the complete details of all BTAA Love Data Week events and to register visit the BTAA Love Data Week events page.
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Strategies for Success in Survey Administration and Analysis
Feb. 12 2 - 3pm EST
Struggling with how to create a survey, manage survey fatigue, or wrangle survey data into actionable information? Our panel of experts will address these issues in a one-hour conversation.
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Community Perspectives - Faculty Experiences with Data Support
Feb. 12 4 - 5pm EST
On this panel, faculty members from several Big Ten institutions will provide their perspectives on and concerns about their institutions' use of data in support of their teaching and research. Panelists will include faculty from the University of Maryland and The Ohio State University.
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Community Perspectives - Student and Data Use
Feb. 13 11am - 12pm EST
On this panel, students from the University of Maryland and The Ohio State University will discuss their perspectives on and concerns about the institutional use of their data. Panelists will include students from the University of Maryland and The Ohio State University.
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Community Perspectives - Administrative Views on Ethics, Governance, and Data Use
Feb. 13 3 - 4pm EST
On this panel, data, privacy, and security leaders from across the Big Ten will provide their perspectives on when and how data should be accessed and used and their concerns about the risks data can represent. Panelists will include administrators from the University of Maryland and The Ohio State University.
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The Xs and Os: Athletes, Assessment, and Academic Success
Feb. 14 10 - 11am EST
This session explores how athletics and data providers can move beyond the mandated reporting requirements and into the realm of internal assessment for program improvement and student support.
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Data Governance Trivia
Feb. 15 2 - 3:30pm EST
Join The Ohio State and Penn State's Data Governance teams to test your data knowledge!
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Community Perspectives - Bringing it All Together
Feb. 15 4 - 5pm EST
On this panel, students, faculty, and administrators will come together to discuss their shared understanding of, concerns about, and expectations for their institutions' use of data. Panelists will include students, faculty, and administrators from the University of Maryland and The Ohio State University.
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Data Viz Championship Showcase
Feb. 16 2 - 3:30pm EST
Join us at the Data Viz Championship Showcase to witness cutting-edge data visualization entries from Big Ten Universities. Be there to discover the champion that redefines the art of data visualization! Entrants from across the Big Ten Academic Alliance institutions will be presented.
Other UMD Data Events
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UMD Info Challenge - IC24: The Data of Global Change
Feb. 24 - Mar. 2, 2024
UMD Info Challenge is an annual week-long data exploration event where students solve real-world problems in the areas of data analytics, security, and design using projects provided by partnering organizations.
Data Viz Championship
The University of Maryland will be participating in the Big Ten Academic Alliance (BTAA) Data Viz Championship! This is an opportunity for students, as well as faculty and staff, at Big Ten institutions to showcase their data visualization skills. To learn more about the championship and how to enter your viz, visit the BTAA's championship website, or see below for the FAQs.
Students
Your challenge is to use the Lego Brick Database, published on Kaggle, to devise a data visualization to address the question(s) of your choice. Your visualization should be publicly available for voting and judging. Have fun and be creative! Students must be actively enrolled at UMD for graduate or undergraduate coursework, thesis, or dissertation study.
Potential research questions:
- What are the most common types of sets/bricks/colors?
- How have Lego sets changed over time (e.g., number of bricks, type of bricks, colors, types of sets)?
- In what ways do the themes (basic, police, racing, licensed brands) overlap and differ from each other?
- What might we infer about the people for whom Lego are designed based on what we know about the sets and bricks themselves?
Faculty/Staff
Submit an existing visualization that is used on your institution to share information. Visualizations can pertain to the institution as a whole or to a specific initiative or population. Submissions should follow institutional data policies.
Data Viz Showcase and Voting
Submissions for UMD's internal judging are now closed. Thank you to the students, faculty, and staff that submitted a viz!
Institutional entries will be posted, by category, on the Big Ten Academic Alliance Data Challenge website, and members of the Big Ten Academic Alliance community will be invited to vote for the winner. Voting will be conducted from February 8 through February 16, 2024. The visualization with the most votes for their category will win the Challenge. Login from an account associated with a Big Ten institution will be required to vote, ensuring that individuals can vote only once.
Each entrant will be invited to present their work at the Data Viz Showcase on February 16 at 2PM Eastern. At the end of the showcase the results of the voting will be announced, and the Challenge Winners crowned.
FAQs adapted from the BTAA FAQs
- For bragging rights! You will be the Inaugural BTAA Data Viz Champ. The winner(s) will also get a Love Data Week branded Yeti Tumbler proclaiming them the winner(s).
- It makes a great line on a resume.
- Students can submit a work that is the result of collaboration with another person, but both must be credited.
- Faculty and staff should credit all who were involved as authors on the work.
- When collaborating, at least one person should be identified to present the work during the showcase.
- Any tool may be used (or combination of tools). This is not limited to only Tableau or PowerBI.
- Students: The only requirements are that:
- Students must use the Lego Brick Database, published on Kaggle, at minimum. Students may supplement with additional publicly available data should they opt to do so.
- Visualizations must be accessible via a link that requires no login at the time of the championship voting.
- Faculty/Staff: The only requirements for faculty/staff submissions are:
- The viz be used to share information about the institution – be it the institution as a whole or a specific initiative/population.
- All submissions must follow the schools’ institutional data policies and guidelines (I.e, please do not submit a viz with Social Security Numbers or HIPAA information).
- Visualizations must be accessible via a link that requires no login at the time of the championship voting.
- Each institution will set its own guidelines for determining a viz to showcase in the Championship.
- Here at UMD the entries will first be judged by a group of data professionals organized by the Love Data Team; the final selection will be made by senior academic leaders. Those interested in participating in the judging can volunteer to do so by emailing reportsupport@umd.edu.
- Submissions will be judged internally at UMD according to the UMD Data Viz Championship Rubric.
- Please work with your university to ensure that data downloads are disabled.
- UMD students, faculty, and staff may submit questions to reportsupport@umd.edu.
Data Viz Championship
The Sharon A. La Voy Data Impact Award recognizes faculty or staff members who have made exceptional contributions to the University of Maryland community through effective utilization of institutional data.
We are proud to recognize the past awardees. Read below to learn about what data means to them.
"Data gives each of us the leverage to more fully know, research, and compare so many facets of our lives - personal and professional. From a plain old web browser, we have access to huge amounts of information that can be put to work in our lives in a myriad of ways. By seeing data about the things that affect us, we see the things that affect us more honestly and transparently. In a professional way, data is a safeguard against bias, inequity and that troublesome "gut feeling" in decision-making. Using data to see the full picture is an incredible part of our culture, now. My kind of data will keep this culture growing!"
- Kate Blanch, Director, Data Services and Analytics
Division of Student Affairs
2023 Awardee
"My kind of data are those that make a difference - in the world, in the University, in my life. I think that data points in and of themselves aren't particularly where the value lies - it is the context, the nuance, the meaning we make of it, and finally the ways in which we use data to take action that are where the real value-ad exists."
- Michelle Appel, Assistant Vice President
Institutional Research, Planning and Assessment
2022 Awardee
Data Assistance
Need help with campus data?
We are here to help! Contact us at irpa@umd.edu or 301-405-5590. We provide support in using the kinds of data you see on reports.umd.edu, but we also partner with people across the campus on a variety of projects.
See the testimonials below for examples of how we can help you.
Past Events
Past Years' Love Data Week Events
The list of events and links to their content are organized below by calendar year.
2023 Love Data Week Events
In 2023, the Love Data Week's theme was about using data to bring about changes that matter such as policy change, environmental change, and social change.
Monday, February 13th
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Finance Data for Academic Units
2:00pm - 3:00pm EST
Learn how to use the tools developed by the Provost's Office staff to understand finance data in academic units.
Tuesday, February 14th
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IRPA (Virtual) Open House
1:30pm - 4:00pm EST
Have a nagging question you've been trying to answer? Need data for a grant and don't know where to find it? Want to chat data? This is the session for youl! Come see us in person (We'll have treats!) or attend virtually.
1101 Clarence Mitchell Junior Building -
One-on-One Help Sessions for Data Reporting Tools
9:00am - 5:00pm EST
IRPA staff members will be on-call to give users one-on-one assistance with campus data reporting tools -- Tableau, SAS Enterprise Guide, SAS Visual Analytics.
Wednesday, February 15th
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Graduate Student Data: An Introduction for Program Directors
9:00am - 10:00am EST
Learn how to access data the Graduate School has developed to better understand your students and program outcomes.
Love CAWG Data
1:00pm - 2:00pm EST
Discover how CAWG (Campus Assessment Working Group) can provide meaningful information on the student experience.
Privacy, Behavioral Analytics, and Trust - Panel Discussion
2:30pm - 3:30pm EST
Colleges and universities (including UMD) are beginning to look to larger and more complex data sets, advanced tools (like machine learning and artificial intelligence), and statistical modeling to improve the student experience, engagement, and success. These analytics projects have the potential to make significant differences in the lives of students, faculty, and staff, but they require a significant level of trust and engagement from the community. This panel will discuss student, faculty, staff, and administrative perspectives on how UMD might use data analytics and what community concerns might be - and panelists will take questions/explore ideas from attendees.
Panelists:
Megan Masters (Director, Academic Technology Experience)
Katie Shilton (Associate Professor & Program Co-Director of the BS in Social Data Science)
Michelle Appel (Assistant Vice President, Institutional Research, Planning & Assessment)
Rojin Ziaei (UMD Undergraduate Student)
Moderator:
Joe Gridley (Chief Data Privacy Officer)Tableau Community of Practice
3:00pm - 4:30pm EST
Campus Tableau users willshare how they use this data visualization tool to explore data and build reports for campus. This meeting will be held in-person (2202 SPP) and over Zoom.
Notes from the meeting are posted on Confluence and linked below. VPN required if accessing the page from off-campus
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Future of Interface (FOI) Workshop
Feb. 15-16, 2023
This 2 day free virtual event will bring together the best tecnologists, thinkers, and leaders to explore what human computer interfaces might look like in 20 years and how to make them accessible for all. More information about the FOI Workshop
Thursday, February 16th
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Using reports.umd.edu
3:00pm - 4:00pm EST
This session will provide tips and tricks for navigating the reports.umd.edu website as well as highlight some hidden gems in reports.
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Future of Interface (FOI) Workshop
Feb. 15-16, 2023
This 2 day free virtual event will bring together the best tecnologists, thinkers, and leaders to explore what human computer interfaces might look like in 20 years and how to make them accessible for all. More information about the FOI Workshop
Friday, February 17th
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Personal Perspectives and Data Journeys
9:00am - 10:00am EST
In this session, we will explore how our past experiences with data have shaped the way we approach analysis and interpretation and the importance of intentionally bringing diverse perspectives, disciplines, and backgrounds to the table when forming evidence-based insights.
On Demand Sessions/Webinars
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Data Docs Fundamentals - Introduction and Basic Use
This session will cover navigating the Data Docs dashboard as well as provide information on report and data element definitions that are available to authorized faculty and staff.
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The Power of Reporting In Workday
This is a recording of session done in November 2022 that demonstrates Workday's reporting capabilities.
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Faculty Success - Chair/Director Workshop
This is a recording of session in January 2023 by the Office of Faculty Affairs that gives an overview of the reporting options available in Faculty Success.
View recording for Faculty Success - Chair/Director Workshop
Other Data Events
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6th Annual UMD InfoChallenge Showcase and Awards
March 4, 2023
This is the culmination of the annual weeklong challenge in which students compete in solving real world problems in the data analytics, security, and design. The Showcase event is from 2:00pm - 3:00pm with an awards ceremony following from 3:00pm - 4:00pm.
View more info for 6th Annual UMD InfoChallenge Showcase and Awards
International Events
Find events and activities happening locally and virtually around the world: Love Data Week 2023 events and activities