Learning Resources

Why Faculty Counts Can Vary Faculty counts can vary significantly across requests. In some cases, totals may appear around 1,800. In others, they may be closer to 4,000. Both numbers can be correct. These differences are typically driven by how the data is sourced, defined, and filtered. Read More

“Now put on your shoes,” says the harried mother to her toddler. “I can’t,” comes the reply. “Yes, you can. I know you can.” “No, I can’t.” “You did it yesterday.” “I can’t.” … Read More

Academic libraries generate a wide range of data that reflects how users interact with resources, services, and spaces. The Vanderbilt University Libraries support research, teaching, and learning through a variety of resources and services, including collections, research guides, research assistance, and library spaces. These activities generate data that provides… Read More

A self-paced interactive training about how to use Generative AI to assist you with your Data Analysis. Link to training: Practical Applications of Generative AI in Data Analysis for Vanderbilt University Staff (Launches on Oracle Learn) Note: if you are already logged into… Read More

As analysts, we work to create clear, quickly understood visualizations and explanations of the data in our care.  We share them through emails, dashboards, infographics, and presentations so colleagues can access the information they need.  But that, in itself, is not really a data story and may not have the impact we’d like.   … Read More

If you’ve ever refreshed a report showing student headcount “by state” and thought, “Wait… didn’t we have more students from Tennessee when I looked last month?”, you’ve run into a surprisingly common issue.  As real-world data changes, sometimes our data warehouse needs to remember those changes. Other times, our data warehouse needs to forget and simply reflect the… Read More

What Do We Mean by Data Storytelling?  During World War II, the U.S. military faced a serious problem: bombers were being lost at an unsustainable rate. To address this, analysts examined patterns of damage on aircraft that returned from missions and found a heavy impact on the… Read More

Small Sample Size Suppression: Reasons and Techniques  Imagine a campus-wide survey asking Vanderbilt students about their study habits, course satisfaction, and time management. The survey is heavily marketed as “anonymous.” However, when the final dashboard goes live, a table shows that “100% of transfer students in a… Read More

Career, Program, Plan – The Structure Beneath the Student Journey  Most people think of a student record as a collection of courses and grades. In reality, it rests on a deliberate and carefully layered structure. At its core is a hierarchy of career, program, and plan, organized… Read More

What does DSA do? The primary focus of the Office of Data & Strategic Analytics (DSA) is to ensure that Vanderbilt’s decision-makers can access data they trust to do their jobs better. We want to make data the oil that keeps the Vanderbilt engine humming, and to keep it… Read More