Intermediate

Requests to add additional data to a list are common and often straightforward. The information exists, the desired output is clear, and the goal is simple: connect one dataset to another and return a more complete picture.  Whether that connection happens smoothly depends on the structure of the file… Read More

  Granularity and Cardinality in Higher Ed Data  “Just give me a big table and I’ll figure it out in Excel” is a sentiment often expressed to the Data and Strategic Analytics team. If only it were that easy.  Sometimes it is. You have a… Read More

  If you’re new to SQL, one of the first concepts you’ll encounter is joining data.  At Vanderbilt we have thousands of tables of data stored separately. One table might hold core student information, another demographic attributes, another course data, and another faculty assignments. The question is how those pieces connect.  If you’re fortunate, a data model… Read More

You’ve got a beautiful dashboard. Clean visualizations. Clear metrics. Your stakeholders love it. But what if I told you that what they’re looking at did not come directly from the source system?  The Problem Many people assume that data flows seamlessly from your operational systems (your CRM, your ERP,… Read More

“The data is wrong!”  That reaction is common when numbers don’t match across systems. Sometimes it’s justified. More often, the data isn’t wrong at all. It’s simply answering a different question.  When users compare figures from a transactional system with those from the data warehouse, discrepancies can feel alarming and are often… Read More