City Research Online

Abstract

Purpose: This paper describes a new approach to education for library/information students in data literacy - the principles and practice of data collection, manipulation and management - as a part of the Masters programme in library and information science (CityLIS) at City, University of London.

Design/methodology/approach: The course takes a socio-technical approach, integrating, and giving equal importance to, technical and social/ethical aspects. Topics covered include: the relation between data, information and documents; representation of digital data; network technologies; information architecture; metadata; data structuring; search engines, databases and specialised retrieval tools; text and data mining, web scraping; data cleaning, manipulation, analysis and visualization; coding; data metrics and analytics; artificial intelligence; data management and data curation; data literacy and data ethics; and constructing data narratives.

Findings: The course, which was well-received by students in its first iteration, gives a basic grounding in data literacy, to be extended by further study, professional practice, and lifelong learning.

Originality/value: This is one of the first accounts of an introductory course to equip all new entrants to the library/information professions with the understanding and skills to take on roles in data librarianship and data management.

Publication Type:	Article
Additional Information:	Article published by Emerald Group Publishing Limited.
Subjects:	L Education > LB Theory and practice of education > LB2300 Higher Education Z Bibliography. Library Science. Information Resources > Z665 Library Science. Information Science
Departments:	School of Communication & Creativity > Media, Culture & Creative Industries > Library & Information Science
SWORD Depositor:	Symplectic Administrator

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