What does the term data user mean?

Answer 1

A data user is someone who controls the collection, holding, processing, or the use of the data. As examples:

Collection

1. A Census Enumerator goes into the field and asks residents a series of questions the US Census Bureau needs for population studies.
2. A sociologist or anthropologist (any Social Sciences researcher) goes into the field to study a particular group, say 8th graders and their experiences of bullying.
3. A computer company wants to know who uses their website, which pages they visit, what they buy, and also links a survey to some webpages.

Holding

1. The US Census Bureau collects the forms of census questions that residents filled out.
2. The 'social science researcher' is often doing the study on behalf of an institution or company. For example, Masters and Ph.D. candidates must do a research study to fulfill the requirements of a degree. A pharmaceutical company hires scientists to study the side effects of a particular drug.
3. The computer company collects the data they need through use of cookies, web page analytics, and survey forms.

Processing

• Data may be processed and studied

1. quantitatively - meaning simply counting the numbers, like 100 people visited x webpage showing sweaters; only 1 person bought a sweater. Census data is typically all quantitative data.
2. qualitatively - this is a specific type of studying data that isn't about numbers, but about people and their stories. For example, a sociologist may ask questions about bullying to answer "What do 8th grade students do when bullied".
3. Or Mixed research, which uses Numbers and Stories.

Use of Data

• Use of data may be restricted, especially to protect privacy. For example, the public does not see census data for 70 years. However, during that time, many researchers and social scientists work with that data, compiling it into meaningful units of information.
• Data by itself or numbers by themselves offer little meaning without contexts. We want to know what people are doing, for example, census might show a city has 3% less population than 10 years ago. We want to know why people do what they do. We want to know what others do that impact people, and what factors make people do what they do.
• For social change, researchers might want to apply a study's data to creating a theory that applies to many or most people. For example, The Stages of Death and Dying originated from a study of people who lost a loved one; the data was then generalized to 'most people' and how humans react to death.
• Data should always have a purpose; if not, why collect it.

To bring this down to an everyday experience, let's talk about a 10th grade student assigned to write a 15 page term paper on the fall of the Berlin Wall. The student:

1. Reads and Collects "data" from books, journal articles, and popular magazines. He might copy short quotes from these authors. He writes notes on index cards. When he is finished with his "research", he has 35 index cards and 12 notebook pages written with pieces of "data".
2. Because the student has a term paper due, she "holds" or holds onto this data she collected. She might throw it all away in 6 months, but for now, she is "holding" a select set of "data".
3. The student must now "do something" with the data collected. This is called processing. During processing, we review each piece of "data". For example, "This author argued that the Berlin Wall was a peacekeeping tactic." Another author said, "The Berlin Wall robbed people of their freedom." These are 2 pieces of "data". Processing involves thinking about how our data fits together. Then, we must think about how we think about the data. For example, even before data collection, a student believed the Berlin Wall interfered with individual freedoms. She found 2 author quotes that say this; and 2 authors disagreed. How will she include both "sides" in her term paper is part of processing the data.
4. Lastly, every researcher -- even a 10th grade student -- makes detailed decisions about how the data will be used. Let's say the student read 3 books, 24 articles, and 2 popular magazines. He realizes he can't include all the data. He picks 2 books, 2 articles, and both popular magazines that both support and oppose his thesis. He decides how he will write about (use) the data. Who's voice comes first; which "side" takes prominence; how will he show opposing data. "Use of data" in the real world is both short and long term. A HS student can throw away her data after she writes the paper. However, professional research may go on in longitudinal studies over many decades, so protecting the data as it is being used is even more important.