Did the data tell your story?

You responded on the board. By adding to the board, you offered a piece of information — data about yourself — and collectively created a dataset. Anyone walking by the board, including yourself, could view and “access” that data. One challenge with data for research is that not all of it is public, open, or accessible, though different movements nowadays are calling for accountability and transparency in data collection and sharing.

Did the data tell your story?

Even though you contributed to a dataset, there could be many possible flaws or issues with the data that could in its worst form be devastating for you and your communities.

What do you notice about the questions that were asked? What about the categories of food? Is that the only way people have categorized food? What kinds of food are missing? Who do you think answered the questions (what are the demographics)? Does it represent the community? Does it represent you?

“By identifying existing data-driven narratives that align, or don’t, with our lived experiences and naming gaps in available information, we can start to define and create new datasets that let us tell the full stories of our communities”

Opening Data Zine, page 9

Read this excerpt from the Opening Data Zine for an example documenting “retail redlining”:

Remember that data is read by humans with biases, and those biases inform how people understand data and how they attribute value, or interpret, that data, such as looking for data to back up held beliefs or pre-made claims. Also, some data sources, such as the well-known census, can be skewed in other ways, with some groups or communities underreporting and being undercounted (for various reasons). Covid-19 proved a critical moment for collecting health data on marginalized and underrepresented populations that weren’t readily available before.

Interested in learning more about data research? Check out these resources:

Love Data Week 2024‘s theme is “My Kind of Data” and is all about data equity, inclusion, and creating a kinder world through data.

Spring/Fall thesis desk lottery Feb. 7

Thesis Desk Lottery

Senior thesis desk lottery numbers will be drawn from the official 470 list.  Eligible seniors will get an email request to opt-in on Tuesday 1/30. If you are a senior are not yet registered for 470, and want to be included in the drawing, please come to the circulation desk and have your name added to the lottery list by Monday, February 5.  Biology, Chemistry, Physics, and Studio Art, majors are not eligible for thesis desks in the library.

The list of numbers will be posted Tuesday, February 6 along with a map of thesis desk locations, so that you can have preferences in mind before the actual selection. For a map of available thesis desks click here.  Seat maps will also be posted in thesis desk areas.

Desk selection will begin at noon on Wednesday, February 7 in library room L17.  You or your proxy must be present when your name is called.  Lottery numbers are not transferable.

PLEASE NOTE:  Thesis desks are shared – two students to each side of a desk.  In order to create the most pleasant sharing arrangement possible, the person with the better number may bring in as a partner another senior on the list.  If you do not have a partner, the seat next to you will be assigned as needed.  Please make those arrangements ahead of time and let us know when your name is called.

About thesis desks

Desks assigned to seniors are for their sole use through the end of the school year or as long as they remain registered for 470. Only thesis desks are assigned to individuals. All other seating in the library is open to the Reed Community. You may not claim or reserve these desks.  Please take your belongings with you when you leave.  Items left on open study desks and tables will be removed and can be retrieved from the circulation desk.

Thesis desk restrictions

The staff, assisted by student monitors, will remove the following from thesis desks:

  •     Library materials that are not checked out.
  •     Plants, flowers, etc.  Sorry – they attract bugs.
  •     All dishes and silverware.  You can return commons dishes to the container in the lobby
  •     All opened packages or containers of food and beverages.  Sorry – bugs again.
  •     All electrical appliances and extension cords (per the fire marshall).

Asian Life in America Trial through 2/29/24

The newest entry in the series that started with Black Life in America and Hispanic Life in America, Asian Life in America is a collection of primary source documents about the histories and daily lives of Americans of Asian and Pacific Islander heritage—including those of Chinese, Filipino, Japanese, Korean, South Asian, and Vietnamese backgrounds, among others. It is sourced from 35 million primary source documents in 41 languages.

Our new, quick-start trial is for the first two series:

Series 1: 1704-1941 – Early 18th Century to US Entry into World War II
Series 2: 1942-2017 – World War II to the 21st Century

You will need to use a dedicated link in order to access this resource during the trial, which ends on January 31 has been extended to February 29.

If you have questions about this trial, please email library-er@reed.edu.

Whether you’re a student, faculty member, or staff member, we welcome your evaluation of this resource!

To share your thoughts, please complete our trial feedback form.

Sovetskii Ekran Trial through 12/31/23

The library has just begun a trial of Sovetskii Ekran Digital Archive.

Sovetskii Ekran (Советский экран, Soviet Screen) is the preeminent Soviet film magazine. This online archive contains all obtainable published issues from 1925 on, representing more than 50 years and approximately 32,000 pages of content. It offers full page-level digitization, complete original graphics, and searchable text, and is cross-searchable with other East View digital resources.

If you have questions about this trial, please email library-er@reed.edu.

Whether you’re a student, faculty member, or staff member, we welcome your evaluation of this resource!

To share your thoughts, please complete our trial feedback form.

PEP-Web Archive Trial through 10/25/23

The library has just begun a trial of Psychoanalytic Electronic Publishing’s online archive.

PEP-Web provides a centralized search of psychoanalytic literature in English, French, German, Greek, Italian, Romanian, Spanish, and Turkish. It includes journals, books, and videos (including full transcription).

Note that most of the journals have a 3- to 5-year embargo, so content later than 2019 will not be available. 

If you have questions about this trial, please email library-er@reed.edu.

We welcome your evaluation of this resource! To share your thoughts, please complete our Library Database Feedback form.

MLA Handbook Plus Trial through 10/15/23

The library is currently running a trial of MLA Handbook Plus.

This electronic resource includes the full text of the ninth edition of the handbook, the second edition of the MLA Guide to Digital Literacy, and the MLA Guide to Undergraduate Research in Literature, as well as a video course that teaches the principles of MLA documentation style.

The MLA has created an introductory video that demonstrates all the site’s features and functions.

If you have questions about this trial, please email library-er@reed.edu.

We welcome your evaluation of this resource! To share your thoughts, please complete our Library Database Feedback form.