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MATH 1190: Information Literacy for Quantitative Reasoning

1. Choose a Topic (for Practice Only)

  • Bullying
  • Climate Change
  • Gaming
  • Mental Health
  • Minimum Wage
2. Choose a Data Source and Find Data

Internet (Google Search)

Google Web Search
  • Find trusted, authoritative sites:  Add site:.domain after search terms.

Example: bullying AND statistics site:.org (other domains .edu and .gov)

Examples:  climate change"  "mental health" "minimum wage"

  • Exact phrase search: Add quotation marks around a phrase.
  • Search for Excel file type. 
    Example:  dogs filetype:xls 
    NOTE: Download the file and remember to go back to the root of the site to get information about the source for your citation.
 3. Evaluate the Data Source

Information is not created equal. Always check...

  • Currency: When was the data collected?
  • Authority: Who collected the data? What are their credentials?
  • Reliability: Are the calculations correct?
  • Bias: Is the data skewed and persuasive? Or just informational?

See the back of the Data Literacy Activity for Math 1190 for more evaluation criteria.

4. Use Data Ethically (Create a Citation)

Data Literacy Activity for Math 1190

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