Preparation for 299

1. BADM 298: DR.
MOTHKOVICH
Let’s Find Some Datasets!
Prof. O’Connor

2. ASSIGNMENT
•Locate dataset
•800-5,000 rows, 10-20 parameters, (more is ok)
•5-7 of the parameters must be numeric

3. ASSIGNMENT PT.2
•You will need to find information about your
topic
•Online
•Library databases & news sources
•Checkout the articles tab in the 299/298
BADM course guide
https://library.usca.edu/298/299/articles

4. ASSIGNMENT PART 3
•Write 8-10 page paper (single spaced)
• No more the 3 charts graphs or figures in the paper the rest
must be moved to the appendix
• Cover sheet, table of contents, appendix, and references are
not considered part of the 8-10 page paper.

5. CITATION
You will be citing your paper in MLA or APA depending on
your topic
MLA: Literature, Languages, Cultural Studies, & Social
Sciences
APA: Education, Psychology, Sciences, & Medicine
• Cite a Dataset
• Citation Guide

6. DATASET RESEARCH
You will need to locate
1. Description of the nature of the data
4. An overview of the Data Collection
Methodology
Don’t for get to…
• Summarize the information in the beginning of your paper
• & Cite it!

7. TOPIC/EXPLORATION
Start Your Search With…
•General Topic/Area of Interest
•Not all topics work well for large datasets. Pick
a couple of topics you might be interested in
as back-up.

8. Examples of Large Data Set Friendly Topics
• Homelessness
• Wildfire
• Climate Change
• Carbon Footprint
• Education
• Social Media
• Music
• Public Safety & Crime
• COVID-19
• Electricity
• Sexually Transmitted
Illness
• Mental Illness &
Disabilities

9. ORIGINAL ANALYSIS VS. REVIEW
You Are Doing Original Analysis Using Pre-Existing Data
ORIGINAL ANALYSIS
• Examines existing data
• Creates something new
• Adds to the academic
conversation
REVIEW
• Summarizes what is
already known about the
data
• No original analysis
• Does not answer new
previously unanswered
questions about the data

10. EXCEL
Yes
File extensions
.CSV, .XLSX,
.XLSM, .XLSB,
.ODS
Excel icon
File Conversion
Required
or Add-ins
File extensions
.RDF, .JSON,
.XML, .XLAM,
.HTLM
Don’t Use
File extensions
.PDF, .JPEG,
All Image files
Text files
• ZIP Folder-contains multiple files and often many file
types

11. FILE SIZES
•Check the file size if possible before
downloading
•Less than 100 KB not usually worth checking
•1,200 KB or larger is promising
•100,000 or larger is fine you can use a
subset of the data if necessary
•Megabyte is one thousand times bigger than
a Kilobyte. A file measured in Megabytes MB
is typically a good sign.

13. Google Dataset-Search
• Go to google dataset search

14. GOOGLE Dataset Search:
Best Sources For Datasets
• data.world
• Kaggle.com
• worldbank.org
• dataverse.harvard.edu
• healthdata.gov

15. GOOGLE DATASET SEARCH:
Select tabular and free!

16. Search a specific website
using site:last part of URL

17. EXAMPLE: kaggle.com

18. Data Manipulation Tools (online websites)
• Requires user to make a series of choices about
years, geography, or special aspects of the data.
•Removes user from the raw data. End result is graph,
map, or other visual, although sometimes a small
raw dataset is created.
•Avoid data manipulation tools for this assignment!
One exception would be for those interested in using
the Census Data Explorer. Please set up a Book a
Librarian Appointment with me if interested in

19. Example of data manipulation tool:
DON’T USE!

20. DATA.GOV

21. DATA.GOV
Retrieve an excel file

22. HEALTH DATA.GOV

23. healthdata.gov

24. Download dataset from healthdata.gov

25. DATASET QUALITY
Authorship
• Who published the data/reliable source?
• When possible get the dataset from the original source
Completeness
• Avoid datasets with lots of blanks, NA, X, etc.
• Avoid datasets that are missing critical information such as author/source, methodology, data
dictionary etc.
Relevance
• Is the information current?
• Can you write an 8-10 page paper about the topic of your dataset?
• How many of the Parameters are useable?
• At least 9 useable columns/5 numeric
• How much cleanup will I need to do before I can use this data?
• Lots of blank columns
• Columns without labels
• Dataset is too large example 80 columns by 200,000 rows

26. CREATING A SUBSET
• Too many rows?
• Try limiting by year, date, geography, or topic
• Too many columns?
• Are there some categories you can eliminate because you are less
interested in analyzing them/discussing them in your paper?
• Eliminate rows and columns that aren’t helpful for analysis such
as…
• Empty rows and columns
• Columns that you don’t understand (check the dataset index and
description for information!)

27. HOW DO I LOCATE INFORMATION ABOUT
MY DATASET?
•Locate
• Abstract
• Methodology
• and/or documents included with the data
• Look for URLs these may take you to the original
content or creators page

28. WHAT IF A WRITE-UP IS NOT INCLUDED WITH
THE DATASET?
• Search for Identifying Information
• Authorship (person, agency, organization)
• See if a URL to more information is included with data

29. CREATING A SUBSET OF YOUR DATA
(datasets that are too large or need some clean-up)

30. INFORMATION SOURCES
• Browse the open web (.gov, .edu, and .org) are generally
considered more reliable
• Academic Search premier is our biggest general database
• Use the “Articles tab” in the Business 298/299 Guide
Go to the subject guides on the library’s home page and select
the guide that relates to your topic
Example: Education Subject Guide , Psychology Subject
Guide, etc.

32. Contact Me For Assistance
• Book A Librarian Appointment You must have a UofSC Aiken
email to book an appointment. This is for a one-on-one virtual
appointment for help with locating raw data sets or data
citation.
• Email: susano@usca.edu
• Phone: 803-641-3261
• In-person appointments are also available