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Communicating COVID: Using Data & Visualizations to Build Trust and Cause Action


94-892

Units: 3

Description

More people have died from COVID-19 in the U.S. than in any other country. Even adjusting for population, the US death rate from COVID was higher than almost all other industrialized nations.  Why was the U.S response to COVID-19 so ineffective, when relatively simple precautions that could have contained the spread were known early on?   Did we not have the right data,  or did we just not effectively communicate the story the data told, so that people were misinformed, disinformed or unable to make sense of what was going on? Most experts believe COVID-19 was not the last pandemic; how can we do better the next time that this happens?
 
This micro-course will look at data -- its analysis, visualization, interpretation, and communication -- and explore better ways to get people to trust data and science, and then act in responsible ways. Using the many datasets that we now have around COVID -- everything from origins and transmission to response and resistance -- we will look at topics such as information visualization, data science, behavioral design, and policy making, by using exercises in data exploration, predictive analytics, and presentations to multiple audiences.
 
"Trust the science" is a phrase that is only meaningful if you actually understand the science, and can explain it simply to others. This course, which features accomplished practitioners, a panel of experts, and intense lab work, will help you do both. Your deliverable will be structured as an actual, evidence-based, data-rich, and effectively-visualized recommendation.

Learning Outcomes

At the conclusion of the course you will be prepared to:

  • Think critically and use evidence in support of your findings, insights, and recommendations;
  • Understand principles of data and information visualization and use them to better understand the story the data tell;
  • Use the best practices of data and information visualization to create efficient, effective, and engaging visuals that communicate the story of the data;
  • Design efficient, effective, and engaging work products (presentation and documentation) that will help your audience better understand the intent of your project area, the key findings uncovered in your research, and the rationale for the best practices/recommendations that you are presenting.

The skills that you should walk away from this course with are:

  • An improved understanding of data visualization techniques;
  • An improved understanding of information visualization techniques;
  • An understanding of how to use library resources;
  • Specific knowledge about how to use Tableau;
  • An improved understanding of how to create and deliver an effective policy presentation;
  • An improved understanding of how to assess and apply evidence;
  • An improved understanding of the scope, scale, and impact of the Covid-19 pandemic and how the lessons that we learn now can better prepare us for future pandemics.

 

Prerequisites Description

None