Making Sense of Data

Explore how we create, interact with, and are influenced by data in all aspects of our lives — and learn how to evaluate the accuracy of data-based claims and visualizations.

Learning objectives

• I can explain why data isn’t objective or infallible.
• I can differentiate between credible and questionable sources of data.
• I can explain some of the primary ways data can be distorted in misleading ways.
• I can interpret different ways data is presented.
• I can identify charts and other data visualizations that are misleading and explain why.

Essential questions

• What is data?
• When can you trust data?
• Can data ever be objective?
• Who collects data and for what purposes?
• How can people use and misuse data?
• How can we tell when data is reliable?
• What are some common problems in the ways people represent and communicate data?