by Taylor Bryant
University of West Georgia’s College of Social Sciences will launch the Data Analysis and Visualization Lab this spring in an effort to improve the analytic skills of our students by connecting them with data analysis projects of organizations in the local community.
“We all live in an increasingly data-driven society, but most of us don’t know how to make sense of it all,” says Dr. Winston Tripp, UWG assistant professor of sociology. “Many large corporations like Facebook and Google have been exploiting all of this data to the fullest for years, but small local organizations often lack the means or the knowledge to conduct data analyses. Our goal is to help our students apply their data analysis skills to real-world problems and to help local organizations with their data analysis needs.”
Students will also have an opportunity to collaborate on data analysis projects to produce charts, graphs and maps to help visualize complex relationships in the data.
“The Data Analysis and Visualization Lab in the College of Social Sciences seeks to address this growing disparity by allowing students to improve their analytic skills working on data analysis projects from organizations in our community,” adds Dr. Tripp.
The lab will teach students to analyze, visualize and interpret data while utilizing assisting organizations in the West Georgia area with data analysis needs whenever possible. Classes will also conduct independent research using a variety or approaches and software.
Recent clients of the lab include Tanner Health System and Carroll County Child Advocacy.
For more information, visit www.westga.edu/coss/.
