---
id: "worksheets:exercise/working-with-data"
type: "Solving Public Problems worksheet"
title: "Working with Your Data"
url: "https://worksheets.solvingpublicproblems.org/exercise/working-with-data"
date: "2024-07-11"
summary: "Now that you have the data, how do you use the data to tell a story? Consider the following: Do the data need to be manipulated in any way for better..."
source: "Solving Public Problems worksheets (worksheets.solvingpublicproblems.org), The GovLab and the Burnes Center for Social Change"
licence: "none stated"
---

# Working with Your Data

Exercise group: Defining Problems with Data · Recommended exercise

## About this worksheet

Now that you have the data, how do you use the data to tell a story? Consider the following:

- Do the data need to be manipulated in any way for better understanding? (This might be as simple as removing columns or retitling entries.)
- Are there any visualizations I can create to improve understanding of my data? (Examples include mapping information geographically or creating charts that visualize trends.)
- Is there anything out of the ordinary I notice from my visualization? (Sometimes, outliers are the biggest indicators of things going wrong, but you should also pay attention to general trends and counts.)
- What more specific insights about my problem does this information point me toward?

## Questions

1. Do the data need to be manipulated in any way for better understanding? (This might be as simple as removing columns or retitling entries.)
2. Are there any visualizations I can create to improve understanding of my data? (Examples include mapping information geographically or creating charts that visualize trends.)
3. Is there anything out of the ordinary I notice from my visualization? (Sometimes, outliers are the biggest indicators of things going wrong, but you should also pay attention to general trends and counts.)
4. What more specific insights about my problem does this information point me toward?

## Source

Solving Public Problems, Chapter 6, p. 172

## PDF version

https://directus.theburnescenter.org/assets/6141c96b-2e30-43ed-9f7b-db4c3b659424

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Original page: https://worksheets.solvingpublicproblems.org/exercise/working-with-data · Licence: none stated