While digitalization, datafication, and digital transformation are processes that characterize modern societies, citizens often do not understand what data is and how data processes can affect their daily lives.
This is often because data practices are predominantly associated with computer science, statistics, natural language processing, and the highly professionalized field of so-called artificial intelligence, making them abstract phenomena. In popular discourse, data is often discussed in relation to the much-hyped topic of surveillance, which, although important, often does little to make data less abstract and mysterious.
This project aims to develop a data literacy toolkit based on the Curating Data Diagram to provide hands-on and participatory experiences with data handling through curation. The diagram was originally developed by lead researcher Magdalena Tyżlik-Carver in 2020 for the Curating Data Course (as part of the Critical Data Studies program) and is based on research into data and curatorial practices. It was successful in teaching data curation to undergraduate students and was also used to develop the workshop Fermenting Data for the NordiCHI2022 conference.
Building on these experiences, the diagram will form the foundation for developing a toolkit aimed at fostering popular data literacy.
