Data Literacy: Achieving Higher Productivity for Citizens, Knowledge Workers, and Organizations

by Peter Aiken

“Literacy” is far more than the ability to read and write. Its definition implies much about our capacity to obtain and master knowledge generally and offers an opportunity and grounds for the basis of mastery. Data Literacy provides an amazing framework that will allow a mobile data spreader to move from a crawler to a walking knowledge worker to a running data professional should they so choose. Another masterpiece from the visionary that taught us that data is ‘soil’ not ‘oil’! --Michael Leahy, Maryland Secretary of Technology

“Data.” The word itself places a different image in your mind today than it did 20 years ago, which makes sense. Data is different. Aiken and Harbour present a thorough view of how data has become an anthropological movement and what organizations and individuals need to do. Data has entered all aspects of society. Aiken and Harbour present a thorough treatment of what you need to look out for and what to do about data in all of its forms. --John Ladley, Thought leader and author of Data Governance: How to Design, Deploy, and Sustain an Effective Data Governance Program 2nd Edition

Making good decisions about anything takes good data. This book is a great reference for those who are seeking to understand the critical role of data in the evolving landscape of technology, business, governments, and your own day-to-day life. --Suzette Kent, CEO Kent Advisory Services, former Federal Chief Information Officer/OMB

429 pages, Paperback

Published October 9, 2021

Reviews

[Jennifer Wright · Rating 2 out of 5]

More focused on how to give the general public a basic level of data literacy vs. more advanced data literacy at work.

[Jannie van Schalkwyk · Rating 1 out of 5]

I really battled reading through this book. I think the authors attempted to pitch data literacy on a society level. For me the book digressed into echoing data security for mobile devices and the role of adults and children in it. Attempts to give this context in the bigger scheme of the book is unsuccessful. The last chapter contains many spelling mistakes, which tells me that the authors was in a rush to get the book out. Likely also the reason why the concepts in the book does not get together well.