Program Overview

The Data Institute is a professional development program designed for full-time faculty and staff at Lone Star College. This program aims to enhance participants' knowledge and skills in data research and analytics through a rigorous, project-based curriculum. The Institute is a seven-month program, offered once a year during the fall and spring terms, with participants selected through a competitive application process.

The primary goals of the Institute are to:

• Strengthen participants' knowledge and skills in research and analysis.
• Introduce participants to AIR services, data sources, and tools.
• Build a team of trained researchers who can lead projects and assist college decision-makers.
• Increase both the quantity and quality of research at Lone Star College.
• Guide participants through a practical research study, covering problem definition, research design, data collection, analysis, interpretation, and presentation of results.

Program Location

Most Data Institute sessions will be held at the Lone Star College-System Office, University Park, located at 20515 SH 249, Houston, TX 77070. A few sessions, including graduation, will take place at the Lone Star College, System Office located at 5000 Research Forest Dr, The Woodlands, TX 77381.

View Map of Lone Star College-System Office, University Park

View Map of Lone Star College-System Office, The Woodlands

Session Topics

• Introduction to the Data Institute
• Overview of Data Sources
• Research Design Fundamentals
• Introduction to Research Methods
• Data Analysis Using Power BI
• Institutional Review Board (IRB) and Research Ethics
• Training in Research Tools
• Leadership Panel: Putting Data to Work – How Leaders Use Data for Decision-Making
• Data Visualization and Storytelling

Suggested Reading

• Redesigning America’s Community Colleges.: A Clearer Path to Student Success, Thomas Bailey, Shanna Smith Jaggars, Davis Jenkins. April 2015, Harvard University Press. ISBN 9780674368286
• You Are a Data Person: Strategies for Using Analytics on Campus, Amelia Parnell, Routledge, ISBN 9781642671377
• Doing Your Research Project: A Guide for First-Time Researchers, Judith Bell, Open University Press, ISBN 9780335243389
• Storytelling with Data: A Data Visualization Guide for Business Professionals, Cole Nussbaumer Knaflic, Wiley, ISBN 9781119002253
• Better Data Visualizations: A Guide for Scholars, Researchers, and Wonks, Jonathan Schwabish, Columbia University Press, 2021, ISBN ? 978-0231193115.
• Data-Driven Leadership, Amada Datnow, Vicki Park. March 2014, Jossey-Bass.

Several other reading materials, including those listed above, are available from the Data Institute Library.