Telling the Story of Our Social World With Data

Sponsored by Social Explorer
Recorded on 01/21/2020

Posted in Scholarly Communication and Research


Summary:

Data provides students with a granular view of the world around them. Understanding the world with data is critical to the social sciences, especially because many students tend to assume that opinions, not data, will determine their educational experience. It is by exploring and visualizing data in the social sciences that students and researchers can gain meaningful insights into the problems and challenges which human societies face today.

How has economic inequality affected minorities in the U.S.? How have demographic shifts over time impacted the growth of American cities? How many people are opting to not get married in the U.S. and how does that impact the population going forward? How to examine these and other topics with data forms the crux of this webinar.

Dr. Quentin Kilpatrick, an instructor at Virginia Commonwealth University, will lead this webinar and discuss how he brings real-world data to life for his students in the social sciences. Using Social Explorer, Dr. Kilpatrick tells the story of American society. Learn how he integrates storytelling with data using Social Explorer in the courses that he teaches. Social Explorer is a premier data visualization and mapping tool, currently enhancing the research experience in over 400 academic libraries in the U.S. This is a timely webinar for all data and social science librarians, and for anyone interested in examining the social world today with data.


Speakers:

  • Image of Quentin Kilpatrick

    Quentin Kilpatrick

    InstructorVirginia Commonwealth University

    Quentin Kilpatrick is a recent Ph.D. graduate from Florida State University. His research interests are focused on the environmental and personal factors that shape stress exposure, mental health, and health behaviors in the transition from adolescence through adulthood. His research has examined how stress impacts the mental and physical health of individuals across social statuses of age, gender, race/ethnicity, and nativity. He currently splits his time between teaching at Virginia Commonwealth University and working in theater productions in New York.