IR Tools on a Shoestring

Transcription

1 IR Tools on a Shoestring Michelle Ford Research Analyst Cincinnati State Overview Available tools in key IR areas Method(s) for accessing tools Features and IR application of the tools Q&A OAIRP 2015 Spring Conference 1

2 Data Preparation Cleaning and blending data sets prior to reporting, analysis and visualization Data Preparation Tools Tool Skill Level Interface Cost Microsoft Excel Basic to Advanced Point-and-click, formulas and Visual Basic for Applications (VBA) programming language Microsoft Access Intermediate to Advanced Point-and-click, SQL and VBA programming languages Alteryx Basic to Advanced Point-and-click and drag-and-drop Free (if institution using Microsoft Office) Free (if institution using Microsoft Office) Free 14 day trial (some features available after trial) OAIRP 2015 Spring Conference 2

3 Microsoft Excel and Access Highlights Both: Tables keep data in a structured format Macros and Visual Basic for Applications (VBA) help automate data blending, cleaning and reporting Excel: Formulas assist with cleaning and blending data PivotTables can provide quick sub-cohorts of students Access: Create relationships between tables on keys, like student ID Create queries to remove duplicates or find unmatched records Use union queries to merge data from multiple tables Alteryx Highlights The data blending and user-friendly, drag-and-drop interface are the shining stars of this system but wait there s more! This system also has predictive analytics and visualization features Some data blending can still occur after the trial period ends and you can copy and paste the results into Excel or some other tool for the remaining analysis, reporting, visualization, etc. OAIRP 2015 Spring Conference 3

4 Data Preparation in IR Merging data from SIS, HR, FA, surveys, etc. Cleaning data, e.g. recoding missing or invalid demographics, IPEDS coding, etc. Creating sub-cohorts of students for other analyses from IPEDS or HEI datasets Provides a consistent basis for ad-hoc analyses and reporting Blending 5 academic years of enrollment data in 11.2 seconds OAIRP 2015 Spring Conference 4

5 Creating a sub-cohort from the IPEDS fall enrollment dataset Data Analytics and Reporting Analyzing and reporting data OAIRP 2015 Spring Conference 5

6 Data Analytics and Reporting Tools Tool Skill Level Interface Cost Microsoft Excel Basic toadvanced Point-and-click, formulas and VBA programming language Alteryx Basic to Advanced Point-and-click and drag-anddrop Free (if institution using Microsoft Office) Free 14 day trial (some features available after trial) SAS University Advanced SAS programming language Free (with.edu address) Minitab, SPSS, Stata Intermediate Point-and-click and programming Free trial versions and academic discounts Highlights Excel: Built-in, basic statistics formulas and tools PivotTables SAS, Minitab, SPSS, Stata, etc.: Advanced statistical analyses Steeper learning curve than Excel OAIRP 2015 Spring Conference 6

7 Alteryx Analytics Toolbars Data Analytics and Reporting in IR Statistical analyses Answering What factors influence [fill in the blank]? Predictive analytics Creating enrollment forecasting models Summary statistics Mean, median, mode, standard deviation, etc. PivotTables/Crosstab summaries Federal, state and other reporting EF Part A CDS Part B OAIRP 2015 Spring Conference 7

8 Data Visualization Storytelling with data Data Visualization Tools Tool Skill Level Interface Cost Microsoft Excel Basic to Advanced Point-and-click, formulas and VBA programming language Entrinsik Informer Dashboards Free (if institution using Microsoft Office) Basic to Intermediate Drag-and-drop Included in Informer Reporting Tableau Basic to Advanced Point-and-click and drag-and-drop Qlik Sense Desktop Basic to Intermediate Drag-and-drop Free QlikView Personal Edition Intermediate to Advanced Point-and-click and some programming Free (with.edu address) Free OAIRP 2015 Spring Conference 8

9 Highlights Excel: Excel has built-in charts for basic users PivotTables, PivotCharts and PowerView are great for intermediate users PowerPivot is for more advanced users Informer: Very basic, limited charting capabilities Connects to live SIS data easily, especially Colleague Tableau & QlikView: Better data visualizations Steeper learning curve than Excel or Informer Data Visualization in IR Visualize progress of the strategic plan or program scorecards Show trends of surveys, grants, IPEDS, NCCBP, etc. Don t use data viz to misrepresent the data! Do use data viz to add another dimension to reports/presentations, enhancing the message to the audience! OAIRP 2015 Spring Conference 9

10 Recap Leverage software your institution currently licenses, free trials and your.edu address Google is your friend! Links to resources are provided in this slideshow Any questions? Contact information: or Michelle Ford, Research Analyst, Institutional Research & Effectiveness, Cincinnati State OAIRP 2015 Spring Conference 10

11 Excel 2013 Resources New Functions: Time Saving New Functions: new-excel-2013-functions-that-can-save-you-time/ Excel Tricks: PivotTable Videos: Chandoo: Mr. Excel: Excel Forum: Excel 2013 Cheat Sheet: cheat-sheet.pdf Other free cheat sheets: PowerView: Other Resources PowerPivot: Add-in for Excel 2013: Pivot-in-Microsoft-Excel-2013-add-in-a891a66d-36e3-43fc-81e8- fc4798f39ea8?ui=en-us&rs=en-in&ad=in Add-in for Excel 2010: Alteryx free trial: ces&src=113 SAS University Edition: Download: Side-by-side comparison of versions: Community: OAIRP 2015 Spring Conference 11

12 Other Resources (continued) Minitab academic discounts & trial: Stata 30 day evaluation: SPSS academic discounts & trial: ams/w110742e06714b29.html Informer: Tableau Desktop for Students: QlikView & Qlik Sense: OAIRP 2015 Spring Conference 12