Exploring learning opportunities for students in open data portal use across data literacy levels
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1108/ILS-01-2022-0003 |
| Published date | 15 September 2022 |
| Date | 15 September 2022 |
| Pages | 601-620 |
| Subject Matter | Library & information science,Librarianship/library management,Library & information services |
| Author | Ak Wai Li,Luanne S. Sinnamon,Rick Kopak |
Exploring learning opportunities
for students in open data portal
use across data literacy levels
Ak Wai Li,Luanne S. Sinnamon and Rick Kopak
School of Information, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada
Abstract
Purpose –The purpose of thisstudy is to explore open data portals as data literacy learningenvironments.
The authors examinedthe obstacles faced and strategies used by universitystudents as non-expert open data
portal users with differentlevels of data literacy, to inform the design of portals intended to scaffold informal
and situatedlearning.
Design/methodology/approach –The authors conducted an observational user study, in which 14
student participants grouped by self-reported data literacy measures carriedout assigned tasks in an open
data portal.Data were collected through screen capture, think-aloudprotocols and post-session interviews.
Findings –Participants experienced numerouschallenges in finding and using data, with some variation
shown between thedifferent literacy groups. The higher data literacy groupprimarily faced challenges using
unfamiliar tools,which may be addressed by improving systemusability, while the lower data literacy group
struggled due to gaps in basic understanding, which may be addressed by increasing point of need
instruction and guidance. Participants used several learning strategies but primarily relied upon trial and
error, whichwas less effective for low data literacy users.
Originality/value –This study is unique in comparingopen data portal use among adult students across
data literacy levels through an empirical user study. It contributes methodologically by proposing an
instrument for data literacy assessment. It offers a novel perspective on information systems as sites for
informal learning and skills development, beyond the immediate goals of system use, and offers concrete
suggestionsfor the future design of open data portalsfor students and non-expert, citizen users.
Keywords Open data, Open data portals, Informal learning, Situated learning, Data literacy,
Information system design, Usability
Paper type Research paper
Introduction
A great deal of data is created in the process of day-to-day government operations. To
maximize the reuse of data, generatevalue and increase transparency, the international open
data (OD) movement advocates for public access to government data with no restrictions
(Attard et al.,2015;Ln
eni
cka et al.,2021). OD refers to “digital data that is made available
with the technical and legal characteristics necessary for it to be freely used, reused, and
redistributed by anyone, anytime, anywhere”(International Open Data Charter,2015).
Governments at all levels have established OD portals that invite members of the public,
civil society groups, developers and entrepreneurs to accessand make use of OD resources.
Such OD portals exist internationally with differing levels of maturity and adoption
(Saxena, 2017). Despitethe widespread availability of OD, research over the past decade has
identified significant obstaclesto its uptake and use (Janssen et al., 2012;Zuiderwijk and de
The authors gratefully acknowledge support to the first author from the Natural Sciences and
Engineering Research Council of Canada through the Designing for People CREATE program.
Learning
opportunities
for students
601
Received4 January 2022
Revised16 June 2022
2August2022
Accepted4 August 2022
Informationand Learning
Sciences
Vol.123 No. 9/10, 2022
pp. 601-620
© Emerald Publishing Limited
2398-5348
DOI 10.1108/ILS-01-2022-0003
The current issue and full text archive of this journal is available on Emerald Insight at:
https://www.emerald.com/insight/2398-5348.htm
Reuver, 2021). Among these, low data literacy stands out as a major obstacle, given that
many members of civil society lack the skills sufficient to make use of the services and
resources on offer (Gurstein, 2011;Zuiderwijk et al.,2016;Safarov et al.,2017;Gasc
o-
Hern
andez et al., 2018).
To move from nominal to effective transparencythrough OD (Ruijer et al., 2018), citizens
and OD users need to be data literate: possessing the capabilities to “access, interpret,
critically assess, manage, handle and ethically use data”(Calzada-Prado and Marzal, 2013).
Data literacy is considered an important 21
st
-century skill that is essential for an informed
citizenry (Shreiner, 2020) and a robust economy (Inverarity et al.,2022). However, current
efforts to improve data literacy among the general population are limited in scope and
effectiveness. Some governments have partnered with stakeholders within civil society to
create data literacy courses (Humphrey, 2005;Ridsdale et al.,2015;Gasc
o-Hern
andez et al.,
2018). Events, such as OD workshops, and hackathons are also common(Connor and Wiley,
2018). However, “one-shot”instruction produces limited learning gains (Stephenson and
Caravello, 2007). Face-to-face data literacy instruction is limited in scale and reach and
constrained due to sustainability issues, including lack of funding and instructors (Gasc
o-
Hern
andez et al., 2018).
This research takes an alternative approach to data literacy by considering OD portals as
sites of informal and experiential learning (Kolb, 1984;Watkins et al., 2018). We adopt the
perspective that individuals with various skill levels should have the opportunity to acquire
data literacy skills and knowledge through actual OD portal use, in the context of authentic life
tasks. Our focus is on citizen data consumers, specifically university students, who are non-
expert data users, but important OD stakeholders (Attard et al., 2016;Nikiforova and Lněnička,
2021). While the potential for OD portals to serve as data literacy learning environments exists
(Gebre and Morales, 2020;Saddiqa et al., 2021), this value dimension is not currently recognized
in OD frameworks (Attard et al., 2016). Furthermore, research indicates that OD portal
functionality and usability is low (M
achov
aet al., 2018;Zuiderwijk and de Reuver, 2021)and
context-specific support for different user groups is needed (Ruijer et al.,2017). Specifically, OD
portals lack features to support learning (M
achov
aet al., 2018), despite such features being
identified as critically important (Ln
eni
cka et al., 2021). This research aims to examine OD
portal use through the lens of informal learning to identify design strategies for better
supporting in situ learning. This work can contribute both to research on the use of OD portals
for data literacy education and to a growing body of research on the user-centred design of OD
portals. The following question and sub-questions guided the study:
RQ1. How do non-expert student users with different levels of data literacy skills
interact with an OD portal and associated tools and technologies to accomplish
tasks and to gain digital literacy skills?
RQ1a. What kinds of obstacles do users encounter when using OD to accomplish a
task?
RQ1b. What, if any, learning strategies do users employ when they face obstacles in
using OD to accomplish a task?
We carried out an exploratory user study in which we observed 14 participants with
varying levels of data literacycarrying out tasks using a municipal OD portal. Data analysis
is descriptive and qualitative. Findings address the impacts of data literacy and portal
usability on OD use and offer insights for the design and development of support and
learning tools for userswith differing levels of expertise.
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