Understanding the average citizen’s view of data

If there’s one fact we can all agree on, it’s that the facts are becoming much harder to agree on. The rise in “alternative facts” in recent years has led to an environment in which hard numbers and data can be interpreted in an infinite number of ways – depending on who you rely on for facts.

Of course, during a global pandemic, the population’s broad inability to accurately interpret data has arguably cost many human lives. In every area of our lives, from pandemics to politics, the view of data and analytics can vary wildly from person to person. This presents us with an important question: How does the average citizen view data and analytics?

The eye test

People rightfully have a tendency to “believe it when they see it”. The growing field of advanced analytics in sports has done more for the average citizen’s data literacy than any skills development program, yet the value of the “eye test” is still espoused by true masters of their respective sports. A player might have the best scoring percentages on their team, but are they diving for loose balls and playing through exhaustion?

In an excellent article towards the end of last year, Bart de Langhe from Ramon Llull University, in Barcelona used the Covid-19 vaccine trials to show that data isn’t the antidote to the biases of human intuition. He argues that using data for decision-making actually requires that we intelligently harness our quantitative intuition – and offers some useful examples of deploying these practices in a business.

Understanding the black box

Another factor in building data literacy throughout the population is trust. While people want to believe evidence when they see it, the black boxes of AI and advanced analytics have become so impenetrable to the average citizen, it’s no wonder people would prefer to believe a TV talking head over a data analyst when forming their opinions. When we also consider that people are slowly waking up to the exploitation of their own data, we can see where trust is also being eroded.

In one UK study, researchers identified a major understanding gap around internet analytics technologies, with almost 25% of British internet users having little to no understanding how internet companies generate revenue. While citizens might be aware their data is being collected, they have no idea how predictive analytics are tracking their lives – and research has shown they’re increasingly uncomfortable with algorithms that predict their behavior.

Think locally

The prospect of improving data literacy across entire populations will likely take decades, as education systems adapt to the data-driven world we now find ourselves in. For organizations and enterprises, however, there are concrete steps that can be taken for bringing their workforce up to speed with data and analytics.

Qlik’s Data Literacy Program is designed to empower your entire workforce to use data effectively – regardless of role or skill. This industry-leading program offers comprehensive learning resources and consulting services to build data literacy skills across your organization. By understanding how your people view data and analytics today, you can begin creating data narratives that cater to their understanding, while building data literacy programs that meet them at their level of competency from the beginning.

About the author:

As the Global Head of Data Literacy at Qlik, I lead an integrated, business-driven approach to enabling companies to become more data-driven. I’ve spent decades developing advanced data and analytics solutions for Fortune 100 companies, and I’m a longtime advocate for business-driven data strategies and best practices. In my current role at Qlik, I’m focused on enabling enterprises across every sector to build the right mix of data analytics capabilities across their people, processes, and technology - to democratize data and deliver valuable insights at every level.