One of the most common requests I get here at the library from people who are attempting to do research, are requests for statistics of some sort.

While the usual answer for most ed stats is to take a look at NCES or similar sources listed under statistics in the Education Virtual Library, or possibly pulling stats from articles that discuss the kinds of information you want, the simple fact is that sometimes that information just isn’t out there in an accessible format.

I find that the big push for open/public data is very exciting. It means more information and raw data is available out there to help people answer every question. And not only give answers, but provide a means to finding solutions and making change.

Check out this quick video that shows some of the great things that have been done with open data sets.

You can certainly see these data sets becoming more available.

Recently, Google released their (beta as usual) Public Data Explorer.. While the education specific data is limited (some OECD indicators and data from California). It IS beta, and it was JUST released.

The public data explorer provides some interesting visualization tools that allow you to explore trends in a simulated real time fashion. If nothing else, it’s fascinating to tinker with. And I have high hopes that the public data sets will expand and become even more useful to researchers.

I’ve also become intrigued by Many Eyes and Swivel, Both of whom have public data sets that users have decided to share with the community.

Of course, quality varies from set to set (anything from a personal weight loss log from some users, to enrollment data from University Regsitrar’s for example). But with a critical eye, some valuable information can be obtained from either site.

I also believe that both could provide great venues for scholars to share some of the data sets that they’re developing to make the information more available to be shared with other scholars.

I invite you to explore these resources. Maybe that bit of information you’re looking for is already there!

A new study published in the August issue of Archives of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine examines a 21 lesson curriculum designed to address healthy relationships and avoiding dating violence.

The study found significant reductions in reported violence from males in the study group, as well as a significant increase in condom usage among sexually active males.

More details about the findings can be found here.

If you would like the full text of the article, please feel free to request the article via InterLibrary Loan