Welcome! This guide provides a brief introduction to data literacy.
What Is Data Literacy?
Data literacy is the ability to understand, interpret, question, and communicate data. It means more than just reading a chart or calculating an average. Data literacy means being able to ask:
- Where did this data come from?
- Who created it, and why?
- What story does it tell?
- What story might it be hiding?
- How can I use data to learn something, not just confirm what I already believe?
If literacy is about understanding words, then data literacy is about understanding the numbers, measurements, graphs, surveys, and statistics that shape so much of our world.
Why Data Literacy Matters
Data drives decisions. Governments use it to set policy. Businesses use it to sell products and services. News outlets use it to persuade. Algorithms use it to recommend—and to exclude.
