Is Your Data Working?

Your data should work for you – it’s a resource that can make your work more effective and more efficient. But to get your data to work that way, you need to know where to start. You need to know what questions you can answer with data and how you can make use of those answers. You need to know how to use the data tools that match your purposes, whether those tools be simple spreadsheets or machine learning algorithms. You need to know how you can collaborate with AI to find answers in your data. And you need to develop a data mindset that can help you find the actionable insights – the things you need to do to reach your goals – from your data work.

We’ll get you there

I’m Barton Poulson, and I founded datalab as a way to share the lessons I have learned from 30+ years of working with data professionally. In addition to teaching at several colleges and universities, I have consulted with local nonprofits, small businesses, city and national government agencies, and global corporations. Through it all, I have focused on making data accessible and socially-relevant, drawing on people’s own interests and goals to bring meaning and relevance to their data work.

Through datalab, you can gain insight on every aspect of informed data work, from planning and analysis to implementation and evaluation. You have access to human-oriented data science training through free video resources, with practical skills development for entrepreneurs; conceptual courses for business owners, designers, and consultants; and detailed tutorials for researchers and students.

The Foundations of Data Science

Our first collection of videos provides accessible and non-technical overviews of the field of data science and its facets, such as common programming languages and applications, the practical aspects of data sourcing, important mathematical concepts, and common statistical approaches.

The Tools of Data

In working with data, you’ll confront novel problems that require creative solutions. A wide range of tools can help you find these solutions efficiently and accurately. datalab.cc offers tutorials on the most important tools for working constructively with data. Current tools courses include introductory courses on Google Sheets, the open-source data analysis program jamovi, the statistical programming language R, the analytical application SPSS. Archived courses include early versions of the data gathering tool Typeform and the data visualization app RAW.

Data Practicum

Launching soon, the data practicum is a series of short courses that will bring hands-on experience with AI-first data analysis for actionable insights. I will initially offer these courses in the Psychology and Counseling Department at Utah Valley University, where I am a professor of psychological science.

Designed as a series of 1-credit courses, they will briefly introduce a wide range of topics, quickly illustrate how they can be used to answer practical questions, and demonstrates prompts that students can use to learn more about each approach and the collaborate with AI to conduct the analysis.

For the technical parts of the practicum classes, we will use Gemini in Google Colab to write Python code for analysis. For the applied parts of the classes, we will focus on the non-automated skills that are critical to the success of a data project: asking useful questions, showing curiosity during exploration and analysis, considering multiple interpretations of the statistical results, framing actionable insights, and communicating effectively with stakeholders.

My goal is to make all of the course videos and materials available as open educational resources (OER). That way, the materials can be used by instructors, students, and professionals anywhere in the world for free. The first set of materials will become available in the spring of 2027, with more to follow in the fall of 2027 and the spring of 2028.

Free and Open-Source Videos

All of datalab’s current and future videos and materials are free and open-source thanks to a Creative Common Attribution (CC BY) license. This means that anyone can use, share, and adapt the videos however they like – even commercially – as long as they credit the videos to datalab and link to our pages. Several organizations have already done this to great success: freeCodeCamp has compiled and shared our material, now with over 13 million views on YouTube. My CS took the same approach and has over 200,000 views on their YouTube channel. Blossom Academy, a groundbreaking data science bootcamp in Ghana, has also used the videos to prepare their students. We invite you to use these videos to support learning for you and you audience.

It’s Your Turn

With datalab’s comprehensive resources you’ll get the help you need to start finding actionable insights in your data. Whether you’re a CxO, a designer, or a full-time researcher, datalab can help you make the most of the data revolution and make your work more productive, more profitable, and more fulfilling.