The Lazy Person

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The Lazy Persons Guide to Institutional Research

• I wish someone would have shown me this sooner!

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Lazy Persons Guide

• Premise
• Many of us fell into institutional research
• We come with different backgrounds and different
  skills
• We learn things as we grow in the job
• However, we are sometimes afraid to share what
  weve learn for fear of being exposed as
  inadequate
• My Need
• I need to learn how to do things more efficiently
• (but I dont want to work too hard or think too
  much)

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• Solution
• Bite the bullet and share what we know at the
  risk of showing our ignorance
• Remember, we are all gentle people here
• (The worse you should hear is bless his heart)
• Who knows? I might be smarter than I think
• (or not)
• After I reveal my discoveries, then it will be
  your turn

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OK ? Ill Start

• Make Your Life Easier - Discover the Wonders of
  Copy and Paste
• My rule ? try copying and pasting first
• Example PREP Queryhttp//www.thecb.state.tx.us/I
  nteractiveTools/PREP/menu.htm

Go to next screen before clicking on link
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                PREP1 Query Results
Downloadable Results     Change Parameters
    Start new Query     Return to Menu
Profile 310 - (C) ENROLLMENT DATA
Report 005 - TOTAL HEADCOUNT
FICE 003627 - TEMPLE COLLEGE

Sample Prep Query result

Item Description Item Code Fall-2004 Fall-2003 Fall-2002 Fall-2001 Fall-2000
TOTAL HEADCOUNT (NON DUPLICATIVE) 215 4,068 3,932 3,664 3,579 3,381
TOTAL 4,068 3,932 3,664 3,579 3,381
Downloadable Results     Change Parameters
    Start new Query     Return to Menu To
download the delimited data for this query, click
Downloadable Results above and save the
resulting file to your local machine.
keep going
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Gonzo Computer Application

• You could download the information
• To download the delimited data for this query,
  click Downloadable Results above and save the
  resulting file to your local machine.

Gonzo computing is doing what it takes to get
the job done. (not necessarily the correct way)
keep going
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• But they dont tell what to do with the file. In
  my case it meant
• opening the file
• selecting all
• copying
• pasting into excel
• and converting using text to columns
• Or, you could highlight the table on the website
  then copy and paste directly into an Excel file

Now you can Click on the button to check out Prep
On-line
or go to next slide
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Other uses of Copy and Paste

• Copy tables from program to program (internet,
  word, publisher, etc.)
• If you cant copy straight to the program you
  want, try copying from program to program to
  program (Adobe to MS Word to Excel)
• Copy web addresses to word or excel
• http//www.texas-air.org/ (copy, paste, and
  space)

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Lazy Persons Mantra
Let Someone Else Do Your Work For You
But give them credit

• THECB (Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board)
• Texas Higher Education Data
• http//www.txhighereddata.org/
• Accountability System
• http//www.txhighereddata.org/Interactive/Accounta
  bility/
• Prep Online
• Institutional Effectiveness
• http//www.thecb.state.tx.us/AAR/UndergraduateEd/I
  E/
• CDR and TWC (Career Development Resources and
  Texas Workforce commission)
• Socrates http//socrates.cdr.state.tx.us/
• (dont click on Socrates until you see the 3 next
  slides)
• Tracer http//www.tracer2.com/

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SOCRATES software is designed as a tool to assist
local Texas planners perform a regional labor
market analysis. SOCRATES is useful for local
workforce planning under the Workforce Investment
Act (WIA) to generate lists of Targeted
Industries and Targeted Occupations
                          Complimentary labor
market analysis tools are also available in the
SOCRATES system which are designed as integral
modules for additional area economic analysis and
career information scenarios
IGNORE THIS
Check this out

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13 pages of copy and paste-able information
courtesy of CDR and Socrates

• County Narrative Profile
• Bell County Report
• What are County Narrative Profiles? The Career
  Development Resources (CDR) unit of the Texas
  Workforce Commission has developed the County
  Narrative Profile (CNP) as a tool for presenting
  Texas county based statistical data in an
  easy-to-read narrative format. This CNP module is
  one of many analytical tools available from the
  SOCRATES labor market information system. The
  narrative approach is an alternative to looking
  through stacks of tables and charts which can be
  confusing and difficult to understand or
  interpret. It allows the user to easily request
  an easy to understand report on one or more of
  the 254 counties in Texas. Geography
  Regional Information The Bell County region
  (FIPS code48027) had an estimated population of
  237,974 in 2000. The region consists of 1,088
  square miles with a population density of 218.73
  residents per square mile compared to a statewide
  density of 79.54. This county ranked 19th in 2000
  population compared to all 254 counties in Texas.
  Bell County is a member of TWC's Central Texas
  Local Workforce Development region. This area is
  an urban county and is part of the Bureau of
  Census designation for a Primary Metropolitan
  Statistical Area (PMSA or MSA) by the complete
  reference of Killeen-Temple, TX MSA .

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A sample customized occupational profile from
Socrates
Now you can play on Socrates or go to the next
slide.
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Other Websites That Make You Look Brilliant

• My Favorites
• American FactFinder http//factfinder.census.gov/h
  ome/saff/main.html?_langen
• Texas State Data Center and Office of the State
  Demographerhttp//txsdc.utsa.edu/

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Some People Excel at Excel
Learn these tools

• Text to columns
• Used to put CBM reports into Excel
• To convert CBM Report to Excel you need a copy of
  the flat file from your reporting officer and the
  data processing layout record from the reporting
  and procedures manual. http//www.txhighereddata.o
  rg/ReportingManuals.cfm

Before I discovered this, I felt like Blanche
Dubois. I often depended on the kindness of
strangers.
And by strangers I dont mean people I didnt
know, but rather the IT department.
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Excellent tools to learn

• Filter and advanced filter
• Numerous applications including finding unique
  records (find filter under Data)
• Concatenate
• Combines the content of cells
• Quick formulas and writing formulas
• ? ?
• SUM
• AVERAGE
• COUNT
• MAX
• Write you own formulas just like in algebra
• e.g. (D3D4)/D4
• is the multiplication sign

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• Page Setup and Templates
• Repeating top row
• Find under file/page setup/sheet
• Custom header and footer
• Creating a custom template with a common header
  and footer helps you keep track of documents that
  originated from your office. If you include
  PathFile (the folder icon), you will know
  where to find it on your computer when someone
  sends it back for an update.
• Ask someone to explain Split and Freeze Frame
  under Window. Its great for browsing data in an
  excel spreadsheet

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• More Excel Sleight of Hand
• Auto fill
• e.g. numbers, dates, days of the week
• Paste Special
• values, links, formats
• Keystrokes
• e.g. Insert date Ctrl Insert time Ctrl
  Shift
• We wont even talk about Pivot Tables
• (see Joe Meyers)

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Other tricks

• MS Word
• Exploit auto correct
• Works like AutoText only quicker
• Format text, highlight, open AutoCorrect options,
  and name carefully (nonsense words)
• Type in your nonsense word hit the space bar and
  watch the magic

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• Track Changes
• Find under tools
• Turn it on when you want to keep track of changes
  made to documents
• To hide the marks. Turn off Markup under view

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More tips

• Pesky surveys U.S. News, Peterson's, College
  Board, etc. 
• First, deadlines are negotiable, just call
  them--the earlier the better.
• Second, even if all the requested fields aren't
  filled in, send in the survey. Get your college
  name out there.
• Third, several of the survey publishers use old
  material if they do not get new material. Send
  them something.

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SPSS?
This hint was suggested by someone who
understands SPSS. I dont.

• If running a frequency or table for a field that
  has multiple possible values and not all values
  are used then the table will show only the used
  values.  (see Table 1)
• If you want all possible values/response options
  to show up in the table this is one way to do it.
• You must create a new dummy variable.  For Each
  case, code that dummy variable with a 1.  Then
  you create some dummy cases and code the dummy
  variable with  .001.  For the dummy cases, code
  the fields with the unused values.  Then you must
  weight cases by the dummy field.  (See second
  table) All possible values show up even though no
  cases appear to have selected that value
  (Strongly Disagree).

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Table 1
Without the hint
    Strongly Agree Agree Disagree No Opinion/DNA
The workshop offered useful information and strategies   5     2
The goals of the workshop were clearly stated   5 2    
The goals of the workshop were met   5   2  
I gained new work related insights   4 3    
Handouts and/or materials used enhanced my learning   5     2
Information was personally and/or professionally relevant   5 2    
My understanding of this topic has increased   2 3 2  
The level of information was appropriate   3 4    
The workshop stimulated my interest   4 1   2
I will be able to use the new information without further help   4 3    
The workshop materials will be helpful   4 1 2  
I would attend an advanced workshop on the same topic   3 4    
The workshop met my expectations   3 2   2
I would recommend this workshop to others   4 3    
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Table 2
With the hint
    Strongly Agree Agree Disagree Strongly Disagree No Opinion/DNA
The workshop offered useful information and strategies   5 0 0 0 2
The goals of the workshop were clearly stated   5 2 0 0 0
The goals of the workshop were met   5 0 2 0 0
I gained new work related insights   4 3 0 0 0
Handouts and/or materials used enhanced my learning   5 0 0 0 2
Information was personally and/or professionally relevant   5 2 0 0 0
My understanding of this topic has increased   2 3 2 0 0
The level of information was appropriate   3 4 0 0 0
The workshop stimulated my interest   4 1 0 0 2
I will be able to use the new information without further help   4 3 0 0 0
The workshop materials will be helpful   4 1 2 0 0
I would attend an advanced workshop on the same topic   3 4 0 0 0
The workshop met my expectations   3 2 0 0 2
I would recommend this workshop to others   4 3 0 0 0
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Lazy Persons Guide

• TAIR 2006
• Jimmy D. Roberts
• Director of Institutional Effectiveness,
  Research, and Planning
• Temple College
• 2600 South First Street
• Temple TX 76504
• jdr_at_templejc.edu

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