The QC DataBlog is a publication outlet for data analyses performed in the Queens College Data Analytics community.  It is intended to be a forum for original student- and faculty-produced data analyses.

How It Works

Professors can assign, and students can elect to submit, blog posts of 500 – 1500 word to QC DataBlog.  Submissions should use original data analysis to generate an insight that is of use to some group or community.  Submissions are otherwise open to topic, data, or analytical method.

The blog has several goals:

• A Publication Outlet for Student Work.  The DataBlog intends to give students a platform to show the fruits of their skill sets.  Students can link to these posts on their web sites or LinkedIn pages to show potential collaborators or employers what they can do.  The students’ work will be published on an *.edu address with inward links from well-trafficked sites (e.g., the College site), and can include links to the student’s personal sites.
• Learning Opportunities.  DataBlog publications can add meaning to class exercises, because they offer students an opportunity to showcase their skills publicly.  It may encourage more engagement and investment in assignments.  Moreover, students can be enlisted in the editorial, publication, or promotional operations of this publication as a means of learning other market-valued skills, like web development, research evaluation, social media marketing, mass communications, and much else.
• Contribute Information to Public Discussion.  DataBlog entries have a good chance of appearing when people perform web searches for empirical analyses.  Publishing useful or meaningful analyses contributes information to the public, and allows students to contribute to larger societal discussions by donating their professional services.
• Professional Identity Development.  Students can post under pseudonyms, but can also post work as a means of building an online professional identity.  It is likely that the posts on DataBlog will be among the higher-registering search returns when someone Googles the student.  Students may post to DataBlog to ensure that, when they are searched online, displays of professional skill and technical competency are what comes up.

Opportunities to Participate

Students are invited to participate in the development of the QC DataBlog.  Benefits include:

• You will receive a listing on the DataBlog’s masthead and personnel page to which you can link on your web page and social media.
• You will receive training and help in developing a personal website and social media ecosystem, in addition to your work on that of the DataBlog.
• Experience publishing, reviewing and editing research, and opportunities to link to those products when telling your story online.
• An opportunity for hands-on learning experiences related to your career aspirations in research evaluation, media enterprise management, web development, marketing and public relations, or content creation (including data journalism).

Roles available include:

• Webmasters: Manage and develop the QC DataBlog site by managing user-interface design, website features, and content development.
• Communications: Management of content delivery, publicity, and social media operations.  Writes content for web, reaches out to College and outside agencies to promote articles, and writes and schedules social media posts.
• Editors: Will spearhead efforts to review and make publication decisions related to submissions.  This will include interfacing with authors and reviewers.
• Reviewers:  Review and write a report on the rigor of the submission for editors.
• Authors: Write original posts for the blog