Data literacy: Reading, cleaning and questioning data

A ready-made course you customise for your organisation, with a live session deck and two surveys. You only add the 8 details that are specific to your organisation.

Length
40 min
Lessons
6 lessons
Frequency
At onboarding for roles that use reports
Last reviewed
21 Oct 2026
Spotting bias and missing data (grey areas)
What would you do?

A satisfaction score is high, but only a quarter of staff replied

Try it: this is one of 19 interactive activities in the course.

What's included

Three pieces that work together

Copy once, get everything. Learners prepare on their own, you answer questions live, and the surveys tell you what stuck.

Self-paced course

Short lessons with real workplace scenarios, not walls of text.

  • 6 lessons, about 40 minutes
  • Process, scenario, tabs, sorting activity and quizzes

Live session deck

An AhaSlides presentation to run after the course, in person or online.

  • 12 slides
  • Quiz, poll, word cloud, scale slides
  • A closing slide for your contacts

Two surveys

Find out what landed, and whether people use it on the job.

  • Post-course feedback, about 2 minutes
  • 30-day check-in
  • Anonymous by default
  • Results feed your next refresher

Learning objectives

At the end of this course, learners can

Each objective and the lesson that covers it.

IDObjectiveSourceWhere it's covered
TO 192.0Achieve ≥ 80% on the final assessmentnoneWhole course
SO 192.1Say where a figure came from and what it does and does not coverBest practiceWhole course
SO 192.2Tell categories, counts and measurements apart, and choose a sensible averageBest practiceWhole course
SO 192.3Read a table or chart correctly and spot a misleading axis, label or scaleBest practiceWhole course
SO 192.4Spot bias, a small sample and missing data before trusting a figureBest practiceWhole course
SO 192.5Ask a clear question of the data and present a finding with its source and caveat + your infoBest practice; organisation's data governance policyWhole course

Your part: what a template can't do for you

  • Your workplace details: fill in the 8 highlighted fields so the course describes your own policies, contacts and locations.
  • Records: record completion in your own LMS or record system.

Course outline

6 lessons, about 40 minutes

Minutes per lesson are an estimate, shared out by page count.

ContentInteractiveVideoYou customise
1

A dashboard figure nobody can explain: what data is and where it comes from

3 pages

8 min
Before you beginNoteList
An invented storyTextImage
From event to figureTimelineKey factQuiz
2

Types of data and measures

3 pages

8 min
Four kinds of valueTabs
Pick the averageAccordionText
Name the termFlashcardsMatching quiz
3

Reading tables and charts correctly

3 pages

8 min
Read a chart in five stepsProcess
Spot the trickSorting activity
ChecklistChecklistQuiz
4

Spotting bias and missing data (grey areas)

3 pages

7 min
ScenarioScenario
ScenarioScenario
ScenarioScenarioSorting activityMatching quiz
5

Asking a good question, presenting a finding and getting help

3 pages

7 min
Turn a worry into a questionProcess
Present the findingTabsTextChecklist
Who to askProcessYour infoYour infoYour infoYour infoMulti-select quiz
6

Final assessment

1 page

2 min
PracticeQuizKey factNoteButtonYour info

Live deck and surveys

12 slides to run live, two surveys to close the loop

Pink slides are interactive. Both surveys are anonymous; pink questions are written for this course.

ContentTitle, agenda
PollHow often do you use a report or metric to decide something at work?
Word cloudOne number you rely on at work
ContentWhere a figure comes from, and the five-step chart check
QuizThe values 2, 3, 3, 4 and 18 are waiting times. The median is… (3 ✔)
QuizA bar chart starts at 90 and shows 92 and 96. The gap looks… (bigger than it is ✔)
QuizOnly a quarter of staff replied to a survey and the score is high. You… (report the response rate beside the score ✔)
Content · customiseCustomise: our data owner {{DATA_GOVERNANCE_CONTACT}} and reporting tool {{REPORTING_TOOL_IN_USE}}
ScaleHow confident are you questioning a figure in a report?
Open-endedA figure I will question this week
Q&AAsk the trainer anything
Content · customiseClosing {{IT_HELPDESK_CONTACT}}, {{COURSE_URL}}, {{SURVEY_1_URL}}, {{SURVEY_2_URL}}
Post-course feedback: 11 questions, about 2 min
  1. Overall rating 5 stars
  2. Relevant, realistic, right length, helpful activities agree/disagree grid
  3. What was most useful? multi-select
  4. Confidence before this course, and now 1-5 scale
  5. Since the course, have you questioned a metric or figure before using it? multiple choice
  6. Which figure did you question, and what did you find? short text
  7. Which checks have you used? multiple choice
  8. I would say so if a number in a report looked wrong to me. 1-5 scale
  9. One thing we should change or add open text
  10. Would you recommend this course? NPS
30-day check-in
  1. Have you used what you learned since the course? multiple choice
  2. How confident are you today? Compare with day 1 1-5 scale
  3. Do you know where to find the data owner and the reporting tool guidance? yes / no / not sure
  4. A moment where the training helped, or where you weren't sure open text
  5. Which topics should the next refresher focus on? ranking

Results show whether people use the training on the job, not just whether they finished it.

Make it yours

8 fields to fill in, and you're ready

Everything else is done. These are the details only your organisation knows; each one is highlighted inside the course.

  • Data governance contact{{DATA_GOVERNANCE_CONTACT}}
  • Reporting tool in use{{REPORTING_TOOL_IN_USE}}
  • Data classification policy link{{DATA_CLASSIFICATION_POLICY_LINK}}
  • It helpdesk contact{{IT_HELPDESK_CONTACT}}
  • LMS or record system{{LMS_OR_RECORD_SYSTEM}}
  • Course URL{{COURSE_URL}}
Show all 8 fields
  • Survey 1 URL{{SURVEY_1_URL}}
  • Survey 2 URL{{SURVEY_2_URL}}

FAQ

Common questions

Can I run data literacy: Reading, cleaning and questioning data training online?

Yes. The course is self-paced and online, and the live deck lets you add a live session in the room or online.

How often is this training needed?

At onboarding for roles that use reports, before a planning or budget cycle, or when a team starts using a new dashboard.

Who needs this training?

Non-analyst staff who use reports and metrics to decide; run by L&D with the data governance lead.

What records should I keep?

Record completion in your own LMS or record system, so you can show who finished the course and when.

Can I edit the content?

Yes, everything. Change the wording, swap scenarios for ones from your workplace, add your logo, or remove parts that don't apply.

Ready to run it?

Open the live deck to see how the session runs alongside the course and both surveys.