Your Career: How to get better at understanding data

Too much information is part of the job, but it can be difficult to discern the useful from the irrelevant. ADVERTISEMENT [Your Career Logo]( You can also [read this newsletter on the web](. Or, if you no longer want to receive this newsletter, [unsubscribe](. Too much information is part of the job, but it can be difficult to discern the useful from the irrelevant Whenever you move up the management ranks and acquire new authority, you naturally want to know more — to analyze everything, everywhere, all the time. But you don’t have the bandwidth to do that, nor do your direct reports, who, we all know, will end up doing the legwork to produce a lot of this data that you don’t really need and will never use. Administrators have a wide range of skill sets and backgrounds, but only a small subset learn — at a doctoral level of training — the technical aspects of survey creation, experimental design, and data analysis. But you don’t have to be a data lover to get better at using it. By taking certain steps in project planning, you should be able to gather meaningful data, grasp what it means (and what it doesn’t), and understand how to present it to the right audience. The first step is knowing what you want to know. If that seems obvious, just consider that overreach is one of the most common mistakes made by people dipping a toe into the world of data-informed decision making. Continue reading: “[What Administrators Don’t Get About Data]( by W. Trey Hill Share your suggestions for the newsletter with Denise Magner, an editor at The Chronicle, at denise.magner@chronicle.com. If you’d like to opt out, you can log in to our website and [manage your newsletter preferences here](. ADVERTISEMENT UPCOMING PROGRAM [The Chronicle's Bootcamp for Future Faculty Leaders] [Join us in September]( for a professional development program tailored to the needs of midcareer faculty. Experienced academic leaders and faculty members will provide insights on the diverse professional paths that might be taken by faculty members in this one-day virtual program. [Register today!]( NEWSLETTER [Sign Up for the Teaching Newsletter]( Find insights to improve teaching and learning across your campus. Delivered on Thursdays. To read this newsletter as soon as it sends, [sign up]( to receive it in your email inbox. LATEST CAREER ADVICE, OPINION, AND NEWS ADVICE [How I Survived Tenure Denial]( By Michael W. Kraus [STORY IMAGE]( After your colleagues turn down your bid, staying open and focused on what comes next is key. SPONSOR CONTENT | Florida International University [Doubling Down on Tech and Innovation]( ADVERTISEMENT COMPENSATION [Latest Data: Which Private-College Presidents Earned the Most?]( By Brian O’Leary and Audrey Williams June [STORY IMAGE]( Eighty leaders pulled in $1 million or more in 2020. 'HE WAS SINGLING US OUT' [As Tensions With the Faculty Mounted, This College President Blogged His Grievances]( By Eric Kelderman [STORY IMAGE]( Robin Capehart’s relationship with professors at West Virginia’s Bluefield State University was already strained. Then he publicly insulted them. ADVICE [How to Move Past Post-Dissertation Depression]( By Christina Katopodis [STORY IMAGE]( Some people experience a mourning period after earning their doctorates. What to expect and how to cope. ADVICE [Artificial Intelligence: A Graduate-Student User’s Guide]( By Leonard Cassuto [STORY IMAGE]( AI can play a positive role in a doctoral student’s research and writing — if we let it. ACADEMIC FREEDOM [After Another Controversy, Texas A&M Faculty Wants Answers From University Leaders]( By Erin Gretzinger [STORY IMAGE]( The flagship campus’s Faculty Senate is responding to a series of bombshell revelations that have raised concerns about possible outside influence in faculty affairs. FROM THE CHRONICLE STORE [College as a Public Good - The Chronicle Store]( [College as a Public Good]( Many leaders and industry observers say it has been decades since the heat on presidents has been this intense. [Order your copy today]( to explore what today’s presidents are up against, how things are changing, and how to navigate new challenges. What we’re reading Here’s more on career issues and trends from around the web. See something we should include? [Let me know](mailto:denise.magner@chronicle.com?subject=Your Career feedback). - In Roxane Gay’s latest [Work Friend]( column in The New York Times, she answers a reader’s question about a promotion that didn’t come with a pay raise. - [Advice]( in the Harvard Business Review on how to get past your “fear of giving tough feedback.” - In The Atlantic, [here’s a list]( of “seven books for the lifelong learner.” MORE CAREER RESOURCES NEWS [How Much Are Private-College Presidents Paid?]( [STORY IMAGE]( Base pay, bonuses and benefits for 307 chief executives at private colleges with expenditures of $100-million or more. DATA [How Much Are Public-College Presidents Paid?]( [STORY IMAGE]( Base pay, bonuses, and benefits for 196 chief executives at public doctoral universities and systems in 2021. [Chronicle Festival — Ideas Shaping Higher Ed]( [STORY IMAGE]( UPCOMING: August 29-31 | 12:30 p.m. ET: How can colleges embrace new partnerships and approaches, put students at the center, and deliver on the value of a degree? Join this year’s festival and hear from top thinkers and leaders about ideas that will reshape colleges. [Register here.]( POLITICS AND RACE [DEI Legislation Tracker]( By Chronicle Staff [STORY IMAGE]( Legislators, mostly Republicans, want to get rid of diversity, equity, and inclusion offices; end anti-bias trainings; and banish diversity statements. JOB OPPORTUNITIES [Executive Director of Kennedy Museum of Art]( Kennedy Museum of Art [Search other jobs.]( CAREER RESOURCES [Man sitting at a laptop computer.] Explore [Career Resources]( a new online destination to find career-related articles, advice, reports, events, and more designed to help you advance in your career. 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