I am often immersed in the detailed world of data collection, analysis, and reporting. The end of the semester/academic year is a particularly intense time, akin to the high-stakes environment my son is experiencing as he prepares to play in his Sweet16 Regional playoff game in Ohio later today. Though in vastly different “fields”, the parallels between our preparation processes are similar and make for a fun blog worth exploring.
The Game Plan: Strategy and Preparation
In both institutional research and baseball, success hinges on preparation. For my son, preparing for the playoffs involves demanding training, studying opponents, and fine-tuning his game-day approach. Similarly, my team and I undertake a rigorous process to prepare end-of-semester reports using SAS, SQL, and PowerBI, ensuring that every piece of data is accurate, timely, and insightful for future planning.
Scouting and Data Collection
Just as a baseball team scouts its opponents through what data is available to them, my team gathers and reviews vast amounts of data from our databases, various spreadsheets, and external systems before transforming the data for reporting through nightly snapshots and imports. This data encompasses student performance, enrollment trends, and financial statistics, providing a comprehensive view of the institution’s health. The meticulous collection of this data is akin to a baseball coach and their team noting every pitch, swing, and play, ensuring that we have the most accurate information possible.
Training and Data Transformation
Baseball players spend countless hours practicing, perfecting their swing, getting better on defense, and refining their pitches. In the realm of institutional research, this stage is mirrored by the data transformation process. Using various SAS, SQL, and even PHP scripts along with other tools, we clean, aggregate, and prepare the data for analysis. This transformation is crucial, as any errors at this stage can lead to incorrect conclusions and misguided decisions, just as improper training/preparation can cost a baseball team the game.
Game Day and Data Visualization
Game day for my son means executing the strategy, staying focused, and adapting to the dynamic nature of the game. For me, game day comes in the form of presenting our findings through PowerBI dashboards. These dashboards are not merely static reports, but serve as dynamic, interactive tools that allow stakeholders to drill down into the data, uncover trends, and make informed decisions.
Review and Feedback
Post-game reviews are vital in sports. Teams analyze their performance, identify strengths and weaknesses, and plan for the next game. Similarly, after presenting our end-of-semester reports, we solicit feedback from various departments and stakeholders. This feedback loop is essential for refining our data collection and reporting processes, ensuring continuous improvement and relevance and adding to our repertoire of reports to advance.
The Psychological Component
Beyond the technical aspects, preparation in both fields involves significant psychological components. My son must manage the pressure of the playoffs, maintaining focus and composure under stress. In institutional research, we face the pressure of delivering accurate and actionable insights within tight deadlines. The ability to stay calm, think critically, adapt quickly, and perform under pressure, to the best of our abilities, is paramount in both settings.
The Reward
The culmination of this intense preparation is the potential for success. For my son, it’s the chance to advance to the state tournament, a testament to his, and his team’s, hard work and dedication. For my team and me, it’s the delivery of insightful reports that drive strategic decisions, enhancing the institution’s effectiveness and success.
Conclusion
While the “fields” of baseball and institutional research may seem worlds apart, the underlying principles of preparation, strategy, execution, and review are remarkably similar. Both require meticulous planning, rigorous training, and the ability to perform under pressure. As I watch my son take the field later today, I am reminded of the parallels in our journeys and the shared commitment to excellence that defines our respective endeavors.
By understanding and appreciating these similarities, we can gain new perspectives on our work, drawing inspiration from unexpected places and continuously striving for improvement and success.
Let’s get wins for both Marshall University and the Fairland Dragons today, with data!
Brian M. Morgan
Chief Data Officer, Marshall University