Engaging Students in Writing Data Requests: A Role-Playing Writing Exercise

Abstract

Despite organizations increasingly seeking talent to identify data to make better business decisions, many assignments provide the data for the students. This article encourages curriculum to introduce data and information request dimensions, identify data sources, write data and information requests, and reflect on data request examples. We propose a three-step writing exercise with a data and information request rubric. A pilot study for an operations management data and information request revealed that participants struggled to specify four data request dimensions: an appropriate recipient, adequate data, a data format, and an information security level.