What is DataFest?

The American Statistical Association (ASA) DataFest is a celebration of data in which teams of students work around the clock to find and share meaning in a large, rich, and complex data set. The event is open to students of all backgrounds, and provides an opportunity to gain hands-on experience with real-world data.

How does it work?

A large, complex data set will be introduced at the event start, alongside a broad research question. Students will then have until Sunday to create a five-minute presentation that addresses some interesting aspect of the data. The data are kept confidential until the start of the event, but some examples of past events are provided below. To see a full list of past data, visit the ASA DataFest webpage.

Play2Prevent Lab, Yale School of Medicine (2022)

Analyze game logs of the Elm City game to determine if there are coherent styles of play that might be useful for characterizing middle school students’ attitudes towards risky behaviors.

Rocky Mountain Poison Control Center (2021)

Goal: Provide advice for medical professionals that could identify potential misuse of prescription drugs. Data consisted of over 10,000 responses to an international survey about prescription drug use.

Canadian National Women’s Rugby Team (2019)

How do we quantify the role of fatigue and workload in a team’s performance in Rugby 7s? How reliable are the subjective wellness Data? Should the quality of the opponent or the outcome of the game be considered when examining fatigue during a game? Can widely used measurements of training load and fatigue be improved? How reliable are GPS data in quantifying fatigue?

Event Details

  • Date: April 4 - April 6
    • Opening ceremony: Friday, April 4 6:00 pm
    • Presentations: Sunday, April 6 11:00 am
    • Closing ceremony: Sunday, April 6 12:15 pm
  • Location: The Q-Center (MBH 202)
  • Prizes: Prizes will be awarded for a variety of reasons, both technical and creative.
  • Snacks will be provided throughout the weekend

Volunteers

We are seeking volunteers to serve as judges or mentors for the event.

  • Mentors are present during the work hours to interact with groups and answer questions that arise. To be a mentor, no technical expertise is required. Mentors should feel empowered to offer technical advice if they so choose, but are primarily there to facilitate discussion among participants.
  • Judges will watch presentations on Sunday and help award prizes; again, no technical expertise is required.

If you are interested in participating as either a judge or mentor, please contact the Statistics faculty or sign up via the website below.

For more details, please contact the Statistics faculty members (stats@middlebury.edu).