How do I upload demographic data?

Article summary: To enable users to load demographic data and associate it with individual Student IDs, allowing for the disaggregation of learning outcome performance data for continuous improvement and program or course review.

Adding Demographic Data to Insights

Demographic attributes can be uploaded into Insights to support data analysis and enhance decision-making processes. This data can be added in two ways:

1. Manual Upload of Demographic Data to Insights
   You can directly upload demographic data into the Insights application. This ensures seamless integration with existing learning outcome data, enabling robust analysis and reporting.

2. Using an Endpoint to Connect Canvas IDs to SIS IDs You can use a dedicated endpoint to link Canvas IDs with SIS IDs. This connection allows demographic data elements to be associated with individual student performance data. By enabling this association, institutions can achieve a detailed breakdown of learning outcome performance data, facilitating targeted insights and improvements.

Both methods provide flexibility in managing and leveraging demographic data for comprehensive assessment and reporting.

Where does the data surface?

Field Definitions (data dictionary).

Option 1: Manual Upload of Demographic Data Directly to Insights

The first option allows users to upload demographic data directly into the insights instance. Once uploaded, this data becomes accessible within the Redshift data warehouse, enabling dashboards to incorporate demographic elements as filters. These demographic filters will be available across all data stored in the Redshift data warehouse, enhancing analysis and reporting flexibility.

To upload the data, follow these steps:

1. As an Assessment Coordinator, go to Set up

2. Select “Upload Demographics” under Results Interpretation
   

3. On the “Upload Demographics” page, you will see a “Download an example file” link. Download this file for the format you need to create your demographic file for upload.

4.  Follow the predefined structure of the template (list of columns). Ensure that the student_id field is populated with student Canvas IDs. CSV files are the only allowed format. The sis_id field (This is the unique Identifier from your external data source) is only needed if you connect to an external data source for your demographics, so it can be left blank for this type of load. Files must be UTF-8 encoded.

5. When the CSV file of student demographic data is ready, click the button to Upload demographics data.

6. In the modal window “Upload student demographics data,” drag and drop the CSV file into the dotted window (or click on the dotted window to browse your computer and locate the file to upload). Then click Submit—a confirmation message displays: demographic data successfully uploaded.

Option 2: Using Endpoints to Connect Canvas Student_ID to Student SIS_ID

If you would like to connect to a private database housing your student demographic data, you will need to connect the Student SIS ID to the Student Canvas ID. This operation will allow for the demographic data to be associated with the student performance data and surfaced in your data visualization tool. 

To upload the file to connect to a private database, follow these steps:

1. As an Assessment Coordinator, go to Set up
2. Select “Upload Demographics” under Results Interpretation
   
3. On the “Upload Demographics” page, you will see a “Download an example file” link. Download this file for the format you need to create your file for upload.
   
4. The fields necessary to complete this upload include the Canvas Student_ID and the Student SIS ID (This should be the unique identifier for a student in the database to which you are linking). 
5. Note: All fields are required for the file to upload correctly. When the CSV file is ready, click the button to Upload demographic data.
   
6. In the modal window “Upload student demographics data,” drag and drop the CSV file into the dotted window (or click on the dotted window to browse your computer and locate the file to upload). Then click Submit—a confirmation message displays: demographic data successfully uploaded.
   
   
   

Once you have uploaded the file, you will be able to add code to your data visualization tool’s dashboards to connect to your outside database by connecting the (Canvas) student_ID and the (Student) SIS_ID, thereby allowing you to use the demographics from that database. 

Where does the Demographic data surface?

Insights allow institutions to upload or connect to your demographic data for use with your institution’s Data Visualization Tools, making your outcome data more valuable for equity reporting and continuous improvement.

The demographic data will be used with the data downloaded from your Redshift data warehouse.

The data warehouse is a centralized and flexible data repository that stores vast amounts of raw data, enabling organizations to perform various data analysis and processing tasks as needed. The endpoints for the Insights data warehouse are accessible by anyone given permission at the institution. 

When uploading new data into Insights, the previous data will be overwritten to ensure that student demographic groups always reflect the most up-to-date composition. When using option one, there will be a slight delay of approximately two hours when adding a new attribute field, allowing the system to process and align the updated information accurately.

Demographics data will be accessible via the “students” View in your Data Warehouse. It consists of the left join of your assessment_results data, distinct by user canvas id, and the contents of demographic data that Insights collects via your Demographics file uploads (if using Option 1). If Insights has not collected demographic data for your Institution the students table will not exist. 

Data Dictionary: Field definitions.

*Required Fields

Data Lake

The endpoints for the Insights Data Lake are available to anyone who is given permissions at the institution.

Related Article: How do I access the Data Lake?