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About DAGS and How to Attend

The DAGS aim is to provide an open community of education and support for all aspects of data analysis. 

Our next meeting is on 11/12/25 at 1pm.

For our next DAGS meeting, we will be hosting a collaboration/networking event with a focus on data storytelling. The session will include breakout group discussions (~2-4 people a group) where each person will have the opportunity to:

  • Share the type of data they work with
  • Explore how their data might connect with others’ data (hypothetically or in reality)
  • Brainstorm what new stories or insights could come from combining the data
  • Share the possible stories/insights with the rest of the DAGS group
  • If you don’t work with any specific data, that ok, use your domain knowledge to add to the story

The goal is 2-fold: increase data literacy and facilitate collaboration.

For additional information or how to attend a meeting contact:

Dave Ryan - ryand1@vt.edu

About DAGS:

My name is Dave Ryan, and I am a data analyst for the User Experience & Engagement department within the Division of IT at Virginia Tech. Given the growing utilization of data analysis, I saw a need for a support group for those that use data analysis in any capacity.

The Data Analytics Group Support (DAGS) aim is to provide an open community of education and support for all aspects of data analysis, including software, data wrangling, visualization & analysis techniques, reporting, presenting, and all steps in between. I see this group meeting once a month with an open channel of discussion available anytime (e.g., Slack, Teams, Discord).

Consider this an open invitation to anyone, from those that just want to listen, to those that have questions, to those that want to share and get feedback (e.g., analysis feedback to full presentation feedback).

Here is a general outline of the meeting agenda:

  • Introductions
  • Reoccurring challenge (for those interested)
    • Create plots, summary, analysis from given data set
    • Share results at next meeting as a learning practical example
  • General Discussion and Questions
    • Analyses
    • Functions
    • Layouts
    • Analysis gone feral (Wrong or Unexpected)
  • Open the floor to group
    • What do you want to learn and discuss in future meetings?