As a doctoral student in Educational Technology, my research focuses on developing an AI-driven platform to support educators and special education professionals in creating individualized education plans (IEPs) for autistic students. A critical step in this journey is securing and integrating datasets that provide meaningful insights into student behavior, progress, and outcomes.
🔍 Data Sources Secured
So far, I’ve successfully accessed:
CDC Autism Data: Provides national prevalence and demographic trends to ground my research in large-scale patterns.
DREAM Dataset: A fascinating repository of data from robot-assisted therapy (RAT) sessions, including 3D skeletal tracking and behavioral metrics. This required parsing JSON files into CSVs to analyze the behavioral patterns during therapy sessions effectively.
🔗 Navigating Permissions for Delicate Data
Accessing sensitive datasets often involves ethical and procedural steps:
NIMH Data Archive: I’ve initiated applications to gain access to behavioral datasets from the NIMH repository, which are crucial for understanding intervention effectiveness and building predictive models. For these datasets, institutional approval and a clear data management plan are prerequisites.
Data Use Agreements: Handling sensitive information demands adherence to strict guidelines on data usage, storage, and deletion. Researchers must ensure compliance to maintain ethical standards and protect participant privacy.
🛠️ Technical Lessons Learned
Handling JSON Files: Working with raw datasets like those in the DREAM project required tools for JSON parsing and conversion to usable formats such as CSV. Using Python and tools like os and json libraries streamlined the process.
Organizing Data Pipelines: As datasets grow, so does the complexity of managing them. Structuring a consistent pipeline for data retrieval, cleaning, and integration ensures efficiency and replicability in research.
💡 This is a shared journey of discovery. By exchanging knowledge and insights, we can collectively drive innovation in education and beyond.
Let’s connect and collaborate! If you’re working on similar research or want to learn more about integrating data into your educational research, feel free to reach out.
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