Examining Data Sets

1. Who collects this data set? If it's an organization, which department of the organization? Is there a specific person listed who you could contact?

   1. For this assignment, I chose to look at the Employee Earnings Report for 2017. The city of Boston collects the data set. While there is not a specific name attached to the data set, I believe I could contact someone in the City’s Data Department who would be able to help me understand the data more.

2. Why do you think the organization collects this data? Does it specify how it uses the data?

   1. I think the City of Boston collects this data because all of their employees are in the public sector, so the citizens of Boston have a right to know about the salaries of the people who work in City Hall. While I am not sure the direct uses this data provides to the City, it appears on the website that this information is intended for the public, but also for Human Resources and Payroll information.

3. What time period does the data set cover?

   1. The data set covers specifically the year 2017, but I could get data going back as far as 2010 if I chose to do so.

4. What are some questions you have about this data set? (Note: they can be basic like "why is this data being collected?" or very specific like "what does the field BUS_LIC_STATUS mean?")

   1. I unfortunately do not have a subscription to Microsoft 365, so there isn’t much I can do with the data, in terms of cleaning it up. However, I am very interested in knowing what the different categories mean specifically. Some of them (like Education Inventive) make no sense to me, and I would like to know where that money comes from and where it is going.

5. Who are three types of people you could interview about this data set in order to learn more?

   1. I would definitely like to talk to someone at the Boston Police Department. I was shocked to find out that the top ten people making the most money from the City of Boston were all in the police department! I think talking to someone there would enlighten me, and the citizens in Boston. I also would like to talk to the Department of Innovation and Technology, who published this data set. I think they would be able to answer some of the questions I asked above. Lastly, I would want to talk to Wayne Lee Smith, a Laborer at the Boston Public Library. He was paid one dollar in the year 2017. I want to know how that happened, and what his story is.