Computerized tools and the process of data modeling

We are attempting to identify conceptual challenges that students encounter as they design, collect and analyze data about a real situation. We propose the term "data modeling" to describe this process and present a new computerized tool for working with data called the Tabletop. While the Tabletop is a tool for analyzing data, we conjecture that it can help students become better designers of data. Examples from clinical research in progress help to show how closely intertwined are the phases of data modeling, and thus begin to resolve the apparent paradox of how a technological tool for one phase can benefit others.