Data Journalism: A Hands-On Introduction
Standard £150
Freelance/Student £125
Members £100
We call data journalism evidence-based journalism or precision journalism. Yes, it’s a little arrogant, but it has produced results and investigations that were not possible in the absence of data mining skills. This practical one-day workshop is designed for journalists who seek a gentle introduction into data journalism. You’ll learn how to interview digital sources using Excel, find patterns in data that lead to clues for deeper digging, how to report numbers and produce evidence-based reporting. We have conspired to get you over the technical hump in a day.
What you will cover:
● Finding data sets, quick and easy, on any website: boolean searches and advanced google searches
● Asking journalistic questions from a dataset using basic formulas. We’ll also talk about what numbers mean, how to report them and traps to avoid
● Sorting and filtering
● Mining data with pivot tables
● You will also get a taste of correlations: can data prove that poverty influences school test results, beyond anecdotal evidence?
Throughout the workshop, we will also be talking about data management, formatting, bu also legal aspects related to transparency and privacy.
WHO SHOULD ATTEND: This workshop is for those with no experience in data journalism, wishing to make their first step onto the data journalism ladder. If you’re already familiar with most of the course’s content, this course is not for you.
WHAT YOU’LL NEED: To ensure you get the full benefit of the training, you will need to bring a laptop for which you have admin rights. You will need to have a version of EXCEL installed (2016 for MACs, 2010 or newer for PCs). Excel online, Excel version for tablets or Google Spreadsheets would not be appropriate for all training parts. For additional technical queries and assistance, please contact the trainer directly at @CrinaBoros on Twitter.
About the trainer:
Crina Boros is an award-winning freelance journalist and data trainer at The Centre for Investigative Journalism. She teaches computer-assisted reporting internationally. Crina has covered cartels and corruption in the fishing industry for Greenpeace UK, women’s rights and climate change for The Thomson Reuters Foundation, abuse of migrant workers for BBC, murky money for ICIJ’s Swiss Leaks team, money laundry for OffshoreAlert and public funding and asylum seekers for Exaro News among many.
