Data Journalism Methods
Course Outline
- Data Acquisition and Cleaning
- Finding Data Sources
- Government portals, FOI requests, and public database navigation
- Cleaning Techniques
- Dealing with inconsistent formats, missing values, and combining datasets
- Analysis Fundamentals
- Spreadsheet Skills
- Advanced Excel and Google Sheets functions for journalistic analysis
- Basic SQL
- Querying databases and working with large datasets efficiently
- Statistical Literacy
- Common Measures
- Understanding means, medians, percentiles, and when each matters
- Avoiding Mistakes
- Recognizing misleading statistics and correlation traps
- Visualization Principles
- Chart Selection
- Choosing appropriate visualizations for different data types
- Design Basics
- Creating clear, accurate graphics that enhance understanding
- Story Development
- Finding the Angle
- Identifying newsworthy patterns and formulating story questions
- Methodology Transparency
- Explaining your analysis process to readers and editors
Numbers tell stories, but only if you know where to look. Data journalism is not about being a statistician. It is about asking the right questions of datasets and finding newsworthy patterns that traditional reporting might miss.
This approach focuses on practical skills with tools like Excel, Google Sheets, and basic SQL. You will learn how to clean messy government data, spot outliers, and visualize findings in ways that make sense to general audiences.
Real Newsroom Workflows
We work with actual datasets from public sources: crime statistics, budget documents, health records, and election results. You will practice the same workflows data journalists use daily, from initial data requests to final interactive graphics.
The methodology covers common pitfalls: misleading averages, correlation versus causation, and how to avoid cherry-picking data to fit predetermined narratives. You will also learn when to bring in experts and how to explain methodology to readers without boring them.
Projects include analyzing local government spending, mapping demographic changes, and tracking trends over time. The goal is producing publishable work that meets professional standards.