Chapter Guide Resource
Introduction to Investigative Journalism: Data Journalism
As the use of the internet spread and increasing amounts of data emerged, the term “data journalism” arose to describe reporting powered by data and analysis.
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GIJN’s Resource Center is here to help journalists expand their knowledge and skills. The Center holds more than 2,000 items in 14 languages – from tip sheets and guides to instructional videos. Use the menu on the right to navigate it or the search box below to find topics you’re interested in.
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Data Journalism Reporting Tools & Tips
Step-By-Step Guide for Journalists on the Basics of Google Sheets
Knowing how to use spreadsheets is a crucial skill, as it allows you to find potential stories in large amounts of data and to think critically about how to use it.
Tipsheet Data Journalism Reporting Tools & Tips
Tipsheet for Using Ocean Data in Your Investigations
Investigations into what happens on, under, and around the ocean can often be answered thanks to the vast amount of data available online.
Tipsheet Data Journalism GIJC23
No Coding Required: A Step-by-Step Guide to Scraping Websites With Data Miner
Knowing where to look for data — and accessing it via scraping data from websites — can be a powerful force multiplier for investigative journalists.
Resource Video
GIJC23 – The Future of Data Journalism: New Analytical Tools, Data Visualization, and AI
This roundtable will conclude the data track of the conference with a discussion on the tools that are coming to the forefront for doing data stories and with predictions for what is ahead. Join us with your ideas for what is next. ———————– The Global Investigative Journalism Network is an international association of journalism organizations […]
Resource Video
GIJC23 – The Basics of Using Google Sheets
Have you been curious about working with data but haven’t taken that first step? Here’s a great opportunity — we have three of the best data trainers in the biz who know how to get you started. In this introductory session, you’ll learn how to use Google Sheets to do some basic analysis — and […]
Resource Video
GIJC23 – Using Pinpoint to Organize Unstructured Data
Pinpoint is a powerful tool for converting unstructured data (text and other forms of messy data) into datasets that can be analyzed and used for stories. ⚠️ Warning for first-time Pinpoint users: In your web browser you need to be logged into a gmail.com account. Open another tab and go to the following site https://journaliststudio.google.com/pinpoint/about. […]
Resource Video
GIJC23 – Measuring Impact
Watchdog reporting makes a critical contribution to society by exposing wrongdoing, fighting corruption, and promoting accountability. But how do we measure this, and explain the value of investigative reporting to a skeptical public (and donors)? At a time of unprecedented attacks on the press, a broken financial model, and low public trust, it is critical […]
Resource Video
GIJC23 – Best Practices in Teaching Data Journalism to Professionals and Students
Programs to train and teach investigative reporting have spread worldwide, but how effective are different methods and styles? For this panel, we bring together educators and trainers from diverse environments in France, Slovenia, South Korea, and the United States for a look at both traditional and innovative techniques. ———————– The Global Investigative Journalism Network is […]
Resource Video
GIJC23 – Basic Principles for Mapping Data Using QGIS
This hands-on class will deepen your reporting skills by using QGIS, a free, popular mapping program. More than pretty pictures, mapping programs help you uncover stories and discover important patterns. Crime, health, and environment are just some beats that benefit by knowing mapping skills. In this class you will get familiar with using QGIS and start doing fundamental analysis using real-life data.
Resource Video
GIJC23 – Holding Algorithms Accountable Through Collaboration
Governments and corporations worldwide are quietly deploying AI technologies that can discriminate and harm the most vulnerable members of society. Yet the impact of predictive and surveillance technologies on communities around the world often goes unreported and remains invisible. How can we bridge the gap? And what is the best way to investigate AI? In […]
Resource Video
GIJC23 – When the Data Aren’t There: Building Your Own Datasets
Think there’s no data in your story? Create your own. Journalists can use polls, physical surveys, documents, or even monitoring devices to create their own data. We’ll give you examples of how these techniques are used and some best practices for doing it yourself. ———————– The Global Investigative Journalism Network is an international association of […]
Resource Video
GIJC23 – Using Social Network Analysis for Investigations
This session will provide an overview of social network analysis, which is used to visualize and analyze such things as the connections between companies and individuals in organized crime and money laundering, the paths and progress of infections in pandemics, interlocking directorships of corporations, and the structure of terrorist organizations.
Resource Tipsheet
Free, Game-Changing Data Extraction Tools that Require No Coding Skills
In this edition of GIJN Toolbox, we examine the latest advancements from the IRE22 conference on data extraction and optical character recognition (OCR) tools for turning unwieldy documents into searchable spreadsheets.
Resource Tipsheet
Basic Data Journalism Tips for Editors
At the NICAR22 conference in Atlanta, Georgia, journalism trainer MaryJo Webster offered a series of basic tips for editors who have little to no data analysis skills.
Data Journalism Reporting Tools & Tips
My Favorite Tools: Venezuela’s Lisseth Boon on Design and Data Visualization
Since her arrival at Runrun.es, Lisseth Boon has conducted investigations on human rights violations, gold trafficking, illegal mining, and environmental crimes, many of them recognized with national and international awards. Her team has also worked with media platforms both inside and outside of Venezuela such as Consejo de Redacción and Connectas in Colombia, Convoca in Perú, and Mongabay. It has also participated in transnational collaborative projects such as the Panama Papers, Fincen Files, Swiss Connection, Lava Jato (Operation Car Wash), Vigila La Pandemia, and Tierra de Resistencia.
Resource Tipsheet
GIJN Africa: Data Centers for African Journalists
Our curation of the most prominent data centers in Africa.
Resource Tipsheet
Data Journalism Training Courses
Looking to learn a new programming language or improve your spreadsheet skills? These online vendors offer free or low-cost online courses and video tutorials on a variety of topics and languages. Check GIJN’s YouTube page for the free webinars. The Social Data School, led by Cambridge Digital Humanities in association with the Minderoo Centre for […]
Resource Tipsheet
Visualization Tools
There are a plethora of programs available for data visualization. Some are very simple to use and require no coding, while others are more difficult to learn but offer greater flexibility and interactivity. Here are some of the most popular options for journalists. ArcGIS online is a tool from Esri to create and share online […]
Resource Tipsheet
Visualizing Data
Once you’ve done your analysis, you may want to create graphs, charts, or maps to display your results. Here are some resources to help you display your data in visually appealing, reader-friendly formats. Flowing Data offers a plethora of tutorials that will help you visualize your data. You’ll learn how to make cartograms, upset plots, […]
Resource
Using R
R is a popular programming language most commonly used for data cleaning, statistics, and data visualization. Both the R program and R-Studio are open source. Below are some books and online resources to get you started. Many of the online vendors listed under “Training Courses” offer free or low-cost classes in R. Datajournalism.com offers this […]
Resource
Mapping
If you have a dataset involving geographic locations, these tools and tipsheets can help you analyze your data using maps. The most commonly used mapping programs in newsrooms are ArcGIS from Esri (which has free options for journalists) and the open-source program QGIS. Some also are useful for visualizing, but we’ve added a separate list […]
Resource Tipsheet
Analyzing Data – Python
Python is one of the most popular programming languages for data journalists, and it is useful for scraping websites as well as cleaning and analyzing data. Here are some resources for learning to code in Python. A Byte of Python is an online book dedicated to the basics of Python. It is targeted at those […]
Resource Tipsheet
Analyzing Data – SQL
SQL is a commonly used language for working with databases. It is particularly useful for working with larger datasets that can bog down Excel and for joining separate datasets for analysis. Several open-source versions are used in newsrooms, including Postgresql and DB Browser for SQLite. Here are some tips on how to get started. This […]
Resource Tipsheet
Analyzing Data – Spreadsheets
Spreadsheets often are the first data tool journalists learn to use. They come in handy for cleaning and analyzing data in structured formats such as .csv files. Microsoft Excel and Google Sheets are the most commonly used spreadsheets. Below are some resources to help you navigate Excel and improve your spreadsheet skills. Data Journalism Training: […]
Resource Tipsheet
Tools for Scraping, Cleaning, and Prepping Data
Got dirty data or pesky PDFs? These programs can help you get your data into a format you can use. OpenRefine is a free tool for exploring, cleaning, and matching data. It is particularly useful for dealing with messy data. It is available in English, Chinese, Spanish, French, Russian, Portuguese (Brazil), German, Japanese, Italian, Hungarian, […]
Resource Tipsheet
Prepping Data – Tips
Once you have your data, check out these free online tipsheets and tutorials for advice on how to inspect and clean it before you start analyzing. This story is a great example of what to do when there are gaps in terms of the data available from official bodies (2021). Data Biographies: How to Get […]
Resource Tipsheet
Getting Data – Using Open Records Laws
Government bodies often have mechanisms that allow journalists and members of the public to request data and documents. Below are some resources to help you understand the public records laws where you live and draft successful records requests. The National Freedom of Information Coalition is a US nonprofit organization that has a guide to international […]