acp digging deeper
TRANSCRIPT
Digging Deeper
Investigative Reporting (and data)
Jennifer LaFleurReveal | Center for Investigative Reporting
Investigative reporting is one of the most powerful tools in journalism
What is it?• Uncovering new information• Uncovering corruption or injustice• Holding institutions accountable
http://www.investigative-journalism-africa.info/
It often means using data
It can make this
Into this
It gives us the power to check assumptions.
Source: NHTSA complaint data
Findings: “…unintended acceleration has been a problem across the auto industry.”
It let’s us combine information in powerful ways.
It gives us extremes.
Caution: This slide contains extreme nerdiness
Getting the records and data
If something is inspectedLicensedEnforced orPurchased
…There probably is a database
Tips for records
In rare joyous instances data is readily available online for download
Where’s the data?
Sometimes you have to scrape it.
Where’s the data?
More often you need to go to an agency to get the dataThis can be tricky if an agency doesn’t want to release it. (Stay tuned for more on that…)
Where’s the data?
BudgetsParking ticketsElevator inspectionsHealth/food inspectionsCampus crime
Campus data
SOURCE: Local health department inspection reports
FINDINGS: At 28% of the venues, more than half of the concession stands or restaurants had been cited for at least one "critical" or "major" health violation.
Request records and data earlyGet out and talk to real peopleKeep track of your work and stay organizedUnderstand the process of what you’re covering
Tips for digging
Students are getting sick from eating in the student center cafeteria.• Who inspects the cafeteria?• Has it has problems in the past?• When/what did the students eat?
Did any of them file complaints?
Understand the process
Request records and data earlyGet out and talk to real peopleKeep track of your work and stay organizedUnderstand the process of what you’re coveringConfirm and corroborateMake it something worth reading, listening to, watching
Tips for digging
Sometimes, there is no data.But it’s okay because there are techniques for sampling and building a database.
ProPublica pulled a random sample of 500 names from a list of individuals who had been granted or denied pardons (around 2,000). We created a database from months or researching individuals: their crime, age, sentence…
We found that even after controlling for other factors, whites were more likely to get a pardon.
Where’s the data?
Stories don’t end at the records. We must find people to tell the stories
Source: School district credit card purchases
Findings: District card holders made questionable purchases with their cards.
Where’s the data?
Data isn’t always rows and columns
Source: 311 calls for downed trees
Findings: After a tornado swept across New York City, 311 calls for downed trees helps trace its path
Bulletproof your data
Before ever reporting data or building an appDo integrity checks to find the flawsAdd caveats where necessaryDo your own analysis rather than relying on an agency’s analysis
External checks
Read the documentation. Understand the contents of every field. Know how many records you should have.Check counts and totals against reports.Are all possibilities included?
Internal checksCompare fields to check for red flags• More teachers than students• More money going to vendors
than to contractors• What things just don’t make
sense
Integrity checks for every data set
Check for missing data or misplaced data
Integrity checks for every data set
Check for missing data, misplaced data or blank fields Check for duplicates
Integrity checks for every data set
Check for missing data, misplaced data or blank fields Check for duplicatesCheck for outliers and extreme ups and downs
Truck accidents by year and agency
Beyond the basics
Keep a notes file/gitDon’t work off your original data/documentsKnow the sourceCheck against summary reports
Beyond the basics
Keep a notes fileDon’t work off your original databaseKnow the sourceCheck against summary reportsUse the right tool
Beyond the basics
Check with expertsKnow the standardsFind out what others have done Gut check – does it just seem wrong?
Beyond the basics
Check with expertsKnow the standardsFind out what others have done Gut checkGo physically see a record or spot check against documents
Checks when you’re matching data
A name is not enough. Lots of people have the same name
Get dates of birth and other information to make sure you have the correct person.
Even people with seemingly unique names aren’t so unique
Be transparent: Bounce your findings off targets and tell users/readers/viewers what you did.
Erroneous government databases can often be a story themselves
123456789 compared to 123-456-789
Sometimes missing data is the story
Sometimes you might have to fight for records
(We’ll talk about this tomorrow)
Resources
Investigative Reporters and Editors: www.ire.orgStudent Press Law Center: www.splc.org
