The IRE Resource Center is a major research library containing more than 23,250 investigative stories — both print and broadcast. These stories are searchable online or by contacting the Resource Center directly (573-882-3364 or rescntr@ire.org) where a researcher can help you pinpoint what you need. Browse or search the tipsheet section of our library below. Stories are not available for download but can be easily ordered by contacting the Resource Center:
Search results for "statistical analysis" ...
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ESPN Outside the Lines: Luck of the Draw
The analysis of 10 years of men's and women's Grand Slam draws shows the top two men's and women's seeds in the U.S. Open faced easier opponents in the first round than is statistically probable if the draws were truly random.
Tags: tennis; U.S. Open; French Open; Grand Slam; sports
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The Numbers Guy
"Polls Foresaw Future, Which Looks Tough for Polling" came out two days after the 2008 Presidential Election, and examined the pollsters surveying the race state-by-state. Analysis did a good job of projecting Obama's victory. "Price Drop: Stocks, Homes, Now Triple-Word Scores" examined how point values in games can be skewed when rules change.
Tags: surveys; polling; statistics; The Numbers Guy;
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District 13 Undervote
Tamman used public records laws to get copies of electronic files that recorded every vote cast on each of the 1,500 electronic voting machines used in District 13 during the race to succeed Katherine Harris. He performed intense statistical analysis to look for trends in voting. He found that party loyalists were mostly responsible for the missing 18,000 votes.
Tags: voting; elections; data analysis; voters
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"Shorting Cramer" and "Financial Journalsim with R"
This series examines the investment recommendations by Jim Cramer, celebrity analyst and host of CNBC's show "Mad Money." The reporters tested more than 4,000 of Cramer's recommendations from the past 2 years; the investigation found that Cramer's recommendations did not beat the market at all. In fact, viewers would actually do better by betting against Cramer's recommendations. "Financial Journalism with R" is a continuation of the story, explaining data munging and analysis in the refereed statistical computing publication R News.
Tags: Philip Meyer Award; stocks; stock market; stock picks; investment; index funds; R statistics; event study
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The Teachers Who Cheat
This investigation found that at least 123 public schools in California have admitted to cheating or other testing irregularities over the last three years. One problem with the system is that school districts are supposed to voluntarily report incidents of cheating. The Chronicle's analysis found cheating to be more widespread than state records say.
Tags: Philip Meyer Award; education; teachers; cheating; standardized tests; CAR; statistical analysis
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The $10 Billion Hole
This project, which included three major stories and several smaller pieces, revealed the many problems that plague education funding in Illinois. The investigation found that reliance on property taxes to fund education leads to funding inequalities that keep lower-income neighborhoods at a disadvantage. The story also found that the state loses $10 billion in "social costs" (such as prisons and public assistance) from high school dropouts. Finally, the reporters also found that higher levels of education do not necessarily guarantee higher test scores.
Tags: Philip Meyer Award; education; funding; state government; property taxes; statistical analysis; standardized tests; CAR
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Nevadans live hard, risk lives
"Using mortality data from the Centers for Disease Control, a Sun analysis found that Nevadans and Clark County residents die younger and at higher rates of suicide, substance abuse and certain chronic illnesses compared with the rates nationally and in other large counties."
Tags: Nevada; death rates; suicide; depression; health; statistics; CAR; mortality data
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Moving Targets
Reporters at the Las Vegas Sun look into the high number of pedestrian and cyclist fatalities on Las Vegas roadways. Using data and statistics from the NHTSA and the National Center for Statistics and Analysis, the reporters discovered that the problem lies in roadway design, motorist carelessness, and lenient laws.
Tags: traffic accidents; pedestrian fatalities; National Highway Transportation Safety Administration; UNLV Transportation Research Center; manslaughter; jaywalking
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Unnecessary epidemic
This extensive investigation showed that Congress and the Drug Enforcement Administration could have stopped methamphetamine growth across the West during the 1990s and still can. The newspaper explained how the drug is able to be controlled because it relies on chemical ingredients produced by only a handful of factories worldwide. Two clampdowns on the legal trade of the chemicals caused meth shortages, prompting users to quit and meth-related property crime to fall. But the drug trade survived because of loopholes and lax enforcement. The scope of this story includes examinations of DEA drug seizures, DEA-registered sellers of the drug, ephedrine drug shipments, ephedrine seizures, congressional records, the federal budget, federal audits, property tax records, patents, academic studies and public policy.
Tags: drugs; meth; methamphetamine; Drug Enforcement Agency; DEA; drug control policy
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Crimewise, OC ranks as peaceful area
Statistically, speaking, from a crime standpoint, Orange County is a tide pool in a turbulent ocean. None of the county's large cities ranks among the most crime-ridden communities in California. And crime rates elsewhere in the nation dwarf those in the county according to a Register analysis of the FBI's Uniform Crime Report.
Tags: crime rate; Stanton; Santa ana; Orange County; homicide; arson; Costa Mesa; FBI uniform crime report; statistics; Los Angeles; Inglewood; San Bernadino; Oakland; assault; gang shootings; break-ins