The IRE Resource Center is a major research library containing more than 23,250 investigative stories — both print and broadcast. Add to that more than 3,000 tipsheets from our national conferences on how to cover specific beats or do specific stories and you have a resource that no reporter or editor should be without. These stories and tipsheets 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. Logged-in members can view the tipsheets free online:
Search results for "data set" ...
-
Back to basics: Finding stories in what is readily available but rarely examined
This tipsheet points to readily available information which is ripe for investigative stories. The tipsheet touches on everything from depopulation of rural areas and neglected neighborhoods to sales tax revenues.
Tags: investigative reporting; quick-hits; data sets; story ideas; computer-assisted reporting; CAR
-
Broadcast CAR: Quick Hits & Sweeps Packages
Thompson outlines the basic rules of CAR for broadcast. She identifies data sets that broadcasters should be familiar with so that when a story breaks they are prepared to effectively cover the story.
Tags: quick hits; broadcast; CAR; computer-assisted reporting; database; statistics; airplane safety; airplane registry; aircraft safety; aircraft registry; OSHA; hazardous materials; state disciplinary database; boating accident; infrastructure; campus crime; UCR database
-
Web Scraping
Heath details web scraping. "'Scraping' means extracting data from websites. Thing about any site that lets you search a data set. How much better would it be if you could get the whole thing?" Heath explores the benefits and reasons for scraping, and what tools you'll need to accomplish the task.
Tags: web scraping; data set; database; excel; scripting; Perl; PHP; Ruby; VB; C#; Open Kapow; Yahoo Pipes
-
International data
Mulvad explores a myriad of available international data sets, including information on the quality of the data sets. Included are: farm subsidy data, fish subsidy data, lobby register; business data; and the status of other data sets in the European Union.
Tags: international; international data; farm subsidy data; European Union; EU; wobbing
-
Creating Your Own Dynamic Databases
Nichols and Segall detail how to go about creating a database to assist in reporting the story you're working on. They discuss how to create a database - from selecting the correct software to determining the data you need. They also discuss when it is appropriate to share data on the Web.
-
The Chronicle of Education's online databases about academe
Brainard outlines the data available through The Chronicle of Higher Education that may be helpful in covering local universities. Included in the data sets are: compensation of college presidents; compensation for other university employees; what professors make; academe's pork barrel (Congressional earmarks going to universities).
Tags: Chronicle of Higher Education; data; academia; Congress; university salaries; earmarks
-
From Database to Story - A Step-by-step Guide
Harbord and McKie show how you can utilize OSHA data to tell the story of workplace safety in non-traditional industries such as healthcare, schools (e.g., violence) and business (carpal tunnel syndrome). Their tipsheet walks you through the process of analyzing the data. And how to compare this information to other data sets to obtain a more complete sense of "the story."
Tags: data; database; OSHA; query; NAICS; excel; pivot tables; inspections; NICAR; National Institute of Computer-Assisted Reporting
-
Building a data library for your beat
The authors begin this PowerPoint presentation by listing what data sets are essential (or at least useful) for different beats. They then discuss ways to acquire this data, and offer examples of how different data sets can be used to add depth to beat stories.
Tags: data; beat reporting; story ideas; public records
-
Five Steps for Data Analysis
Brune outlines five tips for data analysis in this PowerPoint and what to look for when crunching numbers. Includes sample data sets
Tags: data; data analysis; databases; statistics;
-
Data on Addiction
The main source of federal data on drug use is the Substance Abuse and mental Health Services Administration. Suo discusses some of the data sets that are available from the organization's website, as well as the pros and cons of each one.
Tags: drugs; public health; public safety; narcotics; data analysis; computer-assisted reporting