Search results for "rates" ...

• Tile Mill: Hands-on Tutorial

  This tutorial shows you how to find the murder rate and poverty rate.

  Tags: hands on; tutorial

  By Matt Stiles, Brian Boyer, Chris Amico

  2012

• Investigating Caregivers

  Roe provides stories and tips on how to cover caregivers. Learn who to talk to, to find out which caregiver, in which state prescribed which drugs.

  Tags: caregivers; nursing homes; medicaid; nursing home ratings.

  By Sam Roe

  2011

• Check your sources: Figuring out what criminal justice data and documents really say

  Gabrielson's tipsheet addresses identifying the shortcomings in data - specifically criminal justice data. Gabrielson points out common mistakes made when using the data, and how to avoid them.

  Tags: Uniform Crime Reports; police records; Federal Bureau of Investigations; FBI; clearance rates; clearance rates; conviction rates

  By Ryan Gabrielson

  2010

• Resources to get you started on meausring college performance

  Marklein has provided a list of resources available online for measuring college performance.

  Tags: education; college; university; performance; dropout rates;

  By Mary Beth Marklein

  2009

• Scouring syllabi: Basic ways to check if colleges and universities are teaching

  Gabrielson outlines basic ways to check if colleges and universities are teaching. Tips include looking at graduation rates; evaluating testing results; and investigating the curriculum.

  Tags: education; curriculum; testing; matriculation; graduation rates; drop out rates;

  By Ryan Gabrielson

  2009

• Misuse of the obstructing and resisting arrest charge

  Hibbard explores the misuse of obstructing and resisting arrest charges - and red flags reporters can look for to uncover police misconduct. The tipsheet references the Seattle Post-Intelligencer's story "The Strong Arm of the Law - Obstructing Justice."

  Tags: justice; police; obstructing justice; resisting arrest; police misconduct; arrest rates; court cases

  By Rita Hibbard

  2009

• After Disaster Strikes: Be A Recovery Watchdog

  Cervantes details how the Union-Tribune covered the wildfires that ravaged San Diego in October 2007. The city and county governments offered "free" demolition and debris removal for destroyed properties. "We got a tip contractors were charging outrageous rates, so we decided to investigate and analyze the public records and data to see what was being done with taxpayer money."

  Tags: disaster; wildfire; Union-Tribune; FEMA; California Public Records Act; FOIA; demolition permit applications; RFP; requests for proposals; Governor's Office of Emergency Services; San Diego; GIS mapping; mapping

  By Danielle Cervantes

  2009

• Criminal Justice: Understanding Crime Statistics

  Kalfrin discusses how to get the most accurate story from crime statistics. She discusses the importance of knowing how crimes are classified, how to use the hierarchy of crimes and how to make the information accessible to readers. The tipsheet explains how different crimes are defined, as well as how rates of reporting crimes vary and can affect the story.

  Tags: crime; statistics; criminal justice; police reports; uniform crime reports

  By Valerie Kalfrin

  2008

• Basic Math Skills

  The authors review basic math concepts that are essential to CAR stories. The concepts covered include percent change, base changes, rates, weighted averages and sampling errors. For each concept, the authors explain what the statistics tells us, when to use them and what formula one uses to determine them.

  Tags: math; computation; statistics; percentages; storytelling; equations

  By Holly Hacker; Stan Ketterer

  2008

• Analyzing test scores for cheating

  "State ratings. Teacher bonuses. High-school diplomas. School test scores determine all of these, so there's intense pressure to do well. So intense that some kids or teachers may resort to cheating. Here are some signs to look for..."

  Tags: testing; education; school;

  By Holly Hacker

  2007