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 "records analysis" ...
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Quick Hit CAR Stories
Johnson explains six ideas for CAR stories with a quick turn-around time. These stories cover topics that range from No Child Left Behind to voter registration databases.
Tags: story ideas; data analysis; sex offenders; public records
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Setting up a data library and intranet
The authors explain the importance of a newsroom intranet, and what databases should be included in it. Finally, they discuss specific details about how to set one up.
Tags: data collection; data library; newsroom management; data analysis; public records; backgrounding
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New Data and New Uses for Data from the Census
This tipsheet is a good resource for reporters feeling overwhelmed by Census data. The author discusses sources for the most recent Census information, as well as good uses for 2000 Census data. Finally, the tipsheet ends with lots of story ideas that can be done with this data.
Tags: population; demographic; statistics; computer-assisted reporting; Census; data analysis; federal government; state government
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Military Data: Contracts Casualties
This tipsheet is a good guide to investigating the military. Fabey discusses how to take advantage of the military's love of records and find the good investigative stories buried in the databases. He discusses which data analysis programs to use, as well as how to spot the discrepancies that could lead to a story. One very helpful think Fabey does is explain why some things, like sudden increases in the cost of ships, may seems indicative of a good story but are really quite routine for the military.
Tags: war reporting; military; federal government; contracts; federal spending; army
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The Mole Hunt: How we traced Finnish spies from the archives of Stasi, the East German espionage service, using Social Network Analysis
The author documents each step of his investigation of Finnish spies. He used records and documents from Stasi to identify and connect the network of Finnish spies. In this tipsheet, he explains how the investigation began with lots of paper records and ended with a slick map of social networks.
Tags: espionage; Cold War; UCINET; international reporting; social connections
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Corporate Documents
This tipsheet is a good guide to understanding corporate documents. It covers good starting places, like SEC filings, and lists helpful websites, like www.bloomberg.com. The tipsheet explains all different kinds of common forms, like 8-K and Schedule 13-D. Finally, it talks about different kinds of helpful documents like UCC filings and court records.
Tags: taxes; corporate records; 10-K; S-1; shareholders; proxies; Securities and Exchange Commission; Electronic Data Gathering; Analysis and Retrieval system; Uniform Commercial Code; PAC; Political Action Committee; CEO; business reporting
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Traffic Fatalities
This tipsheet is a basic overview of what resources to use when reporting on traffic fatalities. McGinty offers some background on FARS, paper documents and driving records, and then explains how all three can all be helpful when reporting on the topic.
Tags: Fatal Accident Reports; analysis; drivers; traffic; Access; National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
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Drilling for Oil with CAR
This tipsheet is a good guide to integrating more CAR into the newsroom. Cohen talks about how to plan projects that use CAR, how to use CAR in the context of daily reporting and how to use CAR for very in-depth, long-term investigations.
Tags: computer-assisted reporting; databases; records analysis; records request; daily stories; editors
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Law and Order -- Part 2: Courts and Prisons
This tipsheet offers several examples from the Columbus Dispatch of when CAR can be used minimally and still enrich the story. The stories that Dutton offers as examples are not super number-heavy and do not require hours and hours of analysis, but they each incorporate CAR in a way that makes them stronger.
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Dodging Data Bullets: Making Your Stories Error Free
This tipsheet offers some suggestions for how to double-check the accuracy of your data. It includes a list of general integrity checks like "Do you have all the records?" and also some more in-depth ways to make sure your story is on the right track, like reading research reports.