Thanksgiving break

An introduction to public affairs reporting and the core skills of using data to find and tell important stories.

Just because it's data doesn't make it right. But even when all the available data is flawed, we can get closer to the truth with mathematical reasoning and the ability to make comparisons, small and wide.

Learn how to take data in your own hands. There are two kinds of databases: the kind someone else has made, and the kind you have to make yourself.

Phillip Reese of the Sacramento Bee will discuss how he uses data in his investigative reporting projects.

Mapping can be a dramatic way to connect data to where readers are and to what they recognize.

A continuation of learning mapping tools, with a focus on borders and shapes

The first in several sessions on learning SQL for the exploration of large datasets.

The ability to join different datasets is one of the most direct ways to find stories that have been overlooked.

Sometimes, what's missing is more important than what's there. We will cover more complex join logic to find what's missing from related datasets.

A casual midterm covering the range of data analysis and programming skills acquired so far.

The American democratic process generates loads of interesting data and insights for us to examine, including who is financing political campaigns.

With Election Day coming up, we examine the practices of polling as a way to understand various scenarios of statistical bias and error.

Do your on-the-ground reporting

While there are many tools and techniques for building data graphics, there is no magic visualization tool that will make a non-story worth telling.

One of the most tedious but important parts of data analysis is just cleaning and organizing the data. Being a good "data janitor" lets you spend more time on the more fun parts of journalism.

Simon Rogers, data editor at Twitter, talks about his work, how Twitter reflects how communities talk to each other, and the general role of data journalism.

When the data doesn't directly reveal something obvious, we must consider what its structure and its metadata implies.

Discussion of final projects before the Thanksgiving break.

Holiday - no class

Holiday - no class

Last-minute help on final projects.

In-class presentations of our final data projects.