STEVE DOIG CRONKITE SCHOOL OF JOURNALISM ARIZONA STATE UNIVERSITY Using data in science journalism

Precision journalism “The plural of anecdote is not evidence.” Pioneers: Cronkite, Herald and Inquirer Phil Meyer wrote the book in 1972 calling for journalists to use social science methods Some journalists began doing computer-assisted reporting in the early 1980s NICAR created in early 1990s Today thousands of reporters doing precision journalism

Data-driven stories Sociology: “Color of Money”, census Weather disaster: “What Went Wrong”, Katrina Environment: “Boss Hog”, “Toxic Waters”, FL wetlands, “Ghost Factories”, “Smokestack Effect”, Medical: “Culture of Resistance”, radiation errors, Medicare fraud, “Playing with Fire”

Technical Tools Search (browser and Google) Spreadsheet (Excel) Database manager (Access, MySQL) Statistical software (SPSS, R) Programming (Python, SAS, perl, et al.) Mapping (ArcMap, QGIS, Tableau) Visualization (Fusion Tables, R, Stata, et al.) Exotica: GPS, satellite imagery, drones, sensors

Methods Newsroom math: Percentage change, crowd counting, etc. Descriptive statistics: Mean, median, range Correlation and regression Understanding p-values and confidence intervals Indexes:  Dissimilarity (measures segregation)  Diversity (measures population mix)  Benford’s Law (used in forensic accounting)  HHI (measures market competitiveness)

Google Tricks Site:, filetype: Define: 6 dollars in euros, miles in 35 km * Weather boston Boston movies FedEx, UPS tracking Flight info

Science.gov

Data.gov

USGS.gov

IRE.org data library

Eurekalert.org

Strategies Which agency would have the data you want? Science data agencies: FDA, EPA, NSF, Census, CDC, NRC, FAA, NTSB, NHTSA… Look for “data” links Science societies and journals: AAAS, AMA, et al. Get on lists of agencies and societies that interest you Join NASW (and IRE) Use search to find scholars working in your field Monitor e-journals like Arxiv.org

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