Date/Time
13/05/2016 - 14/05/2016
9:00 am - 5:00 pm
Location
Categories
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FuJo Training:
Getting Started with Data Journalism
Data storytelling is now an essential skill in the toolkit of any journalist and one which supports in-depth reporting and sustained engagement with readers. As Marie Boran writes, data journalism can seem daunting for journalists new to working with structured data but it doesn’t have to be.
Tailored specifically for Irish journalists, this two-day course will equip journalists with the ability to find, analyse and visualise data using commonly available software tools. Participants will learn how to:
- Find and access data
- Work with numbers and statistics
- Clean and calculate data using spreadsheets
- Analyse and visualise data using software tools
- Craft compelling narratives from data
Working out of DCU’s state-of-the art Mac Labs, each two-hour session will 
include hands-on exercises to gain practical knowledge of specific tasks, practice case studies followed from beginning to end and personalised feedback from our expert instructors and assistants. A detailed resources pack will be provided for reference during and after the course including ‘how to’ guides, practice examples, case studies.
The course will particularly suit journalists and freelancers seeking to up-skill and those seeking to establish a data analysis team within a traditional news room.
Programme: Day One
Exploring Data Journalism
Exploring existing data projects is a great way to learn about the possibilities of data journalism. In this opening session, the instructors will talk participants through detailed online resources for data journalism as well as notable examples of data journalism including work featured on:
- The Times & Sunday Times
- The Guardian
- The Global Editors Network’ Data Journalism Awards
- The Bureau of Investigative Journalism
Principles of Data Storytelling
Ultimately, data storytelling is about good reporting and telling stories in the most appropriate way. In this session, participants will be introduced to the core principles for searching, understanding and visualising data including:
- cleaning data
- checking for errors
- data management
- turning data into stories.
Working with MS Excel
MS Excel is a powerful tool for organising and analysing data and for preparing data to import into other tools. Working with data sources relevant to Irish journalism, participants will learn how to:
- use in-built Excel functions for analysis
- create pivot tables
- statistical principles for analysis.
Programme: Day Two
Finding Data
Journalists have always used data but there are now greater opportunities to find and use good data to build stories. In this session, participants will be introduced to different data sources in Ireland and internationally, and advised on how to maximise returns from data searches including public data sources in Ireland, open web data, lodging Freedom of Information requests, and overcoming common pitfalls of working with statistics. Participants will also learn how to import from PDFs and other sources; scrape, clean up, sort and filter data; as well as the best advanced search functions to find your data.
Principles of Data Storytelling II
Data visualisation invites engagement and aids understanding but it’s important to follow sound principles of visualisation. Participants will learn about:
- different types of data analysis and visualisation
- various graph types
- principles of good data visualisation.
Using Visualisation Tools
A wide range of free and commercial tools are available to help journalists visualise data stories via graphs and maps. Participants will be introduced to tools for data visualisation and will learn how to use a subset of these tools to:
- visualise data using charts
- create data maps
- create data timelines
About The Instructors
Megan Lucero
Megan Lucero is the Data Journalism Editor at The Times and Sunday Times. She was one of the first data journalists hired by the two titles and led the data team’s development from a small supporting unit to a key component of Times’ investigations. Her work on The Times cycling campaign and its five-part series on understanding the Syrian conflict changed the way the paper told stories digitally and turned traditional print readers into an active online community that lobbied for change. Megan also spearheaded a political data analysis unit ahead of the UK’s 2015 General Election.
Megan’s work has been commended by the Royal Statistical Society and the Global Editors Network and she have advised CNN, ITV, The Economist and The Bureau of Investigative Journalism on building investigative data teams.
Bahareh Heravi
Dr Bahareh Heravi leads the Insight News Lab at the Insight Centre for Data Analytics in NUIG where she also teaches data journalism. She was the project leader on a number of Insight projects with RTÉ and was the lead data scientist (2014-2015) at The Irish Times where she co-founded Irish Times Data. She is also the founder and main organiser of Hacks/Hackers Dublin.
Jane Suiter
Dr Jane Suiter is director of the Institute for Future Media and Journalism and a senior lecturer in journalism at DCU. She is deputy research director of the Irish Constitutional Convention and a member of the ECPR standing group on Democratic Innovations. A former journalist, Jane was has worked at The Irish Times, The Sunday Times and Sunday Independent.
Mark Coughlan
Mark Coughlan is an investigative and current affairs reporter for RTÉ. As a researcher and reporter Prime Time, he has focused on issues of corporate governance and the allocation of public money. Prior to RTÉ, Mark worked at Storyful and ran thestory.ie – a blog focused on data journalism, information transparency, and Irish current affairs.
Launched in 2015, FuJo is a non-profit initiative to advance research, innovation and training in journalism and news media. FuJo conducts news media research projects and reports as well as hosting industry events and training.
Course Details
To Register Interest: please complete the booking form below.
Fee: €650 (group discounts available)
Dates: Friday 13th & Saturday 14th May (9am-5pm)
Certificate of Completion: available if required
Inquiries: fujo@dcu.ie
Bookings
Bookings are closed for this event.
