Big Data Projects, Small

Newsroom
Emma Carew Grovum || @emmacarew
bit.ly/dataslides
3 things that are true
Every story can be a data story.
Every journalist can be a data journalist.
Every newsroom can produce kick-ass data
journalism projects.
With every data project:
Ask what the goal is
Drive traffic
Social sharing/virality
Public edification
Social justice
New editorial product
Win awards

Get your staff in a
data state of mind
h/t to MaryJo Webster for this term
Everyone needs to have ideas
(and, anyone can have a data idea)
In a small newsroom, data projects
are successful when everyone
works & produces at the top of their
skill level.
In the beginning, emphasis on
Skills over Tools
But then, do pick some tools and a
style, and stick to them.
On every data project, someone
should always be learning.
Always be graphing: everyone can
and should contribute to visual
ideas
Ask: whats the narrative? How do
we want the user to explore the
data? How are we communicating
that to them?
Data every day
Sometimes data means math
* Percent change
* Adjust for inflation
* Medians vs average
* Rates and ratios
Steve Doigs tipsheet: http://www.ibiblio.org/slanews/conferences/sla2005/programs/mathcrib.htm
Stay organized: Google Calendar,
Trello, etc.
Join NICAR, get on the email list
http://www.ire.org/membership/
Stuff worth trying
Google Refine
MySQL - SQLite
Piktochart
Google Fusion Tables
Highcharts
Datawrapper
ScrapeSimilar

Tableau
Infogram
Trello
Panda Project
TileMill
Chartbuilder




Great examples from small newsrooms
http://exoplanets.newscientistapps.com/
http://blogs.kqed.org/stateofhealth/2013/09/06/more-california-parents-opting-out-of-vaccines-look-up-
your-school-online/
http://news.stlpublicradio.org/numbers-lobbying-missouri
http://www.compasscayman.com/caycompass/2013/06/03/Government-consultants-everywhere/
http://www.minnpost.com/crime#city/minneapolis/total
http://res.providencejournal.com/sports/assets/pages/redsox2013/
http://wcfcourier.com/app/crime_map/
https://github.com/csessig86/crime_map
http://www.wausaudailyherald.com/interactive/article/99999999/WIS08/130624067/Interactive-graphic-
Explore-where-boating-accidents-happen-Wisconsin-why?nclick_check=1
http://compasscayman.com/caycompass/2013/04/22/Ministries-release-travel-costs-since-2005/
http://www.sj-r.com/top-stories/x1973694440/Sangamon-County-draws-workers-from-long-distances


Great examples from small newsrooms
http://mmj.vcu.edu/2013/10/13/map-of-uninsured-hispanics/
http://www.thenewyorkworld.com/2013/10/14/dirty-supermarket/
http://politisk.tv2.no/spesial/statsbudsjettet/2014/iframe/?new=yes#/~/statsbudsjettet-2014
http://extra.twincities.com/car/maps/housing.htm
http://extra.twincities.com/car/doctors/adverse.htm
http://www.minnpost.com/data/2013/04/minnesota-legislative-bill-tracker#categories
http://code.minnpost.com/legislature-tracker/
http://stateimpact.npr.org/ohio/2013/06/17/grading-the-teachers-analysis-shows-little-connection-
between-pay-and-value-added-performance/
http://et.kent.edu/jmc40004/fees/
http://carsforcoaches.wordpress.com/
Good reads & tutorials
https://stevebuttry.wordpress.com/2013/07/24/advice-for-editors-lead-your-staff-in-learning-data-skills/
http://extra.twincities.com/car/mj/DataStateOfMind.pdf
http://dwillis.github.io/dashboards-for-reporting/#/
http://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/26567839/My%20Favorite%20%28Excel%29%20Things.pdf
http://machlis.com/NICAR2013/
http://docs.datawrapper.de/en/tutorial/
https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1LNz4Y23KKkvmmPxXjJxiiBpO0ttMabJL7uI4WggQuig/edit#sli
de=id.g1d30bf6a_0_116
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1kRoK6oDtgRO-g1KAHBMaAFPFOEGYsr5p5kpllRIn_og/edit
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1DWcXAQTn0MVciZFj_J5b3L8XlhaRTx04MQAQ6bUAF_8/edit
https://github.com/tthibo/SQL-Tutorial
https://github.com/propublica/guides/blob/master/data-bulletproofing.md