Friday 5 November and Saturday 6 November, room EG07, Drysdale Building, City University London, Northampton Square, London EC1V 0HB.
This course is taught by James Ball, the development producer for the Bureau for Investigative Journalism.
what you’ll learn
Database journalism, also known as computer assisted reporting (CAR), is an increasingly important tool that enables journalists to add depth to their stories by accessing, making sense and presenting government, financial, and social statistics.
This course will teach you how to use Microsoft Excel and Access to analyse databases – either to find story ideas or to provide more depth and context. You will be shown the basics of finding and downloading data to advanced techniques such as searching data for journalistic purposes.
DAY ONE: Excel
CAR intro (B), demo
What is computer-assisted reporting? How can reporters benefit from CAR skills? Digging in institutional databases can take your investigative skills to a new level. In this class, participants learn about the tools of CAR and see examples of how it can enhance their reporting. In addition to demonstrations, there will be time to ask questions in this session.
Excel 1: the power of data analysis for stories (B), hands-on
Data is everywhere – from government computers to websites. This course introduces data analysis using Microsoft Excel. Spreadsheets can help reporters find story ideas in the data. Participants will learn basic calculations, rates, ratios and analytic tools that generate story ideas. Class handout: excel quick tips.
Excel 2: finding patterns in the data (B) hands-on
The second spreadsheet course covers built-in analytical tools, such as sorting, filtering, chart creation that help reporters quickly find great stories within databases.
Excel 3: summarising your data for the big picture (B) hands-on
To complete your spreadsheet toolkit, you will learn how to make pivot tables that will summarise trends in your data.
importing data to Excel (B) hands on
The web is flooding with data, but before it can be analysed, it needs to be transferred to a computer. Here, participants will be introduced to different methods of data transfer from web pages and PDF files using Microsoft Excel. Instructors will also demonstrate basic web scraping.
DAY TWO: Access
Access 1: understanding databases (B) hands-on
Spreadsheets are a great way to get started with CAR. But what happens when that data set gets too big, or your analysis too complex? That’s when it’s time to move to a database manager like Microsoft Access. This class will introduce the basics of working with databases, including basic queries, filtering and sorting.
Access 2: digging for the story (B) hands-on
The second Access course continues by introducing more complex analytical tools and techniques. The session will cover grouping, counting, summing and other aggregate functions.
Access 3: joining databases for deeper analysis (B) hands-on
Basic analytical techniques only go so far when you have multiple datasets to work with. The third class in the database series introduces the real power of relational databases. In this session, you will learn how to take multiple tables of data and stitch them together to find hidden gems that make a great story. This session will will focus more closely on the techniques of summarising data and using relational databases to compare different files of information to see connections that could lead to new stories. Microsoft Access will be used. Participants will also learn how to build their own databases when there is no electronic information or when governments or businesses refuse to release electronic data.
CAR: questions and answers (B)
So you’ve completed much of the CAR training, but you still have questions and concerns. Can’t remember how to do a pivot table? Wonder how executing a database join will help you discover a story? Using a Q&A format, the trainer will review any of the CAR skills taught during the weekend.