Data Journalism Tips

• Integrity-check your data.
  • Read the documentation.
  • Know how many records you should have.
  • Check counts and totals against reports.
  • Are all possibilities included? All states, all counties, correct ranges?
  • Check for missing data, duplicates, internal problems.
• Beware the spurious correlation.
• Use terms such as "significant", "likely" and "correlation" correctly.
• Do a gut check on your analysis.
• Ask:
  • What else could explain my findings?
  • Did I fill in all possible holes?
  • Did I collect all the data I needed to?
• The analysis is just the beginning. Once you start reporting, ask: Is it consistent with my findings?
• Run your results by experts.
• With publication, provide a detailed methodology about the data and your process.
• Invite feedback and corrections.

Jennifer LaFleur, Senior Editor for Data Journalism, Center for Investigative Reporting.

2. Double-check your reporting:

• Test your data.
• Test the questions you intend to ask of your data.
• Challenge your assumptions and your findings.
• Have a second pair of educated eyes look at your data and your conclusions.
• Think through, thoroughly, how you will present your data.

Ricardo Sandoval Palos, Senior editor, NPR's Morning Edition.

3. Present your data clearly:

• Take courses to train yourself how to think about data visualization.
• Find examples in which data is presented in an informative way.
• If you're going to try something beyond a pie or bar chart, include annotation to explain what you are doing and why.
• Make the underlying data available, but always with context to assist analysis.

Chrys Wu, Developer Advocate, The New York Times.