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Data Journalism research methods, Fall 2016 JOUR 4101 – E Wednesdays 19:00-22:00 Location: Room 1105 River Building (the TV Newsroom) David McKie 181 Queen Street 1-613-288-6523 (office) 1-613-290-7380 (cell) Email: david.mckie@cbc.ca Data journalism stories | Week one | Week two | Week three | Week four | Week five | Week six| Week seven | Week eight | COURSE DESCRIPTIONThe goal of the Data Journalism Storytelling course is to teach students how to find and negotiate for data that is already publicly available, or must be obtained formally or informally through a federal access-to-information or provincial or municipal freedom-of-information request. We will analyse the records using the following: Excel; MySQL, the data-visualization such as Tableau Public, Google’s Fusion Tables, ArcGISOnline; the document-annotation software called DocumentCloud; and the mapping program called Qgis. Taken together, these skills comprise computer-assisted reporting, now more commonly known as data journalism. Our textbook is The Data Journalist: Getting the Story. The textbook will be available on Oct. 2. To tide us over for the first few weeks, we will have access to the PDF versions of chapters four and five, which cover Excel and MySQL, respectively. At the end of this term, students will become adept at searching for information, perusing and downloading files from government open-data websites, analyzing the material for story ideas, or for questions that could lead to stories. They’ll learn how to use Excel or MySQL to spot trends, and employ data-visualization and mapping programs to show the patterns and allow readers to interact with the material, such as being able to identify the income level or levels of crime in their neighbourhood. As well, they’ll be taught how to perform spatial joins, allowing them to, for instance, see how many income groups, federal contaminated sites, oil spills, construction projects, discarded needles and syringes and government grants fall within certain municipal, provincial and federal electoral boundaries. These matches, and more importantly the story ideas that are produced, can only be obtained using mapping software ArcMap and Qgis. For instance, spatial joins have allowed journalists such as Glen McGregor, formally with the Ottawa Citizen and now with CTV News, to tell the story about the bodies of water protected under the former Harper government’s Navigable Waters Protection Act located in or near federal Conservative ridings. Working with census data, we will also learn how to map characteristics such as income level, much the same way former Montreal Gazette journalist, Robero Rocha, did to help readers visualize the median household income. He also used data to show the locations of several police radar cameras, how many tickets and fines each one collected, and street-level photographs of their locations. This exercise will prepare us to handle the 2016 long-form census results when Statistics Canada begins publishing in 2017. The assignments, or stories, will be submitted as blogs on the WordPress site we use for this course, allowing for a multi-media treatment. Documents used as reference material will be uploaded to the account that will be created for you in DocumentCloud, annotated, and then embedded into the blogs. Though it’s designed to be a data-journalism-focused research methods course, there will also be a with a heavy emphasis on storytelling, both with words and data in properly-labelled and sourced interactive maps and charts. As such, we will begin each class with a story that has appeared in the news: either as an example of how data journalism was used, or how it could have been used. These discussions and the exercises will help students develop new analytical and storytelling skills. We will also use tutorials to drive home some of the key Excel and mapping skills that will form the course’s backbone. The course will be divided up into four, three-week modules. Each module will teach the following skills:Excel; MySQL, visualizations using charts; visualizations using Qgis and ArcGIS Online. There will be four assignments ( please see chart below ), building to a final assignment that combines all the skills we’ve learned during the semester. There will also be two in-class tests worth five percent each, one to test your Excel skills, the other to gauge your knowledge of conducting basic queries in MySQL. Data Journalism Stories (TOP)Examples stories using data journalism How Is Immigration Viewed In The EU? How to avoid Toronto’s parking ticket hot spots Fatal Force Interactive Map: Explore the data behind Toronto’s working poor (The globe and Mail) New map explores the mysteries of Edmonton’s tax assessments NSA Files: Decoded Ontario political donations surge, plunge around key policy decisions, Radio-Canada finds This fire hydrant costs Toronto drivers the most in parking tickets (The Canadian Press) What We Know About the Police Shooting in Baton Rouge Walmart: Thousands of police calls. You paid the bill. What I Saw in Syria Veterans Affairs data gives detailed picture of veterans using medical marijuana The 100 WORST landlords in Toronto Identity Blossoming Settling for Misconduct WHAT YOU WILL LEARN 1) How to find data on government open-date web portals 2) How to use a spreadsheet to analyze statistics 3) How to create a pivot table 4) How to use advanced functions in Excel 5) How to use technical skills such as exporting tables from PDFs into Excel 6) How to use MySQL 7) How to advance your numeracy skills 8) How to use Tableau Public 9) How to use Qgis and ArcGIS Online 10) How to geocode data points 11) How to become effective storytellers
GRADES We will be using a 12-point grading scale with the marks to be as follows, meaning the final mark will be out of 120 with the following breakdown: A+ = 12 A= 11 A-= 10 B+ = 9 B= 8 B-=7 C+=6 C=5 C-=4 COMMUNICATIONS WITH STUDENTSThis will be done primarily through email correspondence and phone calls, given that I do not have an office at Carleton University. The protocol will dictate that emailed queries will be answered as promptly as possible, usually within the hour. As such, it will be important for you to regularly check your email account for updates regarding assignments, new datasets or class work. You’ll also be required to use your Carleton University account. PROFESSIONALISMWe’ll conduct ourselves as professional journalists. That means attending class, showing up on time; being prepared and ready to make a meaningful contribution based on the preparation work you’ve been assigned; paying attention to your instructor and colleagues and ignoring email correspondence, Facebook, text messages, Twitter, and promptly responding to emails from the instructor. You’ll also be expected to stay on top of current events, which is part of your obligation as a journalist. If you must miss class, please communicate with the instructor via email. If your absence is due to a medical reason, then you may be required to provide a doctor’s note. If it’s for an internship, then you’ll have to provide details. REQUIRED SUPPORT RESOURCESThe course would be taught in the TV computer lab, using the overhead projector. As the school possesses an ArcMap licence, we are be able to use the mapping software, which is installed on the desktops. The library’s Maps, Data and Government Information Centre is well positioned to provide support to faculties including journalism and communications. OUTLINEWeek One(TOP)Sept. 7 What we will cover: Introduction to the course A discussion about open data Making an informal access-to-information request for a federal dataset Working with Statistics Canada’s latest trade data Discussion of story due by midnight Sept. 23 LINKS: A Farewell Guide to Political Journalism The colour of money. Writing coach, Don Gibb’s, must-read article on using numbers in stories Open data websites Access to information and privacy Toronto schools raise less money than rest of region Neville-Lake tragedy highlights ‘disturbing trend’ of impaired driving in suburbs Crossing out catastrophes: Some of Manitoba’s 2,000-plus rail crossings are among the most dangerous in Canada; mandatory safety upgrades are on the way Canada’s trade picture brightens as exports bounce back Canadian international merchandise trade, July 2016 Trade Data Online Section 1: Concepts and definitions Seasonally adjusted data – Frequently asked questions CANSIM – Table directory – All Section Transcripts of Canadian parliamentary debates since 1901 are now online National Institute for Computer-Assisted Reporting Investigative Reporters and Editors, Inc. Readings: Chapter Four of the Data Journalist: Getting the Story Week Two(TOP)Sept. 14 WHAT WE WILL COVER A review of our sorting and filtering from the previous week, using the ACOA data from the week-one tutorial Working with Statistics Canada data An introduction to using ratios and numeracy fundamentals How to use DocumentCloud LINKS: Leering, groping, exposing: OC Transpo reporting tool reveals bad bus behaviour GM recalls 4 million vehicles worldwide over air bag defect Nissan recalls 134,000 vehicles over fears brake fluid can leak and catch fire Transport Canada Vehicle Recalls (Last 60 days) Transport Canada Vehicle Recalls (All Years) National Transportation Safety Board inventory of databases Economy added jobs in August; jobless rate edges higher Labour Force Survey, August 2016 The “Great” Recession in Canada: Perception vs. Reality Introduction The “Great” Recession in Canada: Perception vs. Reality Introduction (uploaded to DocumentCloud) Offender Profile 2013-2014 National Household Survey, Canada, 2011 Ethnic Origin Incident-based crime statistics, by detailed violations To download the groupings of violations that we’ll be using for this assignment, please right-click and save here. Population by year, by province and territory (Number) Population by year, by municipality Ontario’s Public sector salary disclosure data University enrolment Tableau Public Week Three(TOP) Sept. 21 WHAT WE WILL COVER Installing MySQL A continuation of pivot tables Using the Wayback Machine Cracking PDFs using Cometdocs Further discussion of the Sept. 30 assignment Tableau Public LINKS Energy use and greenhouse gas emissions for the Broader Public Sector Incident-based crime statistics, by detailed violations Week Four(TOP) Sept. 28 WHAT WE WILL COVER Continuation of pivot tables Learning the IF function, using Elections Canada data Introduction to MySQL Discussion of assignment due midnight Oct. 14 LINKS: Chiefs of staff to Liberal ministers Dion, Bains to pay back moving expenses Check out this national inventory of federal buildings containing asbestos Public Services and Procurement Canada national asbestos inventory Ottawa Police Services Wayback Machine Cometdocs Quebec political donations Week Five(TOP)Oct. 5 WHAT WE WILL COVER Excel test DocumentCloud MySQL LINKS: To download the Excel test, please click here. To download the workbook for the Excel test, please click here. List of briefing notes prepared for the federal Minister of finance, the Deputy Minister and the Parliamentary Secretary Ottawa 311 requests This fire hydrant costs Toronto drivers the most in parking tickets (The Canadian Press) Toronto Parking Tickets Police report a pot possession incident every 9 minutes in Canada 14.2.6 LOAD DATA INFILE Syntax Reading: Chapter Five of the Data Journalist: Getting the Story Week Six(TOP)Oct. 12 WHAT WE WILL COVER A continuation of MySQL. LINKS: Fatal Force The 100 WORST landlords in Toronto Settling for Misconduct What We Know About the Police Shooting in Baton Rouge Week Seven(TOP)Oct. 19 WHAT WE WILL COVER Continue with MySQL Visualizing with pivot tables Links: SQL Tutorial MyGeoData Cloud Week Eight (TOP) (Fall break)Oct. 26 Have a good break!! Week Nine (TOP)Nov. 2 WHAT WE WILL COVER To download the MySQL test, please click here. Introduction to mapping and Qgis Links: Phoenix by the numbers: Keeping track of the costs, staffing and backlog of cases Interactive Map: Explore the data behind Toronto’s working poor (The globe and Mail) Examples of stories using 2011 data from the Household Survey Census response rate is 98 per cent, early calculations show 2016 Census Program release schedule Federal Electoral Districts – Canada 2013 National Household Survey User Guide NHS Profile, 2011 NHS Profile, Canada, 2011 2011 Census – Boundary files 2011 Census Program – Thematic maps 2011 Census data quality and confidentiality Census tract (CT) suppression list Ottawa ward boundary file Reading: The Data Journalist: Chapter 7 Week Ten(TOP)Nov. 9 WHAT WE WILL COVER Continuation of working with census data — if needed An introduction to mapping with Rebecca Bartlett and Joel Rivard, the specialists from the Carlton library who will be supporting us during the next few weeks. LINKS: America Votes 2016 Carleton Universty Library Data QGIS Training Manual Tutorial: QGIS Basics For Journalists Making maps with QGIS GIS Data Classifications in Cartographica Natural Resources Canada’s collection of maps Geospatial Database (Queen’s University Library) Get Latitude and Longitude Week Eleven(TOP)Nov. 16 WHAT WE WILL COVER: Buffering in Qgis Introduction to ArcGIS Online LINKS: Ottawa visitor made to feel like a country bumpkin over parking ticket complaint Toronto data reveals hundreds of discarded syringes More discarded needles being found in Ottawa’s suburbs (CBC News) Ottawa wards Ottawa Parks Geocoded discarded syringes Week Twelve(TOP)Nov. 23 WHAT WE WILL COVER Buffering Gecoding LINKS: Week Thirteen(TOP)Nov. 30 WHAT WE WILL COVER Continuation of mapping Outputting files tables from MySQL for geocoding using restaurant inspections An introduction to Geocoding and ArcGIS Online To download the MySQL make-up test, please click here. LINKS: Monroe Work Today Awesome Interactive Journalism Pipeline Ruptures Federal Electoral Districts – Canada 2013 To see the pipeline ruptures uploaded to ArcGIS Online, please click here. Natural Resources briefing notes obtained through the Access to Information Act 12-Month Lobbying Summary – In-house Corporation (Office of the Commissioner of Lobbying of Canada) GPS Visualizer Kept in the dark DATA JOURNALISM AWARDS 2016 WINNING PROJECTS Journalists in the age of Trump: Lose the smugness, keep the mission Assignment One(TOP)Qs AND As: What is the due date? Before class by midnight Sept. 23 What is required? A 600-word story using a dataset that we have explored in class or another dataset from the agency that you prefer more? A 500-word explanation in a Word document of how you researched the story, including original documents, data and sources, complete with their phone numbers, email addresses and Twitter accounts. An Excel workbook containing the original table and worksheets containing subsets of your data? Should I check with you before using the data? No. You’ll be using the datasets that we’ve discussed so far in class: StatsCan trade data, Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency; StatsCan employment data; Corrections Canada incarcertation data How should I analyze the data? Using the techniques that we’ve studied so far (filtering, sorting, percentage increases) How is the assignment to be submitted? You will upload the story to a WordPress category that you’ll be assigned. The Word document and Excel workbook are to be emailed to my CBC address as attachments. What am I looking for in the story? A well-told yarn, with a sharp, crisp lead that makes the audience want to keep reading. Avoid using too many numbers. Think about the most important numbers, and concentrate on them. As writing coach Don Gibb once remarked, choose a number as carefully as you choose a quote. All your references MUST be hyperlinked to the original source. For instance, if you are referring to a study that states a certain fact, then there should be a hyperlinked reference to the original document. What I want to see is evidence of solid research. DO NOT LINK TO NEWS REPORTS THAT SIMPLY REFER TO THE STUDY IN QUESTION. Should the story have any interviews? Yes, at least two, including someone who is directly or indirectly impacted by the trend that you’ve identified. So get the data work completed early enough to allow for enough time to find the right characters for your story. You have plenty of time to complete the assignments, so finding the right characters should be feasible. Should one of the interviewees be an expert? Yes. It could be a knowledgeable police officer, a criminologist , lawyer, trade expert or professor. The expert MUST not be an advocate. Seek out credible, non-partisan voices. Will I lose marks for having less than one interview? Yes, half a grade. Should I have any visualizations? Absolutely. We’ll explore visualizations more in-depth as the term progresses. For this assignment, there should be at least two, including a picture of the subject of your story. Infogr.am with its shallow learning curve might be the easiest option for this story. If you are already familiar with other visualization tools, please feel free to use them. How many visualizations should I have? At least two in addition to DocumentCloud. Will I lose marks for neglecting the submit visualizations, or at least the minimum number of them? Yes, half a grade. Can I submit a draft? Yes. However, because this is a large class, I will accept ONLY ONE per student, and will not accept a draft 48 hours before the due date. Remember, a draft can be point form, or even an explanation of where you intend to take the story, if you’re running out of time. Your assignment should not be your first draft. What is the deadline? Midnight Sept. 23. Anything after that will be considered late and docked half a mark. Extensions will be only be granted for exceptional circumstances. However, we must have a conversation. Assignment Two (TOP)Qs AND As: Summary: As we discussed in class, this assignment can be completed one of two ways: a straightforward, What’s the due date? By midnight Oct. 21 What’s the topic? Any data set that we have discussed in the MySQL section How many interviews do I need? At least two. One must be an expert; the other must be involved somehow. Do I have to do extensive work in MySQL? No, just the initial data work to obtain the table you want, which can be then Will I be required to use visualizations? Yes, at least two, IN ADDITION to DocumentCloud. Will I required to hyperlink key references in my text to the original source? Absolutely! And even better Can I submit outlines and drafts? Yes, but given the size of the class, I can only review one version. Can I submit a draft visualization? Yes. What do I submit? The same as the first assignment: The 600-word story, Will I be docked half a grade for neglecting to submit any of the required elements? Yes. Will I be docked half a grade for neglecting to give my visualizations titles, cite sources or provide Remember: Keep it simple. Tell a story!! Assignment Three (TOP)Qs AND As: Deadline: By midnight Nov. 18 This assignment will be based on census tracts for the city of Ottawa that you’ve mapped in Qgis. You will be required write a profile of the person or institution that is representative of the trend in your map. For instance, if you identify an area of town that has a concentration of a certain demographic ( Syrian refugees; low-income households; or residents who commute certain distances to work ), then profile the individual or family from that area of town who embodies the trend. What’s the topic? The characteristics of the census tract that you choose to highlight, focusing on factors such as the reason for How many interviews do I need? At least two. One must be the person who is involved in the story; for instance, someone who embodies Will I be required to use visualizations? At least two. The map that you have created in Qgis uploaded to ArcGIS Online or Google Fusion Tables; Will I required to hyperlink key references in my text to the original source? Absolutely! And even better Can I submit outlines and drafts? Yes, but given the size of the class, I can only review one version. What do I submit? A 600-word story posted to the assigned category on our WordPress site to the Will I be docked half a grade for neglecting to submit any of the required elements? Yes. Will I be docked half a grade for neglecting to give my visualizations titles, cite sources or provide Will I be docked half a grade for a late submission? Yes. Remember: Keep it simple. Tell a story!! Assignment Four (TOP)Qs AND As: Deadline: By midnight Dec. 5 The sky is the limit for this assignment. You can choose any dataset: a new one, or one that we’ve already used. You can also follow up a previous story. The choice is yours. As for the type of story, it can be a 600-word piece; a paragraph that sets up self-explanatory and well-made visualizations with titles, cut lines, source citations; or a combination of the first two. In short, any of the formats we used for previous assignments. Your story can also have multi-media elements, but make sure to stick to the word length. You’ll notice that I’ve attached more conditions that in the past I have tended to ignore. Given that this is a final Post the story to the “DataJournalism4_2016” category. What’s the topic? Any topic. Must I properly cite the source of my data? Yes. Will I lose a half a grade for neglecting to do so? Yes. How many interviews do I need? At least two. One must be the person who is involved in the story and Must I conduct at least one of the interviews in person? Yes. Will I get docked a half a grade if I neglect to do this? Yes. How will the audience know if I’ve conducted the interview in person? If there is the kind of colour, Will I be required to use visualizations? At least three. One must be a picture, complete with cut line and Will I required to hyperlink key references in my text to the original source? Absolutely! Unless it is a killer Can I submit outlines and drafts? Yes, but given the size of the class, I can only review one version. What do I submit? A 600-word story posted to “DataJournalism4_2016” category; Will I be docked half a grade for neglecting to submit any of the required elements? Yes. Will I be docked half a grade for neglecting to give my visualizations titles, source citations and Will I be docked half a grade for a late submission? Yes. Remember: Keep it simple. Tell a story!! Tutorials(TOP)From week one: To open and save the ACOA tutorial, please click here. To open, save and download the Infogr.am tutorial, please click here. How to use Excel to reveal stories from spreadsheets Questions and Answers on Data Journalism to Guide You From week two: . To download the tutorial that explains how to find patterns in Statistics Canada crime data, click here. To download the tutorial that explains how to filter Statistics Canada and then get the table into Tableau Public, click here. To download the tutorial that explains how to put numbers into context, click here. To download the calculating percent of totals tutorial, click here. To access Digging Deeper’s online Excel, Google Fusion Table and Tableau Public tutorials, please click here. To download the calculating rates tutorial, click here. From week three: To download the Windows version of MySQL downloading tutorial, please click here. To download the Mac version of the MySQL downloading tutorial, please click here. To download the latest Tableau Public tutorial using the StatsCan human trafficking data, please click here. To download the tutorial that explains how to filter Statistics Canada and then get the table into Tableau Public, click here. From week four: To download the Logical Functions And IF Statements tutorial, please click here. To download a more extensive Excel tutorial using functions that will be used with our textbook, From week five: To download the DocumentCloud tutorial, please click here. To download the MySQL tutorial, please click here. To download the MySQL queries for the Ottawa 2008 parking data, please click here. To download the MSQL load Mac query for the Ottawa 2008, please click here. From week six: To download the MySQL scripts for the city of Ottawa’s inspections data, please click here. To download the MySQL scripts for Ottawa’s parking ticket data, please click here. To download the MySQL scripts for Ottawa’s 311 complaints data, please click here. From week seven: To download the Fusion Tables tutorial for the city of Ottawa’s complaints data, please click here. From week eight: To download the tutorial for “A Guide to Google Fusion Tables Visualizations”, please click here. From week seven: From week nine: To download the tutorial for downloading Qgis, please click here. To download the Qgis tutorial on census tracts, please click here. From week ten: To download the Qgis tutorial using the Statistics Canada federal electoral districts and contaminated sites, please click here. To download the tutorial “Introduction to QGIS and Basic Geoprocessing Skills” To download the paste special tutorial, please click here. From week eleven: To download the Qgis buffering tutorial, please click here. To download the first ArcGIS Online tutorial, please click here. To download the second ArcGIS Online tutorial, please click here. From week twelve: To download the QGIS geocoding tutorial, please click here. From week thirteen: To download the ArcGIS Online tutorial for Story Map Journal templates ( beginning at Exercise: 7 on page 28 ), please click here. Datasets(TOP)From week one: Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency Project Information (NOTE:There is also a link to this dataset in the ACOA tutorial) From week two: City of Ottawa Crime Data From week four: To download the Excel workbook that must be used for the function tutorial, please right-click here and use the “save-as”. To download the Excel file the Prime Minister’s Office sent to reporters, please right-click here and use the “save-as”. To download federal political donation data, please right-click here and use the “save-as”. From week five: To download the Federal campaign MySQL dump file, please click here. To download the Ottawa parking zipped MySQL dump file, please click here. To download the Ottawa parking data dictionary file, please click here. To download the Ottawa 311 MySQL dump file, please click here. From week six: To download the Ottawa All Inspections dump file, please click here. From week seven: To upload the dataset for the week seven “A guide to Google Fusion Tables Visualizations” tutorial, please click here. From week eight: To download the zip file containing the city of the city of Toronto’s parking violation data from 2008 to the 2014, pleases click here. From week nine: To download the Ottawa 311 2016 dataset, please click here. To download the zip file containing Ottawa census tracts mapped in Qgis, please click here. From week thirteen: To download the National Energy Board’s pipeline incident database, please click here. To download the narratives from the National Energy Board’s pipeline incident database, please click here. To download the latest sql dump file from the federal lobbyist registry, either click or right-click here, and To download the MySQL query tab for the the federal lobbyist registry, either click or right click here. |
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