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7/30/2019 Syllabus: Data Driven Reporting at UNC School of
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JOMC491.7:DataDrivenJournalism
Spring2013SyllabusAssistantProfessorRyanThornburg215Carroll
[email protected]://thornburgr.youcanbook.me/
Welcome
Theeconomicsofdigitalpublishingtechnologyhaveopenedafloodgateofrawdata,andjournalismisjustoneofmanyfieldsthatarebeingrapidlytransformedbythatfloodgate.Inlaw,medicine,business,politics,andecology,peopleareusingdatatounderstandthesocialandnaturalworlds.Theyarealsousingdatatotellstories.
Toretaintheirpositionasbrokersoftrustandhubsofcommunityconversation,reportersmustunderstandhowthepeopletheycoverareusingdata,andhowjournalistscanusedatatoimproveoursharedunderstandofanincreasinglycomplexworld.
Yourdecisiontotakethiscourseindicatesthatyouareinterestedinlearningtheskillsanconceptsofdata-drivenreporting.Myexpectationisthatyoualreadyhavedemonstratedclearnewsjudgmentandprecise,briefstorytellingeitherinoroutofaclassroom.
Theclassstartsfromtheassumptionthatyouveneverorrarelyusedevenabasicspreadsheettoaideitheryourreportingorstorytelling.Thatswherethesemesterwillbegin.Wewillendjustshyofanintroductiontohowcomputerprogrammingandalgorithmsareusingjournalisticdatatocreateneweditorialproducts.
TheGoalofThisCourse
Studentswhosuccessfullycompletethiscoursewillbeabletoacquire,organize,analyzeandpresentdatatoageneralnewsaudience.
WhatYouWillLearn
Thecoursehasfourobjectivesforstudents.Theywill:
1.
Describehowprofessionaljournalistsusedatatoimprovetheprecisionofandrelevanceoftheirstories,
2. Selectanduseappropriatetoolsfornewsroomdataanalysis,3.
Critiqueandcorrectsourcesofjournalisticdata,
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4.
Conceptualizeandprototypepresentationofjournalisticdataacrossmultiplemedia.
Thefirstfewweeksofclasswillbededicatedtoanintroductiontobasicstatisticsandnumericalandmathematicalliteracy,aswellasalookatprofessionaldata-
drivenjournalismprojects.
ThebulkofthecoursewillbespentonpracticalskillsexercisesusingExcel,Access,FusionTables,Refine,TableauandArcGIS.
Theculminationofthecoursewillbeaproposalforadata-drivendigitalnewsproduct,includingaworkingprototype.
RequiredReadings
Thebestwaytolearnaboutthechangingjournalismenvironmentistokeepaclose
eyeonprofessionalsworkingintheindustry.Thebulkofourreadingwillbecontemporaryarticlesandresearchaboutdatadrivenreporting.
Booksandarticlesyouwillneedforthisclass:
NumbersintheNewsroom.SarahCohen.http://store.ire.org/collections/books/products/numbers-in-the-newsroom-using-math-and-statistics-in-news($15forIREmembers)
ArtofAccess:StrategiesforAcquiringPublicRecords.DavidCuillierandCharlesN.Davis.Chapter7:GoingDigital,includingfootnotes.(Chapter7isavailableviadigitalreserveonourclassSakaisite.Youmaybuythecomplete
bookatStudentStoresoronline.
http://datajournalismhandbook.org/1.0/en/case_studies.html
https://twitter.com/rtburg/data
RecommendedReadings
Ifyouaretrulyinterestedindatadrivenjournalismthereisnobetterinvestmentthana$25annualstudentmembershiptoanorganizationcalledInvestigativeReportersandEditors.Thats$2.09amonth,andyoucankeeptheratetwoyearsafteryougraduate.Forthatpriceyougetaccesstotipsheetsaboutcomputerassistedreporting,tutorials,industrycontactsandaccesstotheNationalInstituteforComputerAssistedReportingdatalibrary.http://www.ire.org/membership/terms-and-rates/
Duringthecourseofthesemester,wewillbelearningseveraltechnicalskillsandprograms.Ifyouareinterestedinlearningmore,pleasecheckout:
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Journalism & Mass Communication
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Grades
Attendance25%
Classeswillbedominatedbyhands-onworkandstudentpresentations.Thepracticeyouenjoyduringclasswillsetyouupforsuccessonthehomework
assignments.
Youmaymissoneclassforanyreason,aslongasyoumeetwithmeandmakeupyourworkwithinoneweek.Afterthat,eachmissedclasswillresultinonefullletterreductionofyourattendancegrade.Youwillalsonotbeabletomakeupanyworkmissedinsubsequentclasses.
QuizzesandPresentations25%
Tomakesureyouunderstandassignedreadingsandcanapplytheconceptsintroducedinthebooks.Seeclasscalendarfordetails.
Youhaveuptooneweektomakeupaonemissedquizorpresentations.AdditionalmissedquizzesorpresentationswillresultinanFgradeforthatassignment.
HomeworkAssignments25%
Thehomeworkassignmentsaredesignedtoextendthepracticalclassroominstruction.Theywillchallengeyoutousedatatofindpreciseanswersaswellasdevelopyourownrelevantquestions.Iwillannouncehomeworkassignmentsinclass.Youshouldscheduleonyourpersonalcalendarrightnowatleastsixhourseachweektoassignmentsyouwilldooutsideofclass.Someweeksitwillbemore.Someless.Butifyoucannotspendatleast90hoursonthisclassduringthis
semesteryoumaywanttoconsideranothercourse.Forallhomeworkassignmentsyoumustshowyourwork.
Iwillacceptonelateassignmentfromeachstudentforupto24hoursafterthedeadline.FurtherlateassignmentswillbegivenanF.
Editorialproductproposalandprototype25%
Throughoutthesemester,youwillbeworkingonacquiring,organizingandanalyzingdatathatyoubelieveyoucantransformintoarelevantstoryandtoolforastateorlocalnewsaudienceintheUnitedStates.Thiswillconsistofa4-10pagestorymemoaswellasaworkingprototypeofthedatatoolbuiltwithTableau,
GoogleFusionTablesoranotherinstructor-approvedtoolofyourchoice.Thiswillnotbeafull-blownstoryorafullyfunctionaltool.Butsuccessfulstudentswillbeabletohavesomethingtangibletheycanpitchasanideatoaprofessionalnewsroom.
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Whatgradesmean.
A-Masteryofcoursecontentatthehighestlevelofattainmentthatcanreasonablybeexpectedofstudentsatagivenstageofdevelopment.TheAgradestatesclearlythatthestudenthasshownsuchoutstandingpromisein
theaspectofthedisciplineunderstudythatheorshemaybestronglyencouragedtocontinue.
B-Strongperformancedemonstratingahighlevelofattainmentforastudentatagivenstageofdevelopment.TheBgradestatesthatthestudenthasshownsolidpromiseintheaspectofthedisciplineunderstudy.
C-Atotallyacceptableperformancedemonstratinganadequatelevelofattainmentforastudentatagivenstageofdevelopment.TheCgradestatesthat,whilenotyetshowingunusualpromise,thestudentmaycontinuetostudyinthedisciplinewithreasonablehopeofintellectualdevelopment.
D-Amarginalperformanceintherequiredexercisesdemonstratingaminimalpassinglevelofattainmentforastudentatagivenstageofdevelopment.TheDgradestatesthatthestudenthasgivennoevidenceofprospectivegrowthinthediscipline.
F-Forwhateverreason,anunacceptableperformance.TheFgradeindicatesthatthestudent'sperformanceintherequiredexerciseshasrevealedalmostnounderstandingofthecoursecontent.AgradeofFshouldwarrantanadvisor'squestioningwhetherthestudentmaysuitablyregisterforfurtherstudyinthedisciplinebeforeremedialworkinundertaken.
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SemesterCalendar
Thecoursecalendarisdividedintothreebasicparts:
Jan.9to28Introduction.Inspiration.Math.Publicrecords.
Jan.30toMarch6Applyingbasicconceptswithspreadsheetsanddatabases.
March18toApril4PresentingdatawithTableauandFusionTables
April4to24Cleaning,scrapingandmappingdata.Theday-to-dayscheduleofourclasswilllargelybedeterminedbythepaceofthestudentsandyourinterestinspecifictopics.Informationaboutschedulingwillbeannouncedinclass,andstudentsareexpectedtoattend.
Theprofessorreservestorighttomakechangestothesyllabus,includingprojectduedatesandtestdates(excludingtheofficiallyscheduledfinalexamination),whenunforeseencircumstancesoccur.Thesechangeswillbeannouncedasearlyaspossiblesothatstudentscanadjusttheirschedules.
TentativeLectureSchedule
1/9Introduction1/14StudentspresentcasestudiesfromDataJournalismHandbook1/16-NumbersintheNewsroom,chapter2quiz
1/23-NumbersintheNewsroom,chapter1quiz.1/28StudentssharetipsfromChapter7ofArtofAccess.1/30-Excel1(intrototerms,formatcells,formulas,basicfunctions;sort)2/4-presentationsonNumbersinNewsroom,chapters3&4.2/6-Excel2(IFfunctions,subtotals)2/11-Excel3(pivottables)2/13-Excel4(cleandates,cleannames)
2/18-GettingdataintoExcel2/20-Access1(intrototerms.)2/25-Access2(Filterandsort)2/27-Access3(interviewingyourdata,groupbyqueries)3/4-Access4(intentionaljoins)
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3/6one-on-onemeetingsaboutproposalandprototypesSPRINGBREAK3/18Discussion.Examplesofeditorialdataproducts.
3/20-Tableau1-reviewtableaututorial3/25-Tableau2-showyourdataviz3/27-GoogleFusion14/1-GoogleFusion24/3-GoogleRefine(cleaningdata)4/8-GettingDataIntoExcel(openCSVfiles,openHTMLtables)4/10-WebscrapingwithGoogleDocs
4/15-WebscrapingwithOutWit;Screen-Scraper4/17-ArcGIS4/22-ArcGIS4/24-Whatnext?DueDates(tentative)1/14DataJournalismHandbookpresentation1/16NumbersintheNewsroom,Chapter2presentations1/23take-homeportionofNumbersintheNewsroom,Chapter1quiz2/4--NumbersintheNewsroom,Chapter2presentations
2/6Excel1homework2/11Excel2homework2/18Excel4homework3/4One-pageoutlineofproduct/storyproposal3/6Accesshomework3/20CompleteTableaututorials3/25Tableauhomework5/3,4p.m.Editorialdataproposal/prototypeStudentHonor
TheUniversityofNorthCarolinaatChapelHillhashadastudent-ledhonorsystem
forover100years.AcademicintegrityisattheheartofCarolinaandweallareresponsibleforupholdingtheidealsofhonorandintegrity.Thestudent-ledHonorSystemisresponsibleforadjudicatinganysuspectedviolationsoftheHonorCodeandallsuspectedinstancesofacademicdishonestywillbereportedtothehonorsystem.Allacademicworkinthiscourse,includinghomework,quizzes,andexams,istobeyourownwork,unlessotherwisespecificallyprovided.Itisyourresponsibilityif
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youhaveanydoubttoconfirmwhetherornotcollaborationispermitted.Iftheworkistrulyyourown,youwillbeabletoexplainanddemonstratetomysatisfactionhowyoudidit.Donotrepresentsomeoneelseswords,thoughts,orideasasyourownwithout
attributioninconnectionwithsubmissionofacademicwork,whethergradedorotherwise.FurtherinformationaboutthestudentHonorCodeisavailableathttp://studentconduct.unc.edu/honor-systemContactingMe
Theprofessionalstandardsofthiscourseincludeinterpersonalcommunicationandputanemphasisonpersonalaccountability.Studentsareresponsibleformakingsuretheyhavetheinformationandtoolstheyneedtocompletetheirassignments
ontimeandtoahighstandard.Todothis,allyouhavetodoisfollowabasictenantofjournalismifyoudontknowsomething,youshouldask.
Myresponsibilityistooutlineclearexpectations,helpyoufindtheresourcesyouneedtobesuccessfulandbeavailabletoansweryourquestionswhenyougetstuck.
Iencourageyoutomeetwithmeaboutanytopic,anytime.Herearesomeguidelinesabouthowtobestreachme:
Inperson:Face-to-facecommunicationisthebestforanyin-depthtopic.Grades,andcareeradvicearetwoexamplesofthekindsofin-depthconversationsIliketohaveinperson.Ifyoudliketositdownandchatwith
meformorethanfiveor10minutes,pleasemakeanappointmentandIllfindtimetomeetwithyou.Pleaseusehttp://thornburgr.youcanbookme.comtoscheduleameeting.
E-mail:Usee-mailifyouhavealong,detailedquestionorexplanation,orifyoudontneedareplyfasterthan24hours.DontassumethatIvereadyouremailuntilyougetaconfirmationfromme.
Mobilephone:Thisisthebestwaytoreachmeinanemergency.Igaveyouthenumberonthefirstdayofclass.Butifyouleaveavoicemailortextmessage,dontassumethatIvereceiveditunlessyougetaconfirmationbackfromme.
