ZUR589q Data Journalism

Faculty of Social Studies
Autumn 2016
Extent and Intensity
1/1/0. 6 credit(s). Type of Completion: z (credit).
Teacher(s)
Stephen Doig (seminar tutor)
Mgr. Pavel Sedláček (assistant)
Guaranteed by
prof. PhDr. Jiří Pavelka, CSc.
Department of Media Studies and Journalism – Faculty of Social Studies
Contact Person: Ing. Bc. Pavlína Brabcová
Supplier department: Department of Media Studies and Journalism – Faculty of Social Studies
Timetable
Thu 13:30–15:00 PC54
Prerequisites
This class will be taught in a computer lab (room PC54). There will be access to a computer with Microsoft Excel for 24 people. The rest of you have to bring your own laptop to class to do exercises here. At the very least, you’ll need to find a computer with Excel (or other spreadsheet software) to do homework exercises.
Course Enrolment Limitations
The course is only offered to the students of the study fields the course is directly associated with.

The capacity limit for the course is 20 student(s).
Current registration and enrolment status: enrolled: 0/20, only registered: 0/20
fields of study / plans the course is directly associated with
Course objectives
Through most of the history of journalism, reporters who wanted to examine difficult social problems had to rely on studies done by government or academics. But today’s computer and communications revolution has given reporters the power to do their own original studies of complicated questions. This kind of investigative reporting might be considered social science done on deadline, allowing you to inform your readers and viewers on issues ranging from the performance of public authorities to inequality in this diverse society. In this course, you’ll learn to use computer spreadsheets, database software, mapping programs and statistical techniques to examine public data in ways that would be impossible for reporters who rely only on their eyes and attention span. You’ll also learn to use the Internet and other online sources to find information and sources for your stories. And you’ll learn to negotiate with government officials for public records. We’ll explore how these tools can be used across a wide variety of subject areas. Often we’ll take a specific beat (crime, government, education, demographics, elections, sports, business, environment, etc.) and discuss the kinds of data you might use in stories covering that beat. Also, we’ll look at some good sources of that data, whether from government agencies or on the Internet. Then you’ll do some sort of in-class live data exercise concerning that data. Most classes also will have a short segment on how journalists can use various statistical tools. These lessons will be followed with quizzes to make sure you understand the concepts. You’ll also do a variety of short graded homework assignments designed to further your skills. In addition, there will be two longer assignments: A report describing the details of a useful government data source, and finally a "memo to your editor" proposing a data story based on your preliminary analysis of some interesting dataset. More details will be given to you during the semester.
Literature
  • I will give you a number of printouts or readings from the web for you to do as assigned. A first such assignment will be for you to download “The Data Journalism Handbook” from http://datajournalismhandbook.org/; it is free.
Teaching methods
lectures, homework, individual work, group work, presentations, written assignments
Assessment methods
Your grade will be based on the following elements: • Quizzes and non-lab exercises (10%): There will be occasional open-book quizzes on Excel or perhaps on current postings/discussions in NICAR-L or DDJ. • Statistics quizzes (25%): In most classes, I will lecture on statistical concepts and tools. After each statistics segment, you will do a short open-notes homework exercise that will be graded. • Report on a recently published data journalism project (15%): Each class, one or two of you will give the class an oral (5 minutes) and written (two-page double-spaced) report describing a significant journalism project that used computer-assisted reporting. I will give you a handout with more details soon. • Public data description project (20%): I will assign each of you a good data site to explore and then write a 2-3 page description of the kind of data it has and other details I will specify in an assignment sheet I will give you. • Data analysis project (20%): Using a database of your choosing (with my approval), you will do a data analysis project that will culminate in a 4-5 page project memo, plus documentation, pitching what you found as a story idea. Later in the semester, I will give you a handout with more details about this. • Final exam: There will be a final during the January exam period that will be worth 10% of your grade.
Language of instruction
English
Further comments (probably available only in Czech)
Study Materials
The course is taught only once.
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