The National Union of Journalists has scheduled two new dates for my one-day course of data journalism training: Monday 18 May and Monday 9 November, both at the NUJ’s office on Gray’s Inn Road in London.
This course is aimed mainly at those already in journalism, who want practical methods that can be used immediately – and who want to know about the pitfalls as well as the benefits.
Specifically, the course will cover how to assess and improve the quality of data; how to combine it, or mash it up, without making a mess; the reality of using the Freedom of Information Act to get material; and how to turn numbers into pictures, whether graphs or maps. I will also talk about when it makes sense not to rely on data. Advanced mathematical ability is not a requirement, although common sense is always useful.
The course is largely based on my own experience in data journalism, both as a journalist and an analyst. This includes research on government spending (for the Guardian and for the Register), on using Freedom of Information (in the case of police vehicle tracking cameras for the Guardian, over three years, as well as using hundreds of FOI responses in market research) and on mapping and graphing data (in lots of areas, but including changes in the NHS workforce for the Guardian – including the graph above and the map below).
Map removed as Google Fusion Tables no longer works.
The course costs £300 for employed NUJ members, £150 for unemployed ones and students, £350 for those in some affiliated unions and £400 otherwise. The details for the 18 May date are here, with those for 9 November here. To enquire and book, please email [email protected].