The Craft of Research

Another golden nugget from Heath Meriwether’s blog.

I can’t say it enough.  Nexis and Factiva, people, Nexis and Factiva.

Read the last sentence of this Q&A with one of our school’s finest.  I mean, read the whole thing, but don’t miss the last sentence!

Latest sign of the apocalypse: Jayson Blair is speaking about journalism ethics?  Seriously?  Jayson Blair?

I want to simplify this project as much as possible.  It should be a three-step process.

1. Find a newsworthy statistic that interests you.
2. Compare it to something.  (e.g. other geographic areas, the same statistic in previous years, etc.)
3. Use reporting, and possibly more research, to determine and explain why your number compares as it does.  This will certainly involve identifying and interviewing experts on the subject.  In addition to getting them to explain “why,” you’ll probably want them to make suggestions for how to improve the number and/or predictions for the future.

Your grade will be based on how well you handle items 2 and 3.  I’m expecting 800-1000 words.  Approved pitch deadline is 11/10, although earlier is better.   Story is due 12/1.

Common pitfalls to avoid:

• Back-end research: Don’t conjure up a story idea and then try to figure out how to fit (statistical) research into it.  That’s backwards.  The research is supposed to inspire the story.  In fact, don’t even bother making a pitch unless you already have the data that inspired your story idea.  Once you start writing, if you find yourself several paragraphs into the story before you’ve mentioned any numbers, you’re also “back-ending” it.  A research-inspired enterprise story needs the research up high.  If not in the lead, then shortly thereafter.
• Numbers without context: Reporting that there are 27 widget manufacturers in your CD means nothing without context.  How many were there five years ago?  What is the difference from the average CD?  Get it? Some kind of comparison is vital.  Chronological or geographical comparisons are two of the most common and accepted.
• Statistical overload: Don’t operate on the “more is better” principle.  All you really need is one good statistic to inspire your story.  That’s not to say you’re limited to one, but don’t bombard.  Cramming too many numbers into a story often clouds the theme or makes the necessary backup reporting too unwieldy.

Helpful hints: Interesting statistics you found while researching your beat memos may make for good story ideas.  Many of the sites listed on my NYC.gov handout are treasure troves of statistical information.

This is the expanded, FUNNY way of asking Are you sure? and Says who?

One of my colleagues here at school has won a prestigious award.  Some of you may be fortunate enough to have Anne as your research instructor in Craft II.
But for now, you’re stuck with me. 

LOL…OK, maybe not, but when I first investigated what group I should volunteer with for Hurricane Katrina relief, I did look into ACORN before I decided on Habitat for Humanity.

No matter what you think of hidden-camera journalism or the motives of conservatives, these videos just fascinate me.  First Baltimore, then DC, now New York.  I’m laughing because I think the guy even looks a little like me.

So is this how I should dress for our next class?

Fortune and Newsweek reported his interest in buying the Times earlier this week, but now even the Times itself is speculating.

Well, my Craft II quiz, even with four fewer questions in the same allotted time, was obviously tougher than my Craft I quiz.

That wasn’t the intention.  In fact, I cut the number of questions in an effort to ease up somewhat and hope you could finish.

The high score was 11.5 out of 16, which would have been fine if everyone else followed closely behind.  Unfortunately, that wasn’t the case.  The second high score, achieved by three people, was 9.5.  And there were a few significantly lower than that.

Of course, I felt compelled to grade on a bit of a curve, but given some of the lower scores, I could only go so far.  The lowest passing score I allowed was a 7, which I assigned a C. (more…)

It will be very similar to the quiz I gave for Craft I, but obviously focusing on the research topics covered in Craft II.

• You will have one hour.  You’ll need your computer, and it’s “open blog.”  You’re free to use all my posts, handouts, tips, etc.  I would highly suggest familiarizing yourself with them before the quiz so you don’t have to waste time hunting for the proper sources.
• There are 16 short answer questions.  Why 16?  Well, last semester was my first stab at this and I really didn’t know how many I should expect students to be able to answer in an hour.  I put 20 on the quiz and nobody finished.  The average was around 15.  So this time I’m going with 16 to relieve the angst somewhat, yet keep enough that you’ll still probably feel some time pressure.  That’s part of this business.
• There’s at least one question from every research lesson this semester, including the social networking and Excel lessons taught by Barbara Gray and Jo Craven McGinty.  The most from any one lesson is four.
• There are no multiple choice questions because researchers and reporters never get multiple choice questions and no essays because I don’t feel like wading through the you-know-what.  Most answers require a sentence or less.  Just to be a nice guy, I provide helpful hints on some questions.  And there are no “tricks.”

Good luck!

As we get closer to our social networking lesson next week, I found another good Twitter search tool called Tweetag in addition to the ones I listed in my earlier Twitter post.

Following up on my federal government lesson last month, you may be interested in this report on the top 10 most wanted documents for 2009.  (Number one was the last–but not least–source on my handout!)

I also discovered some more good Google tips from the Special Libraries Association blog to add to what I have listed on my own Google tips page here.