This is a pro-bono talk at Data Journalism Bootcamp in Bangkok, organized by DataLEADS and sponsored by UN Foundation, in Dec 2017. The audience is a group of Thailand-based journalists covering climate change. This talk is delivered in my personal capacity.

1. Introduction to
Data Journalism
Yolanda Ma
Co-founder, Data Journalism China
Bangkok, Dec 2017
with special focus on climate change

2. WHAT IS DATA JOURNALISM
2

3. Data
=
Structured
Information
3

4. 4

5. http://www.opencalais.com/opencalais-demo/
5

6. Data
Journalism
=
Journalism
=
Storytelling
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7. 7

8. ““‘Characters! People respond to
narratives, not data. Even abstract
climate change concepts can be made
engaging if they’re embedded in a story.’
Kate Marvel of NASA GISS
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9. DIFFERENT TYPES
OF DATA STORIES
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10. Text Story
https://www.reuters.com/article/sri-lanka-migration-drought/feature-climate-change-fueled-drought-drives-sri-lankas
-farmers-to-cities-idUSL8N1N54BV
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11. Text Story
● A rice farmer needs two successful harvests a year on 2.6 acres (about one hectare) of
land to earn the 17,760 rupees ($115) a month needed to keep a family of four above the
country’s poverty line, he said. A maize farmer needs even more land – about 3.7 acres,
he said. (He - M.W. Weerakoon, a Ministry of Agriculture additional secretary)
● “We get a lot of people coming from the villages now because there is no work. For men
we pay around Rs 800 ($5) per day and women around Rs 600,” said Chamindha
Samarwickrema, who manages a small tobacco plot.
● Government data shows that about 4 million Sri Lankans – almost 20 percent of the
island’s people – are now internal migrants.
● But the move is not always permanent – about 35 percent of them remain in their new
districts for less than five years, according to the Department of Census and Statistics.
● Though its share is falling, agriculture still accounts for about 27 percent of Sri Lanka’s
economy, and provides jobs for about 2.2 million people, according to Sri Lanka’s
Central Bank.
● “The key factor would be that we don’t lose large tracks of the planted extent,” he said.
During the last harvesting season over 200,000 acres of the 540,000 planted were lost
to drought and minor floods, according to Sri Lanka’s Department of Agriculture.
https://www.reuters.com/article/sri-lanka-migration-drought/feature-climate-change-fueled-drought-drives-sri-lankas
-farmers-to-cities-idUSL8N1N54BV
11

12. ““The expert inputs and research data
formed a strong foundation. Use
numbers, data in a manner that can be
easily understood, connect with
on-ground situation.”
Amantha Perera, Speaking at GIJN 2017
Contributor to the Thomson Reuters Foundation
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13. Static Graphics
http://www.informationisbeautiful.net/visualizations/when-sea-levels-attack-2/
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14. News Application
https://guariglia.com/app1
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15. Video/ Motion Graphics
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/n
g-interactive/2014/dec/01/carbon-emissions-p
ast-present-and-future-interactive
http://community.globaleditorsnetwork.org/co
ntent/past-present-and-future-co2-0 15

16. Interactive Visualization
https://ig.ft.com/sites/climate-change-calculator/ 16

17. DATA JOURNALISM WORKFLOW
17

18. https://simonrogers.net/2013/01/27/a-data-journalism-workflow/
https://onlinejournalismblog.com/2011/07/07/th
e-inverted-pyramid-of-data-journalism-2/
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19. 1. Story idea + Find the data
2. Clean & Analyze the data
3. Present & Publish the data
4. Update & Maintain the story
(if possible )
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20. Pretty much like cooking...
Photo source:
http://www.10thkitchen.com/2012/03/pea-and-asparagus-orzo-wi
th-tarragon-mint-and-lemon/ 20

21. Data Sources - Gov/ Intl Orgs
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22. Always be skeptical
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23. Data Sources - Civil Society
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24. Ask more questions
● Who funds this organization?
● Who collects the data?
● Who owns the data? Can I re-distribute?
● Which countries/regions does it cover (or not
cover)?
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25. Data Sources - Open Data
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26. Data Sources - Citizens
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27. Data Sources - Very old way...
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28. Data Sources - FOIA
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29. Ask even more questions
● How updated, consistent and accurate is the data?
● Is there any gaps in its data collection? If so, why?
Is it clearly explained?
● Who would want to hide something? Is it possible
to manipulate?
● What is the methodology behind?
● Are there any other sources for the same data? If
so, are they the same/ consistent?
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30. Attribution
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31. Best practices for covering climate change with data
https://medium.com/global-editors-network/best-practices-for-covering-climate-change-with-data-42316263b67a
A data journalist’s microguide to environmental data
https://medium.com/data-journalism-awards/a-data-journalists-microguide-to-environmental-data-b56e750abd74
Investigating With Databases: Verifying Data Quality
https://gijn.org/2015/05/14/investigating-with-databases-verifying-data-quality/
Data Journalism Is Disrupting Climate Change Coverage
https://www.globaleditorsnetwork.org/press-room/news/2015/10/data-journalism-is-disrupting-climate-change-cove
rage/
Data Journalism: Do the Numbers Add Up to Climate Action?
https://www.yaleclimateconnections.org/2014/04/data-journalism-do-the-numbers-add-up-to-climate-action/
Data Journalism Handbook
http://datajournalismhandbook.org/1.0/en/index.html
Resources
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32. Thank You!
yolandahku@gmail.com
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