On My Honor, I Have Neither Given Nor Received Aid on This Assignment

Data journalism test (April 2, 2014) ANSWERS

This is a “take-home” test. That means you can do it on your own, outside of class. You can use our online textbooks, our class website and any other resources you’d like. But you must not work with or talk to another student in doing this test. All of the answers must be your work – nobody else’s. At my school, VCU, students must agree to the following pledge: “On my honor, I have neither given nor received aid on this assignment.”

Type or paste your answers into the Word document. Then email me the document, along with your spreadsheet, by Sunday night (April 7).

Your name and student ID number: ______

Ideas from our textbook readings (25 percent)

1. Define data journalism. What does “data journalism mean”? Be brief; keep your answer short – about 50 words.

Zhang Linyue (Barbara): Data journalism is telling stories that are based on concrete data. Even though it is not something new and journalists have been reporting using data for quite some time, recent technological advancements have made it easier to do data journalism using a plethora of new open source tools available to us all.

Zhang Tianyu (Sky): Journalism done with data--Journalists gather valid data from trusted sources then analyze these data to create a news story.In this process,data can be the source of data journalism,or it can be the tool with which the story is told -- or it can be both. Using data makes news story more objective, impartial and convincing.

Fu Lian: Using and analysing data can make audience believe our news much better. Grasping data journalism is very good for journalist to tell a credible story with data. Sometimes we will change data into excel and picture. Data journalism need scientific attitude and interesting idea. Listing numbers in the news is not enough.

Guo Dajiang: Use data to write stories, the data is the evidence for news. Make abstraction becomes specific. Data journalism can help a journalist tell a complex story through engaging infographics.

Judy Li lizhe: Three steps: Online research (get data), Data analysis (use scientific method), Data visualization (translate abstraction to visualization) Investigative reporting: use data to check and expose something In conclusion: Getting data, then analyze it by scientific method to translate abstraction to visualization for checking and exposing something.

LinLu Lexie: In my opinion, I think the data journalism is the story told by using data as evidence. The principle is “data first”.

SongRui: It does not only mean that we use the number in our news reporting. Besides, it includes finding and analyze the data. By using the data in news or finding other information from data, we can write a news story which other people can not be found, and let the story make audiences be convinced powerfully.

2. Read this story and look at the graphics. Is this data journalism, or just a “story with numbers”? Why do you think that? http://projects.propublica.org/graphics/cell-tower-accidents

Zou Xinying (Gen): I think it is data journalism. It analyzes the specific data to provide a diagram and then draws a conclusion that there’s a sharp rise from recent years of workers’ death.

Yuan Xinyue (Dora): It is data journalism.Because this story has accurate data to show how many workers died or injured every month.And the source of these data is clearly showed in the end of the story.

Yu Aidi: I think it is data journalism. Because in the story it use a graphics to display workers harmed in accidents in 2013 to present and rocord workers? information , these information constitute this news. By reading these data readers can know there are many accients happened and what time it happened .

Zhang lin(Lily Zhang): Yes, this is data journalism. Based on data and analysis, this story revealed the safety problems exsiting in the construction work of communication tower, which can not only let the public know the truth, but also produce a positive influence on enhancing the safety conditions of the workers. All of this is just what data journalism do.

Chang Chun: I think it is data journalism.Because it uses graphics to tell a story. For example, the graphic “Workers Harmed in Communication Tower Accidents, 2013 to Present” can tell us there is a deadly surge in tower climber accidents. By The graphic “Workers' Names, Ages and Who They Were Working For the Day of the Accident”,we may find some regularities to solve the problems.

Internet searching (25 percent)

3. Tell me two online tools to find sources for your stories (people to interview).

Stella: http://academic.research.microsoft.com/ http://scholar.google.com/

GAO Yanan (Wings): ExpertClick and AllExperts. Microsoft Academic Research.

4. Suppose you are searching for an Excel file about earthquakes on a Chinese government website. What would you type into Google?

5. What can a journalist find at prnewswire.com? Why would a journalist want to visit this website?

Li Qiang (Helen): Its slogan is “PR Newswire is the authoritative source of news and information for leading global media organizations.” A journalist can find a searchable database of press releases at prnewswire.com. (Note: PR Newswire has a separate section for journalists only. You must register, but it’s free. ) The reason why a journalist want ti visit this website is” t provides a deeper archive of press releases, additional contact information and other features.”

Chang Chun: A journalist can find press releases he needs by searching.journalists can monitor the areas thy cover and to do research for specific stories.Because PR Newswire is the authoritative source of news and information for leading global media organizations.It’s a searchable database of press releases. It has a separate section for journalists only. If you register, you can see a deeper archive of press releases, additional contact information and other features.Meanwhile, journalists can send a news release to help them reach their target audiences.

Tom: Prnewswire.com is a searchable database of press releases. A journalist can find the authoritative source of news and information for leading global media organizations. Because the news and information from it is latest and trusted and it helps us to save time and screen the information.

6. Who owns the website“joinalqaeda.com”?

Zhang Tianyu (Sky): Sorry.I cannot find the registrant’name,because the website“joinalqaeda.com” is registered privately.

Chenyang Wang (Sunny): The owner’s name is confidential. But he is in Scottsdale Arizona United States.

Basic Excel skills (40 percent)

7. Open the spreadsheet “CN doctors and hospital beds by population (for test).xls”. It looks like this:

You must create formula to fill in the yellow cells. In other words, sum up the total population for all regions for 2010; then sum up the number of hospital beds, and then the number of doctors. Then create a formula that shows the number of hospital beds for every 1,000 people, and copy that formula down to all of the other cells in Column E.

Fill in the blank:

Nationally, China has _____ hospital beds for every 1,000 people.

Then, copy this worksheet to a new worksheet. Call the new worksheet “Sorted”. Sort all the regions by their number of hospital beds per 1,000 people. (Don’t sort the “national totals” row; leave that at the bottom.) Which three regions have the most hospital beds per 1,000 people? 1. 2. 3.

Which three regions have the fewest hospital beds per 1,000 people? 1. 2. 3.

Save your spreadsheet. Email it to me with your test.

Zhang Tianyu (Sky) – Excellent sorting! She had separate worksheets for highest and lowest. Chang Chun remembered to freeze panes – to keep your column headings at the top.

Chenyang Wang (Sunny) hid columns. That is another excellent technique so you can focus on the most important numbers – the rates (number of hospital beds per 1,000 people)

Your story idea (10 percent)

By now, you and your partner should have an assignment for your first data journalism story. Look at the data. Tell me about the data. a) Where did it come from?

b) What questions can you ask this data? What specific ideas do you hope to find in the data?

Fu Xiaoyu Jen: 1. What country had the highest /lowest Cost of living? (Every year, always this country?) 2. Which countries had the biggest / smallest difference between1994-2012? （Move forward or backward?） 3. How it changed in the world? (Sum it up and see the trend.) 4. What place did China in? Which countries cost more or less than china? Or similar with China？ Is the cost of living in each country associated with economic level, technological development, location, people's habits in each country? If cost more mean more happiness and higher living level? (I want find the data about the Happiness index in the world.) I also want to find the difference between the city and countryside and cities in China. Maybe it’s really a big gap. c) Who could you talk to in doing your story? Can you find an expert in this area? (It could be a NENU professor, or an expert you locate with Google Scholar or another online tool.)

WINGS I am going to find some Chinese students who want to study in America or some immigrants. I would like to ask them if they know which state or city has the highest concentrations of Chinese, and if they would take those factors into account. I could find Professor Sun (Sun Zhigang), I followed him on Weibo when he visited our school last year. He is nor an expert in demography, but he is a Chinese who live in America. That could be helpful. I am sure I can find some experts via ExpertClick ,AllExperts ,Google Scholar and Microsoft Academic Research. I could also find some experts on Twitter or Facebook. What 抯 more, I can ask some professors demography at NENU.

Zhang Qian Some Chinese companies and some people will soon apply for a patent. The State Intellectual Property Office and China Patent Bureau. Luo Xiao Nan? Ou Yang Dong.