Data-Driven Investigations – Online, Intensive (AM)
This course is designed for journalists, researchers, investigators and accountability professionals who already have a grounding in working with data and want to develop the investigative methods needed to turn leads, datasets and evidence into rigorous, defensible public-interest investigations.
Group size: max 12 people.
Class duration: 2hrs x 5 days (Monday to Friday)
Level of participation: very high. Hands-on, screenshares, regular Q&As and participant contributions.
Data can reveal patterns. Investigative journalism reveals accountability.
I really enjoyed this course, it was a great mix of practical exercises and theory. Would definitely recommend.
Data remains an essential source of leads and evidence. Yet many stories involving data stop at the discovery of something unusual, surprising or statistically significant. For us, that is where the investigation begins, with a new set of questions: Why did this happen? Who benefits? Who made the decisions? And ultimately, what should happen now?
This course draws on our experience working in newsrooms or cross-border investigations to report public-interest stories that require legal scrutiny and substantial evidence. It centres on the Story Memo – a practical investigative framework that helps participants develop and manage investigations from hypotheses to publication – using real examples and practical exercises throughout.
The central aim of the course is for attendees to work on live projects throughout the sessions and leave with their own stories at an advanced stage of research, so we strongly recommend that you approach the course with an idea already in mind for a data-driven story.
I loved the bulletproofing investigations section; and the interrogating data. I will also put into practice the source map.
You can also claim a 10% discount if you combine this course with our 5-module ‘Finding Stories with Data’ course. For more information about this two-course package please click HERE.
Technical Requirements
Although this is not a compulsory prerequisite, it is preferable that you know your way around Excel/Google Sheets, and more specifically its PivotTable tool, before attending this course. Using PivotTables to ‘interview’ data is something we teach in our “Finding Stories with Data” course.
This course will need you to have the following software/apps/tools on your computer:
- MS Excel 2016 or newer (If do not have access to Excel, there is a free trial version available). We encourage the use of MS Excel (that is, the desktop “app”: the online version of Office 365 lacks some of the features you will need). If necessary, you can use Google Sheets, which has slightly different menus and instructions – these are documented in the online materials, but the trainer doesn’t always have the opportunity to demonstrate both systems in the session: he will certainly try, but you may find you need to do some extra work outside the session to catch up.
- Zoom app. During these sessions the trainers often need participants to be able to share their screen in order to solve problems or demonstrate techniques: if you are on a work computer, or other device which has screen sharing on Zoom disabled, please consider getting the restriction lifted for the duration of this course. If you can’t share the screen because the function is blocked or disabled, it makes it much harder to solve problems and learn from them. But, rest assured, nobody will be forced to share their screen against their will!
- Camera and audio
This course will be hosted on Zoom. To find out more about how we use Zoom, please check out our Zoom InfoSec page.
Course Structure
Exercises and additional viewing of tutorial videos will be provided to supplement the training between sessions.
Important
Our training is not recorded: if you miss a session, it is lost – you cannot watch a recording of it, nor will you be allowed to attend that session at a later date.
Trainer Biographies:
Jonathan Stoneman
Leila Haddou
Booking Form
- 25 January 2027 10.00–12.00 Timezone: GMT (UK Time)
- 26 January 2027 10.00–12.00 Timezone: GMT (UK Time)
- 27 January 2027 10.00–12.00 Timezone: GMT (UK Time)
- 28 January 2027 10.00–12.00 Timezone: GMT (UK Time)
- 29 January 2027 10.00–12.00 Timezone: GMT (UK Time)
In line with our non-profit mission, our pricing operates on a sliding scale, ensuring large organisations pay more to subsidise places for smaller newsrooms, freelancers and students.
*Student places for this course are capped, due to limited capacity. Anyone registering as a student will be asked for a photo/scan of their student ID ahead of the course.
**Employed individuals who cannot have their employers pay for the course are entitled to the freelancer rate. Note that we are a small charity and rely on your honesty so please do not register as a freelancer if your employer is reimbursing you for the course.
We have a strict policy of No Refund and No Transfer of bookings.