Data Journalism – Google Sheets – Hands-On

This three-part hands-on express data journalism course will introduce you to the basics of data analysis in Google Sheets. Suitable for beginners.

Google Sheets 1:
Data journalism introduction: The basics: use Google Sheets to carry out basic calculations and percentage increases

Google Sheets 2:
Finding your top line: sorting and filtering in Google Sheets/Excel Handy/fun tools: (split, concatenate, using simple formulas)

Google Sheets 3:
Quick-smart data summary/analysis using pivot tables. Merging datasets (VLookUps)

We advise you to attend the entire course: Google Sheets 1-3, especially if you are a beginner.

These sessions are intended as a methodical guide to the use of Google Sheets in finding stories.

Finding Stories in Data (Thu 30 June) covers similar skills, but in Excel and also focuses on integrating data into storytelling. You do not need to do both Data Journalism-Google Sheet and Finding Stories in Data. Select one only.

Technical Requirements

Own laptops are required. Please create a Google Drive account, if you do not have one already.

29 June 2022 – Data Journalism - Google Sheets

09:30–10:30

Google Sheets 1: Data journalism introduction: The basics: use Google Sheets to carry out basic calculations and percentage increases

10:50–11:50

Google Sheets 2: Finding your top line: sorting and filtering in Google Sheets/Excel Handy/fun tools: (split, concatenate, using simple formulas)

13:00–14:00

Google Sheets 3: Quick-smart data summary/analysis using pivot tables. Merging datasets (VLookUps)

Helena Bengtsson

Helena Bengtsson is the data journalism editor at Gota Media, a regional publishing company in the south of Sweden with 13 local titles. She previously worked as the data journalism editor at Sveriges Television, Sweden’s national television broadcaster, for 27 years and has also served as Editor, Data Projects of the Guardian UK between 2014-2017.

Pamela Duncan

Pamela Duncan is the editor of the Guardian’s Data Project team, an occasional award-winning journalist (#humblebrag) and a self-confessed data nerd. She can usually be found at her desk poring over spreadsheets and using her coding skills - usually a combination of scraping, regex and pandas/Python - to build and analyse datasets to produce high quality and exclusive data stories.

29 June 2022 09.30–14.00

Location: Room 314 - PSH Building - Goldsmiths, University of London

Course

Beginner

Data