The IRE Resource Center is a major research library containing more than 23,250 investigative stories — both print and broadcast. Add to that more than 3,000 tipsheets from our national conferences on how to cover specific beats or do specific stories and you have a resource that no reporter or editor should be without. These stories and tipsheets are searchable online or by contacting the Resource Center directly (573-882-3364 or rescntr@ire.org) where a researcher can help you pinpoint what you need. Browse or search the tipsheet section of our library below. Logged-in members can view the tipsheets free online:
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SPYCRAFT: KEEPING YOUR SOURCES SAFE
Doig provides vital information on how to cover your tracks and protect your sources in an ever growing tech savvy world. He covers how to keep internet searches private, make and receiving untraceable calls, keep email private, keep your computer clean, trick key-loggers, and discusses encryption/decryption programs.
Tags: privacy; sources; spy; spycraft; NSA; NSA metadata collection; FBI;
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Creative uses for data
Grochowski shows how reporters can glean important information from data, other than numbers only.
Tags: data, research; information
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Going beyond the obvious: Creative uses for data
This tip sheet by Margot Williams provides helpful links that will assist journalists in their research and save them time.
Tags: research; public records; information; data; databases; missing persons; web research, digital libraries
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From big to small: How to integrate data projects into the newsroom
Aaronson et al, discuss a number of relationships that exist between data and the newsroom including having a “vision” for data journalism, structure for data work, executing “small scale” and large scale data projects, training and evangelizing of staff, and lessons learned for other newsrooms.
Tags: data; newsroom; small scale data; large scale data; data journalism; structure; execution; project; training
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Tipsheet from speaker Shawn McIntosh
Tip sheet with various journalism links helpful to reporters.
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Diagnosing Dirty Data
Dowdell & LaFleur provide useful insight on what 'dirty data' is and how to avoid it.
Tags: dirty data; Inoperable data; data history
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Inspect THIS
Luther, et al., provide an insightful overview on how to go about collecting inspection data.
Tags: data; inspection; business; investigative reporting; agency; OSHA; FDA
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Using Technology in your Investigation: Strategies for doing your own scientific testing
Young provides helpful advice for reporters on how to examine technology used in scientific endeavors they are investigating.
Tags: technology; science; investigative reporting
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Year in CAR
Horvit & Luther provide an overview of some of the best stories from CAR in 2013.
Tags: CAR; statistics; investigative reporting; data
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Compared to What? Using Data to Provide Context on Any Beat
This tip sheet provides information for reporters on where to find and collect government data, how to form a plan for your data, how to look for trends, how to present data, becoming acquainted with the census, gathering business and economic data, and collect environmental data.
Tags: governmental data; find data; environmental data; economic data; business data; census bureau; data plan