What's Data Storytelling?
Finding the right number, fact or truth – and then being able to present it in a compelling way – can change everything. Just as important is knowing what facts or data are necessary to make that happen. That's where an effective data storyteller comes in. Data storytelling can involve a single bit of data – such as a year – or gigabytes of records. Either can reveal a larger truth. Think of data storytellers as data scientists, but with thesauri (plural "thesaurus," per Webster's dictionary). I began my days as a data storyteller in the mid 1990s, when I hand-built my first database from paper records for the Decatur (Illinois) Herald & Review. (It was a story about swimming pool inspections.)
How Does Data Storytelling Work?
Mick-A.I. Mouse
It's the data storyteller's job to blast through semantic noise with a few cogent facts to explain what's happening, or to find solutions to problems. Data storytelling can be as simple as framing a problem, such as identifying shortages in services. It can be as complex as downloading millions of data records to tell a story about legal actions, car crashes, the growth of homeowners' associations, etc. Perhaps what's just as important as being able to know how to work with data is the skill needed to build a story out of what seems to be a flood of numbers. Click here to read my blog post that explains how I examine datasets for their veracity and helpful information. This blog post explains how data storytelling can help you become a trusted source of information.
Data storytelling can lend perspective to individual expertise and experience in a subject area.
Data Storytelling Services
Now that we're using R Studio and QGIS for analyzing and mapping data (respectively), the sky's the limit for our data storytelling.
Finding Stories in Big Data
If you're interested in a large dataset, we use R Studio, R and Microsoft Excel to aggregate the data that tells your story. We've worked with federal court data, federal case-filing datasets and federal inspection data, to name a few data types.
Plotting Datasets/Mapping
If your data has X/Y coordinates, we'll analyze the data, then plot the relevant records using QGIS software. We've mapped public housing projects, city zoning violations and DUI crashes, to name a few datasets.
Insight Mining
We listen intently to input, study available data sources and work with subject matter experts to identify resonant facts. Then, we frame them so they can be understood. Many of these skills were learned through working in traditional journalism.
Contact
I'm always looking for new and exciting opportunities. Let's connect.
214-542-2571