NICAR talk
Getting on a boat this summer?
It’s officially summer and people are spending a lot of time in the water. If you’re looking for a good story, one place to look is the boating accidents dataset in the NICAR data library. It’s been recently updated to include 2014 and is free for IRE members. Kept by the U.S. Coast Guard, the Recreational…
Read MoreNICAR Q&A with Rachael Bale
Rachael Bale Rachael Bale worked at The Center for Investigative Reporting on environmental stories about pesticides and mining, crime and justice stories, among other topics. She also worked as a freelance reporter for KQED public radio, the Bay Area’s NPR affiliate. She just moved to Washington D.C., where she intends to freelance. In 2012 she…
Read MoreWhat is NICAR Q&A?
Every week in the NICAR data library we get phone calls and emails from reporters who have their hands in data. Some call us with questions about particular databases, or to ask for help with SQL, or to celebrate and share work they’ve just completed. We love these conversations and trouble-shooting sessions, the collective sense…
Read MoreUpdated at NICAR: FBI Uniform Crime Reports and SBA Disaster Loans
We’ve posted two updated datasets at the NICAR data library this week: FBI Uniform Crime Reports for 2013 and Small Business Administration Disaster Loans through February 2015. See below for details. FBI UNIFORM CRIME REPORTS Law enforcement agencies around the country voluntarily submit reports to the FBI on what are known as “index” crimes: Murder, nonnegligent manslaughter,…
Read MoreUpdated inspection data available on the nation’s bridges
Now updated for 2014, the National Bridge Inventory database can help you assess the soundness of bridges in your area. Journalists can use the data to investigate bridges by identifying those with structural problems, or that haven’t been recently inspected. Other key fields include average daily traffic and overall sufficiency rating. The records represent information from the…
Read MoreUpdated data on small business loans now available
This week we posted updated data on loans backed by the Small Business Administration. The SBA 7a database has loan records going back to 1990 (prior years available on request); fields include the name and address of the business getting the loan, franchise and industry codes, the bank lending the money, the amount loaned, and (where…
Read MoreBe the next Google Journalism Fellow at IRE
IRE will host its third Google Journalism Fellow this summer and the application process is open until January 31. Apply now! The Google Journalism Fellowship program lasts for 10 weeks during the summer, the first of which is spent at Google headquarters. Fellows stay with various host organizations and work on projects related to data-driven journalism,…
Read MoreNew campus crime reports for 2013 available in the NICAR data library
The most recent reports on alleged campus crime, arrests, discipline and hate crimes reported for 2013 are now available in the NICAR data library. Buy it here. What’s in it? The Jeanne Clery Disclosure of Campus Security Policy and Campus Crime Statistics Act is a federal law that requires colleges and universities to disclose certain timely and annual information about campus crime and security…
Read MoreUpdated data on home mortgage applications now available from NICAR
The Home Mortgage Disclosure Act (HMDA) database has just been updated in the NICAR Data Library. Loan application records for 2013 are now available. What’s in it? This Act requires all banks, savings and loans, savings banks and credit unions with assets of more than $33 million and offices in metropolitan areas to report mortgage…
Read MoreSuggest a database and help expand the NICAR Data Library
NICAR is looking to add new data sets to its collection, and we’re interested in your suggestions. We’re looking for national, multi-state, or multi-country data sets that are potentially valuable to reporters and are not easily accessible. Our goal is to enable access to and use of important data, and we need help identifying targets…
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