Browse more 5,000 tipsheets from our national conferences and Watchdog Workshops on how to cover specific beats, conduct a great interview and learn countless tips on where to find the information you need.

Logged-in members can download any tipsheet, for free. Contact the Resource Center 573-882-3364 or [email protected] for questions.

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• Web search & social media for investigators

  From better search techniques to the invisible Web, how to find reliable information on deadline and for enterprise stories. Tips on more effective Web searches, the latest search engines, data sites and other practical information you can use immediately to background sources and companies.

  Tags: web search; search engines; enterprise; social media

  By Mark Walker

  2018

• How data and documents guide my work

  Learn how to get in the document mindset and look for data and documents on all beats.

  Tags: data; documents; beat; mindset

  By Cheryl W. Thompson

  2018

• Everyday Watchdog

  Learn how to build watchdog work into your daily routine and produce meatier stories, even in breaking news situations. We'll also give some real-world tips on time management, organization and focusing on enterprise.

  Tags: daily; everyday; watchdog; time management; organization; enterprise

  By Cheryl W. Thompson

  2018

• What IRE can do for you

  What can an IRE membership gain you? Find out here.

  Tags: ire; nicar; tools; services; membership

  By Cody Winchester

  2018

• Web for watchdogs

  An overview of free, easy-to-use online resources for backgrounding, gathering information and making basic data visualizations (no coding required).

  Tags: resources; backgrounding; internet; online; data viz

  By Cody Winchester

  2018

• The Beat Investigation

  Learn tips on mastering your beat by improving how you develop sources, conduct interviews and handle tough situations.

  Tags: beat; reporting; long-term; stories

  By Paige St. John

  2018

• Out of the forest: Organizing your investigation

  Seasoned journalists offer practical advice on how to start a project and keep it on track, including organizational tips, questions to keep in mind and obstacles to avoid.

  Tags: organization; reporting; scheduling; writing

  By Ziva Branstetter; Steve Suo

  2018

• Data & documents state of mind

  Learn strategies for using a data and documents state of mind in reporting.

  Tags: data; documents; law; public records; public officials

  By Ziva Branstetter

  2018

• How to avoid rookie data mistakes

  A group of seasoned data journalists share their past data analysis mistakes — whether it occurred while requesting data, cleaning data, analyzing it or even bulletproofing it — and offer up tips for avoiding these and all kinds of other potential pitfalls.

  Tags: mistakes; advice; analysis; data

  By Kristin Hussey; Alex Richards; Mike Stucka

  2018

• Creating an interactive map with Leaflet.js

  Build a map using Leaflet.js, a popular open-source JavaScript mapping library. The map will display both markers and shapes. We will provide some resources on where to find data to build a map and how to create your own data as well. We will be working with JSON, GeoJSON and KML data. https://github.com/luciovilla/leaflet-nicar18

  Tags: leaflet.js; map; javascript; mapping

  By Lucio Villa

  2018