Week 4 – Feb. 10 and 12

Data Journalism Example of the Week: The Dakulator (2017) from ESPN

Review from last week:

• Basic newsroom math and statistics
• Newsroom Math crib sheet (pdf)
• Basic Google Sheet functions
• Google Sheets Part 1: Freeze Row, Sort, Add Cells, = SUM, Average, Median
• Google Sheets Part 2: Percent of Total, Rates, Percent Change
• Google Sheets Part 3: How to Filter

Practice Quiz:

Open MLS Soccer Salaries 2025

• Make a copy – File>Make a copy> Rename with your Last Name – Soccer Sheet
• Make sure Row 1 headers are frozen – View>Freeze>Row 1
• Format Columns E and F as $ with no decimal points

Open Soccer Salary Practice Quiz

• Make a copy of this document – File>Make a copy>Rename
• For each question, find the answer in your sheet. Insert it under the question.

Week 3 – Feb. 3 and 5

Data Journalism Example of the Week: How human is your dog’s name? (Washington Post)

• Intro to FOIA
• Google Sheets vs. Excel
• Basic Google Sheet functions
• Interviewing Data – World’s Highest Paid Athletes – 2024 – pulled from Forbes
• Basic newsroom math and statistics
• Newsroom Math crib sheet (pdf)
• Google Sheets Part 1: Freeze Row, Sort, Add Cells, = SUM, Average, Median
• Google Sheets Part 2: Percent of Total, Rates, Percent Change
• Google Sheets Part 3: How to Filter

Assignment:

Practice with Google sheets. Make sure you are comfortable with concepts and skills in Basic newsroom math and statistics and Basic Google Sheet functions Take the time you need to get up to speed with these. Next week, I will give you a data set and you will have to figure out how to use Google sheets and some simple math formulas to answer questions. So review until you feel confident.

Week 2 – Jan. 27 and 29

Data Jrn Pick of the Week: How TikTok keeps its users scrolling for hours a day(Wash Post)

• A data story starts with a question. What data set will help answer that question? Where do you get the data?
• Where do journalists get data? Here are 10 common sources
• Common Data File Types
• Tips and Tools for Smarter Searching

Assignment 1 – Data search and sources due Monday, Feb. 2 by 11:59pm in Canvas (Worth 15 points)

Week 1 – Jan 20 and 22

• Introductions
• Syllabus
• Course overview
• Assignments
• Ethics and Policies
• Reading and texts
• What is Data Journalism?

For Thursday, explore https://pudding.cool/ Use the search box to find topics you are interested in (ie sports, food, fashion, music, movies, etc) Or click Favs. Find one story you really like and dive in. Come to class ready to tell us about it. We will spend 5-10 min. on each example. You’ll do a little show and tell. Answer these questions:

• Brief overview of the story.
• What is the data?
• Where/how did they get the data? (See the methodology at bottom if it’s not clear in article)
• What primary question(s) did they set out to answer?
• What did they do with the data that was unique or innovative? What did you think was cool?

Week 13 – April 21 and 23

–Final Project Outline due Monday, April 21 at 11:59pm -Once I give you the 👍 on your final project outline, start working on your first draft.

–How to Post and Submit your Final Project
–Final project examples

-Wednesday, April 23 is Final Project workday. Dig in and I’ll help answer questions.

-NO CLASS on Monday, April 28
–Final Project First Draft Monday, April 28 at 11:59pm

Sample final projects

• Who are the truly elite modern pitchers?
• Beyond the Bombs: Aaron Judge’s Home Run Mastery Under the Microscope
• Who wins the most in the NBA?
• Are MLB starting pitchers on a leash?
• The books that everyone’s reading
• What’s in your energy drink?
• Underpaid MLB hitters
• One Direction solo careers

Other topics from the past…

• Are fashion magazine’s cover models becoming more racially/ethnically diverse?
• Which comic series – DC or Marvel – has the most diverse cast of characters?
• Are “Five Star” High School football recruits destined for NFL success?
• Has Rowan’s baseball team “small ball” strategy led to success?
• How much student debt do Rowan students have compared to other schools in New Jersey? How does the debt affect their post-graduate decisions?
• What are the most dangerous areas for pedestrians near Rowan University?
• Who is the worst pitcher in baseball history?”
• Has Rowan increased fees for parking permits over the past five years? Where does that money go?
• Public urination at Rowan
• What if Rowan professors were paid based on their “Rate My Professor” scores?
• Who are the greatest female hip hop artists of 1990s
• What areas of New Jersey have the most political power?
• History of tuition increases at Rowan

Week 11 – April 7 and 9

Final Project (worth 150 points) Overview and Deadlines

Assignments:

Data Viz Assignments 5-9 (worth 65 points) all due Friday, April 11 by 11:59pm

Final Project Idea Pitch (worth 10 points) is due Monday, April 14 by 11:59pm

Guest speaker Stephen Stirling, who is currently a data editor for Philadelphia Inquirer, is coming to class on Monday, April 14. Check out some of his work on his website and come with questions.

Looking ahead:

The Final Project is worth a total of 150 points of your total grade for the semester. Here are five parts to this assignment. (See detailed requirements for each below.)

• Idea pitch – Monday, April 14 at 11:59pm (10 points)*
• Project outline – Due Monday, April 21 at 11:59pm (Worth 20 points)*
• First draft – Due Monday, April 28 at 11:59pm (Worth 40 points)*
• Revised draft – Due, Wednesday, May 7 at 12:30pm (Worth 75 points)
• In-class Presentation – Wednesday, May 7 (During Final Exam Period) at 12:30pm (Worth 5 points)

Data Viz: Top Streamed Songs on Spotify

You are going to replicate this scatter bubble chart of the most streamed songs on Spotify

Use this spreadsheet of the top 100 songs by genre

In Flourish

use Scatter>Bubble template

Set your columns to the following:

X values: Year Released
Y values: Streams
Name: Song
Color: Genre
Size: Streams
Filter control: Genre
Info for Popups: A-E

Preview

Theme: Flourish: Apex

Controls:

Click second option to make buttons for genre

Header

Title: 100 Most Streamed Songs on Spotify

Text: What musical genres dominate Spotify? Which top songs were released before streaming even existed? Are your favorite artists on the list? Explore the most streamed song of all time by clicking on each bubble and filtering by musical styles.

Export and Publish and copy and paste your link into Canvas

Data Viz: Biggest NFL Contracts

You are going to replicate this visualization of the biggest NFL contracts

Use this spreadsheet

In Flourish

Use the Hierarchy>Tree Map template

Set your columns to the following:

Nesting: Team, Player-Position
Size by: Contract Value
Filter: Position
Pop-Up: D-J

Preview…

Colors:
Custom Override

Copy and paste the following hex color codes

Arizona: #97233F
Atlanta: #A71930
Baltimore: #241773
Buffalo: #00338D
Carolina: #0085CA
Chicago: #0B162A
Cincinnati: #FB4F14
Cleveland: #311D00
Dallas: #041E42
Denver: #FB4F14
Detroit: #0076B6
Green Bay: #203731
Houston: #03202F
Indianapolis: #002C5F
Jacksonville: #D7A22A
Kansas City: #E31837
Los Angles Chargers: #002A5E
Los Angles Rams: #003594
Las Vegas: #A5ACAF
Miami: #008E97
Minnesota: #4F2683
New England: #002244
New Orleans: #D3BC8D
NY Giants: #0B2265
NY Jets: #125740
Philadelphia: #004C54
Pittsburgh: #FFB612
San Francisco: #AA0000
Seattle: #002244
Tampa Bay: #D50A0A
Tennessee: #0C2340
Washington: #773141

Controls
Filter All Label: All Positions

Header:

Title The 100 Biggest Contracts in the NFL

Text: Explore the largest contracts in the National Football League. Click on individual players, teams and filter by position to compare how much each player makes on game day.

Export and Publish and submit your link to Canvas

Week 10 – April 2

I will give Final Project overview next Monday

Guest Speaker Steve Stirling coming Week of April 14

Charts and Graph Thought-Starter and Data Viz Project

Intro to Flourish Data Viz Platform

Reviewing Assignment 4: Making Rowan Crime Graphs using Flourish (10 points – pass/fail)

Assignment 5: Circle Chart of 50 Highest Paid Athletes 2024 (15 points graded) due Monday, April 7 by 11:59pm (Work on it and bring questions to class on Monday)

Assignment 6: 2020-2024 U.S Presidential Election Map (15 points graded) due Monday, April 7 by 11:59pm (Work on it and bring questions to class on Monday)