Whether you’re seeking some story ideas through examples or need a quick primer on how the Census Bureau or the Bureau of Labor Statistics come up with their estimates, here is a resource library.

We hope to build this into a thorough collection for journalists; so if you have a suggestion for something that needs to be added, let us know.

Valuable links

A collection of useful links for data journalists.

Data Mining Examples

Need a story idea or an example of how certain data can be used? Visit our story link site. If you saw one of our presentations in a classroom or at a conference, this is where you can go to find many of the stories we mentioned.

Understanding the unemployment rates

There are a lot of misconceptions among readers about how the unemployment rate is determined. Here’s a primer.

Understanding the work of the Census Bureau

Here’s what you need to know about the difference between the once-every-10-year Census and the ongoing American Community Survey, as well as other annual estimates produced by the Census Bureau.

Making tax stories reader friendly, and accurate

Learn how to cut through Ohio’s complicated tax code to deliver stories that are informative and accurate – and include the real cost of a tax proposal.

Step-by-step Excel directions

An easy how-to for many basic Excel tasks, from making spreadsheets print on one page to inserting formulas to do math. These instructions are geared to the older Excel 2011, but apply to many of the tasks in other versions. For instructions geared directlyy to the older Excel 97, use this link.

Google Fusion interactive maps: step-by-step instructions

An easy how-to for making interactive maps, using Google Fusion. One requirement: you need a Google account. But you can embed the final product in any blog or website.