Resto Zero

Data and its impact on journalism

tiagojacinto — Mon, 12 Jul 2010 16:45:28 +0000

In regards to the UK’s recent boom in open data, Simon Rogers of the Guardian, ponders data’s role in journalism, and the opportunities this new found information could bring:

The impact on journalism is expected to be great. The Chicago-based web developer and founder of the neighbourhood news site EveryBlock, Adrian Holovaty, says it’s going to be challenging but exciting for journalists. “As more governments open their data, journalists lose privileged status as gatekeepers of information – but the need for their work as curators and explainers increases. The more data that’s available in the world, the more essential it is for somebody to make sense of it.”

This need not only creates a fresh brand of news, but also a new type of journalist:

I once prided myself on my lack of maths knowledge. Now I find myself editing a datajournalism site, the Guardian’s datablog: a site where we use Google Spreadsheets to post key datasets. We make the data properly accessible, then encourage our users to take the numbers, produce graphics and applications and help us look for stories.

Priding yourself on a lack of know-how on how to deal with data is a little weird, but okay.

In any case, people always ask me how to get into information design, infographics, visualization etc. Journalism is one of those choices, and there’s a lot of opportunity there if you’ve got the skills.

—
Data and its impact on journalism / Follow @flowingdata on Twitter or fan on Facebook for more data goodness.

Published by

Original source : http://flowingdata.com/2010/06/07/data-and-its-imp…

Comic for May 14, 2010

tiagojacinto — Mon, 12 Jul 2010 16:45:27 +0000

Published by

Original source : http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/DilbertDailyStrip/~…

05/10/10 PHD comic: ‘What?’

tiagojacinto — Mon, 12 Jul 2010 16:45:27 +0000

Piled Higher & Deeper by Jorge Cham		www.phdcomics.com

title: "What?" – originally published 5/10/2010 For the latest news in PHD Comics, CLICK HERE!

Published by

Original source : http://www.phdcomics.com/comics.php?f=1315…

Comic for May 7, 2010

tiagojacinto — Mon, 12 Jul 2010 16:45:26 +0000

Published by

Original source : http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/DilbertDailyStrip/~…

Garfield 24.04.10

tiagojacinto — Mon, 12 Jul 2010 16:45:25 +0000

Published by

Original source : http://images.ucomics.com/comics/ga/2010/ga100424….

April 21, 2010

tiagojacinto — Mon, 12 Jul 2010 16:45:25 +0000

Published by

Original source : http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Wulffmorgenthaler/~…

WTD 953

tiagojacinto — Mon, 12 Jul 2010 16:45:24 +0000

Published by

Original source : http://www.whattheduck.net/strip/953…

WTD 952

tiagojacinto — Mon, 12 Jul 2010 16:45:23 +0000

Published by

Original source : http://www.whattheduck.net/strip/952…

An International Comparison of Web-based Reporting About Health Care Quality: Content Analysis

tiagojacinto — Mon, 12 Jul 2010 16:45:22 +0000

Background: On more and more websites, consumers are provided with public reports about health care. This move toward provision of more comparative information has resulted in different information types being published that often contain contradictory information. Objective: The objective was to assess the current state of the art in the presentation of online comparative health care information and to compare how the integration of different information types is dealt with on websites. The content analysis was performed in order to provide website managers and Internet researchers with a resource of knowledge about presentation formats being applied internationally. Methods: A Web search was used to identify websites that contained comparative health care information. The websites were systematically examined to assess how three different types of information (provider characteristics and services, performance indicators, and health care user experience) were presented to consumers. Furthermore, a short survey was disseminated to the reviewed websites to assess how the presentation formats were selected. Results: We reviewed 42 websites from the following countries: Australia, Canada, Denmark, Germany, Ireland, the Netherlands, Norway, the United Kingdom, the United States, and Sweden. We found the most common ways to integrate different information types were the two extreme options: no integration at all (on 36% of the websites) and high levels of integration in single tables on 41% of the websites). Nearly 70% of the websites offered drill down paths to more detailed information. Diverse presentation approaches were used to display comparative health care information on the Internet. Numbers were used on the majority of websites (88%) to display comparative information. Conclusions: Currently, approaches to the presentation of comparative health care information do not seem to be systematically selected. It seems important, however, that website managers become aware of the complexities inherent in comparative information when they release information on the Web. Important complexities to pay attention to are the use of numbers, the display of contradictory information, and the extent of variation among attributes and attribute levels. As for the integration of different information types, it remains unclear which presentation approaches are preferable. Our study provides a good starting point for Internet research to further address the question of how different types of information can be more effectively presented to consumers.

This is the abstract only. Read the full article on the JMIR site. JMIR is the leading open access journal for eHealth and healthcare in the Internet age.

Published by

Original source : http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/JMedInternetRes/~3/…

04/14/10 PHD comic: ‘Two cents on the dollar’

tiagojacinto — Mon, 12 Jul 2010 16:45:19 +0000

Piled Higher & Deeper by Jorge Cham		www.phdcomics.com

title: "Two cents on the dollar" – originally published 4/14/2010 For the latest news in PHD Comics, CLICK HERE!

Published by

Original source : http://www.phdcomics.com/comics.php?f=1305…