Are you aware that the life of data has three parts: quantification, analysis and communication? Probably not. 

If you’re a journalist, understanding the principles behind data journalism is an important professional tool, more useful than just knowing how to use the latest software.

How data works is the theme of a new report, “The Curious Journalist’s Guide to Data” by Jonathan Stray, a fellow at the Tow Center for Digital Journalism at Columbia Journalism School. 

He writes in the executive summary, “This report brings together many fields to explore where data comes from, how to analyze it, and how to communicate your results. It uses examples from journalism to explain everything from Bayesian statistics to the neurobiology of data visualization, all in plain language with lots of illustrations. Some of these ideas are thousands of years old, some were developed only a decade ago, and all of them have come together to create the 21st century practice of data journalism.”

With data journalism helping to mine for more stories in a different way, it is essential to understand what the material, the process and the results. This all leads to better reporting and, of course better stories.

Briefly the three parts of data are: 

• Quantification: The process that creates data.
• Analysis: Rearranging the data or combining it with other information to produce new knowledge.
• Communication: None of the above is useful without sharing the results.