Tip: How to find data sources for your investigations

Credit: Markus Winkler from Pixabay

With so much false information and the proliferation of unverified websites, it sometimes feels impossible to find a reliable and relevant data source.

But there are solutions, wrote Nicole Martin, an Argentinian investigative journalist and ambassador of Chicas Poderosas and Carla Nudel, a journalist and trainer specialising in digital tools and media innovation, in an article published by IJNet.

One of their tips is using advanced search operators. For example, adding "filetype" to your query helps you find specific formats like PDFs, or adding "site" to your search will point you to the exact website or domain that contain information about your topic.

The authors also advise to narrow down the scope of your story, always double-check your information, set alerts for updates and remember Ernest Hemingway’s 'Iceberg Theory.'

"If an investigation is well done, only 25 per cent of the findings are visible in our final story — just as only the tip of an iceberg is visible, and the rest is hidden underwater," the authors explain.

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