Last week’s Hacks and Hackers was all about data. Specifically, it was all about data relating to the election.
Representatives from YouGov and the Guardian spoke to us about polls, election coverage and potential results.
It was a great night – mainly because it sparked discussion on how we can use data in new ways to tell stories about the election. Aside from an interactive map showing the outcome of each constituency, what else can we do to engage readers in a long, drawn-out and potentially boring campaign?
YouGov’s job
YouGov’s Head of Political and Social Research, Joe Twyman, captivated the whole room with his amusing presentation on potential outcomes of the election – as well as other, more unusual, polling data.He showed us how it is virtually impossible for any one party to claim a majority in 2015. While this may be bad for the country, it’s incredibly exciting for us data journalists.
Leader approval rating.... (Note where 0 is.) @joetwyman at #hhldn #ge2015 pic.twitter.com/l5CD4YqgH1
— Sarah Marshall (@SarahMarshall) March 25, 2015
Far from the standard polls you see on TV or in the newspapers, Joe dedicated a lot of time enlightening us on the sexual fantasies of each of the main parties’ supporters.Turns out Ukippers want to use a dildo, and Labour supporters' fantasies include oral sex, role play and spanking. It's true. The data tells us.
Self-reported sexual fantasies of party supporters. @JoeTwyman's talk has just gone from great to amazing. #HHLDN pic.twitter.com/vXC7pGSKaG
— Giuseppe Sollazzo (@puntofisso) March 25, 2015
My colleague Ben Jackson is currently working on the data to find out what else we can find out about sex and politics. I’m looking forward to seeing what comes out of this interesting topic.In a wider context, however, this kind of data represents the kind of fun reporting that will draw people into the political discussion.
Great event at Hack/Hackers last night with @AlbertoNardelli. More on the sex in Sex Lies and the Ballot Box: http://t.co/hPIHcj6IvG #HHLDN
— Joe Twyman (@JoeTwyman) March 26, 2015
The Guardian’s way
Next up was Alberto Nardelli, data editor at the Guardian. From an infographic on the amount of times particular politicians appeared on BBC Question Time, to the Guardian's interactive poll tracker and projection, he told us how his team works to produce their fantastic resources.
People always say that @Nigel_Farage is on #QuestionTime — but @guardian data suggests otherwise #hhldn pic.twitter.com/djoWSLSasx
— Ayden Férdeline (@ferdeline) March 25, 2015
He said data should be combined with story, something I have since blogged about from my own experience.
“Data without humanity is meaningless,” he argued. The challenge, then, is to find out how this can work in election coverage. A panel-based page, with each panel containing swing voters' concerns? How about broken down by region or constituency? Can we host our communities' emotional reactions to each political leader?
#hhldn - what's the traffic gain from data visualisation? Long engagement says @AlbertoNardelli
— Anna Leach (@annajleach) March 25, 2015
He also said that data is the enabler and challenger of misperceptions. This is an important point, particularly with the leaders’ debates coming up. Many claims will be made in this election, and some will be untrue. It is the data journalists’ job to highlight these errors or untruths.
"It's almost impossible to predict the results of the election," says @AlbertoNardelli - "but it's very fun to try" #hhldn
— Jeremy Evans (@JeremyNEvans) March 25, 2015
So what did we learn?
We left the event thinking of new ways to try and bring data to life. Everyone in this election will be seeking to try out new things – but inevitably, most will be produce similar coverage, and the BBC will probably do it best.#GE2015 will be full of exit polls and interactive maps, but those at #HHLDN will be trying to do something new.
Debunking false claims is one of data’s biggest uses, as is using more obscure polls to find new, accessible angles into reporting.
But there’s another, bigger point to take away. All major publications will be using similar tools, methods and presentations when they cover the bread and butter of elections: poll predictions and results. If someone can come up with a new way of doing this, instead of the standard map and swingometer, it will be an even more exciting time to be a data journalist.
Cool article :)
ReplyDeleteBeing a researcher requires strict following plan on systematizing collected data and in order to do it some people ask for help academic writing services