Methods 2
Study Board of Political Science, Journalism, Sociology, and European Studies
Teaching language: Danish
EKA: B330009102
Censorship: Second examiner: None
Grading: 7-point grading scale
Offered in: Odense
Offered in: Autumn
Level: Master
Course ID: B330009101
ECTS value: 10
Date of Approval: 13-03-2018
Duration: 1 semester
Course ID
Course Title
Teaching language
ECTS value
Responsible study board
Date of Approval
Course Responsible
Offered in
Level
Offered in
Duration
Mandatory prerequisites
Recommended prerequisites
Besides having completed Metode 1, this course does not require students to have this knowledge prior to the course. A good portion of interest is sufficient.
Aim and purpose
Media outlets more and more build upon data-driven stories. That is, the increase in available data and the rise in computational resources enable editors to incorporate new types of storytelling. The course enables students to find questions and answer those using data. This not only includes finding stories from but also entails telling stories with data.
Content
The course is partly theoretical but mostly practical. We try to accomplish as many examples as possible in order to gain experience. Theoretically, the course is located at the borderline between journalism and information technology, with a strong focus on journalism (= no programming skills necessary).
Learning goals
By the end of the course, students should have gained the following skills:
•find appropriate data in order to answer data-based questions
•collect/fetch this data using one or multiple techniques, like web scraping, RSS fetching, API controlling, etc.
•handle/cleanup data using Google Spreadsheet, Microsoft Excel, and OpenRefine
•introduction to basic programming, using PHP/MySQL
•find trends and outliers in data using Google Spreadsheet, Microsoft Excel, or (optional) SPSS/R
•visualize data using Google Spreadsheet, Microsoft Excel, and CartoDB.
To not only know about handling these tools but also to practically apply this knowledge, we will also discuss the following:
What are appropriate questions to answer with data?
How to approach DDJ projects alone/in teams?
What are appropriate ways of analysis/visualization?
What is an appropriate degree of complexity?
Who owns data?
Where are (moral) boundaries of DDJ?
Literature
Teaching Method
The blocked course consists of 34 hours of class in the beginning of the semester. These hours include face-to-face classes and assignments to accomplish alone or in groups of two. The students will work on their assignment and have the chance to receive supervision throughout the course.
Workload
Class: 34 hours.
Reading, preparation and voluntary exercises: 136 hours.
Work on final assignment: 100 hours (including 40 hours during exam period).
Total: 270 hours.
Examination regulations
Exam
Name
Exam
Timing
Ordinary examination in January and re-exam in February.
Rules
-3 is not allowed
Tests
Exam
Name
Exam
Form of examination
Take-home assignment
Censorship
Second examiner: None
Grading
7-point grading scale
Identification
Student Identification Card - Date of birth
Language
Danish
Duration
Date for submission will appear from the examination plan.
Length
There are no requirements for the number of pages of the journalistic product as long as the product demonstrates that the student can use several of the programmes and techniques introduced in class. The academic report should be between a minimum of 9 and a maximum of 11 pages (1 page = 2400 characters including spaces) from one student, and a minimum of 15 and a maximum of 17 pages for two students. This is including appendix and foot- or endnotes and excluding front page and table of content.
Examination aids
All exam aids allowed. Internet access necessary.
Assignment handover
Course page in Blackboard during the semester.
Assignment handin
Via SDU-assignment in the course page in Blackboard.
ECTS value
10
Additional information
Written take home assignment that can be completed by one or two students. The take home assignment consists of a journalistic product and an academic report. The students will get an individual grade for the assignment, but are encouraged to work in pairs.
The exam question will be handed out during the semester. Students can receive one hour of personal supervision on their assignment during the course. Students working together are entitled to two hours of supervision.
Re-examination
A revised version of the exam assignment meeting the same conditions can be handed in.
EKA
B330009102
External comment
NOTE - This course is identical with the former course Journalistiske værktøjer, Methods 2 (99011201).
Used examination attempts in the former identical course will be transferred.
Courses that are identical with former courses that are passed according to applied rules cannot be retaken.
The student is automatically registered for the first examination attempt when the student is registered for a course or course element with which one or more examinations are associated. Withdrawal of registration is not possible, and students who fail to participate in an examination have used one examination attempt, unless the University has made an exemption due to special circumstances.
If a student does not meet the established university prerequisites for taking the exam, he or she has used one examination attempt, unless the University has made an exemption due to special circumstances.
Courses offered
| Offer period | Offer type | Profile | Education | Semester |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fall 2018 | Mandatory | Kandidatuddannelsen i Journalistik (cand.public.), gældende fra og med 1. februar 2015 | Master of Arts (MA) in Journalism | Odense | 2 |