Pitching Data Investigations

This document asks essential questions to plan data investigations and experiments. Revisit these questions throughout your reporting and research, and use them to communicate your intentions and limitations with your editor. It will help determine if a story is worth pursuing by giving an estimation of time, complexity, and impact.

As a side benefit, these questions form the backbone of a methodology to get reviewed by experts, as well as the subject of your investigation.

Copy the checklist as text below, or as a public Google Doc.

Accountability Reporting Checklist

To direct reporting, highlight open factual questions to answer.

Hypothesis: What is the reporting question?
This is an investigative claim (1-2 sentences) that can be tested.

Wrongdoing: Who is causing it? Who is harmed?
Who are the key players?
What’s the scale (size of the market, # of people affected) and scope (local, national, international)?
Is it getting worse?

Accountability: What standard will I use to assess harm?
Note relevant laws (regulation) and corporate claims to check.
Is there hypocrisy, misuse of power, or legal gray areas?
Is the problem being addressed?

Lit Review and Anecdotes: What evidence supports the hypothesis?
Include the best research and reporting (with links) on the subject.
What will we do differently and what do we bring to the table?
Have you conducted preliminary interviews or found other leads?

Categorization: Choose accurate and reproducible terminology.
Seldom are key variables found neat and tidy within a spreadsheet column.
How will you categorize terms (“hate speech” or “slow internet”)?
Are there experts to lean on?

Viability: What is a quick experiment and reporting plan to test the hypothesis?
Determine whether we have a feasible story early.

Key ingredients: List with specificity.
Note the “getability” of each item.

• Humans – what does the ideal interviewee look like?

• Documents – Are there agencies to FOIA or other receipts we can find?

• Data – how will you gather, sample, merge, clean, analyze the data?

• Observation - ground-truthing, field reporting, etc.
  

Visualize the article: what are possible headlines, copy, or graphics?
With reporting elements in hand, how will you present the key information to readers?

Expectations: what are the min and max stories?

• Minimum story

• Maximum story
  

Bulletproofing: What are obstacles and limitations?
What problems do you foresee and how do we address them?
Are there outside experts or colleagues who will roleplay Reviewer #2?

List of questions to answer before proceeding
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Acknowledgements

This checklist is adapted from a checklist used by my editors Julia Angwin and Evelyn Larrubia at The Markup. As of 2025, I have incorporated aspects of several other checklists used by peers across different newsrooms. Jeremy Singer-Vine provided feedback on an previous draft of the adapted list.