5 steps to a data story idea
| 1. Theme | Select a thematic area that you want to write about, such as rents or wages. |
| 2. Units > type |
Think about an appropriate unit of analysis. You always want to compare one thing to another thing. If you are comparing rents then you might compare housing units to housing units, or average rents in one neighborhood to another neighborhood. If you are comparing average wages, then you might compare metropolitan areas or job titles. * What will your choice of unit help to reveal or obscure about racial and power dynamics? |
| 3. Metrics > stable | The metrics are the points of comparison. But it does no good to compare things that are not comparable. For example, if you were comparing average reading levels across schools, you would not compare an elementary school to a high school. Pick some stabilizing variables, like age of students. |
| 4. Units > Points |
Pick points (i.e., a handful of particular units) from your units to craft your story around. It could be 2-bedroom apartments in Chelsea in 1980, 2000, 2019, and 2023. Try picking no more than eight at this stage. * Are the people associated with these points racially homogenous? |
| 5. Metrics > Variables | Now compare the points (particular units) you have selected with variables. The vacancy rate, the average rent, the number of units built in each year may all be different for two bedroom apartments in Chelsea in 1980 compared with 2000, 2019, and 2023. |