Using Data to Report on Conflict
Conflict seems like the backbone of 21st century society. It seems everywhere we turn, new horrors rear their head, and the information available on the consequences of these events is often variable. Some states try to suppress their crimes against humanity, while others simply get lost in the shuffle, caught in the crossfire of an ongoing problem with little to no recourse for getting themselves out. In searching for data sets to use to report on these problems, how can journalists narrow their focus?
Here are some tips to keep in mind.
CHECK HOW YOUR SOURCES SORT THEIR INFORMATION
Check how your sources sort their information.
The Uppsala Conflict Data Program (UCDP) collects data on peacekeeping agreements and the conflicts that arise from those, whether from intrastate armed conflict or non-state agent conflict, and on one-sided violence, presenting that data in a variety of ways. Maps and graphs with easy to read trend lines and clear numbers demarcate the system. For example, one looking at a map of France will have access to all conflict data from 1989 onwards. The data since 1989 shows that 249 people have been killed in France: 238 to one-sided violence (most from the attacks from the Islamic State in 2015) and 11 to state-sponsored violence. Other sources sort information in real time and further down by actors, type of violence, casualties, and other consequences.
MAKE SURE YOU HAVE THE STORY IN MIND ALREADY
“Conflict” is a nebulous term that in and of itself does not lead to any particular social injustice or important information. Humans experience a lot of conflict. But knowing what you’re looking for going in – a question to have answered by seeking out this data – is very important. For example, reports with The Washington Post used data to support the following question: “Why is violence seemingly higher in a post-COVID-19 society?” Data sets found that neighborhoods impacted by poverty were hit hardest by death, disease, shortages, money problems, and other social issues due to the fallout of COVID-19 lockdowns and other unsatisfactory government responses to the pandemic.
EVALUATE THE DATA
One of the best parts of having databases is that they often evaluate their own data, making our work minimal. But the importance of confirming the data individually remains. How do we do that?
There are a few avenues, including:
Checking sources. Where did this database get this data from? Some places collect their information from official sources if available, such as the country’s own records, but if the country is getting in the way, this step becomes all the more valuable. Checking the source also means checking out exactly what metric the source is measuring, how they are defining that metric, and if the source has any agenda in proving that metric. For instance, is it sponsored by any PAC or company?
Methodology. This refers to the source of the source, so to speak, or else how they came across the information to begin with. Is this an amalgamation of impartial studies from which they are deriving an average? Is it their own data collection resources? Or did they commission a study to do numbers for them in such a way that would support a covert agenda?
Transparency. Are they clear about where they got their information or does it take several minutes of searching through a lot of data or else irrelevant information to simply find their source? Datasets that are not transparent about where they acquire their data are usually that way for a reason.
PRESENTING IT DURING INTERVIEWS
One of the greatest assets of working with datasets is the questions they naturally create. If conflict trended downward in 2015 only to climb again in 2017, why? And if the reason points to the election of a political party, some sort of major policy event in the country, or else some other piece of the puzzle, that’s a key point that you will want to touch upon in interviews with the people of the region, including politicians, in order to elicit the reaction you want. Datasets support advocacy, and when dealing with anti-advocacy politicians or political movements, asking those questions pointedly is important for getting the word out.
Datasets are a journalist’s most valuable tool if they can find them and figure out how to work with them. The process of formulating your question should come alongside research, and using these databases to further ask and answer questions will naturally deepen our search for truth, as well as give us clearer goals.
