Making federal data more useful and accessible to fuel media and democracy Journalist's Resource: Research for Reporting, from Harvard Shorenstein Center

"As part of the December 2014 meeting of the Federal Committee on Statistical Methodology, Journalist’s Resource at Harvard’s Shorenstein Center has authored some recommendations to help the principal federal statistical agencies communicate better with media and, by extension, interested citizens. A variety of ideas were generated through website analysis, testing and conversations with experts. Proposed ideas are as follows: 1) In terms of media communications-related recommendations: Hold regular workshops with journalists of all kinds, particularly non-specialists; when journalists need help with data, provide access to expert government officials; and regularly offer media organizations the chance to articulate their needs for original data collection. 2) In terms of data content- and presentation-related recommendations: Rethink what agencies collect with a more 'citizen-centric' approach; find data that speak to the technology revolution and related changes; stay relevant and current on the Web, repurposing materials as news trends emerge and emphasizing shorter 'quick hits' from large datasets and reports; and feature salient data points in large reports and design visualizations for news sites. 3) In terms of technical/Web-related recommendations: Consider a more standardized Web interface across agencies – and responsive design; build an intuitive, app-like version of each site for more general users; design for better site search and search engine optimization; be clear about the quality of data; get stronger on public education and metadata; offer many data formats and consider use cases and accessibility; and create more Application Programming Interfaces (APIs) that are tailored to needs of news and information companies ..."