To create reliable and interesting content, a journalist must be able to handle not only the sources of information in their country, but also open international databases. There are several useful websites of various organizations from different international spheres to which Russia is related. Being in the know about these sources and being able to use them is one of the main challenges for data journalism.
For social analysis
The largest source of statistical data is the World Bank Open Data . It collects statistics on 570 indicators of world development for 208 countries from 1960. Social, economic indicators, data on the environment and natural resources are presented. In this database, you can find information about government debt, foreign investment, and the country's financial flows. Thus, Bloomberg successfully uses information from the World Bank Open Data in its article on the economic success of South Korea : "South Korea's percapital income stood at $33,790 in 2019 based on World Bank data, slightly below Italy's $34,530”. The Russian medium The Village uses information about the risk of domestic violence for women from the World Bank Open Data website for its social research .
More detailed statistical information about the countries of the European Union is best viewed on the website of the Statistical Service of the European Union (Eurostat) . Here you can find general and regional statistics on EU countries, their economic, financial, social and demographic indicators, as well as data on industry and trade. The BBC often uses Eurostat as a source. For example, their article on why two-thirds of Spaniards live in apartments uses data on the characteristics of real estate markets in different countries, according to the Eurostat website.
For economic analysis
If a journalist wants to conduct research with reliable facts from the economic sphere about the financial situation of countries, you can use the OECD .Stat website . It contains information on various industry indicators of the member countries of the Organization for Economic Cooperation, as well as other countries. To learn more about the oil industry (reserves, prices, taxes, oil production) and to collect data from OPEC countries, visit the official OPEC Data / Graphs website .
Most often, data journalism, including in Russian media, refers to information from the website of the International Monetary Fund . It collects data about different periods or spans of time on economic and financial indicators on the scale of individual countries and the world as a whole, as well as information on currency exchange. For example, the Russian business medium RBC often uses the IMF website as a source, including the creation of an informational occasion. Thus, in January 2021, the IMF improved its forecast for Russia's economic growth, which is immediately reported by RBC . TASS also uses the IMF report on the growth of oil prices in 2021 as an informational occasion.
Data on trade flows, tariffs and the share of trade of different countries in the world can be found on the WTO website (WTO Statistics) . A journalist of the Russian medium “Kommersant” successfully uses such open data in an interview with the Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade : “In the context of the pandemic, the volume of global exports has sharply decreased. According to the WTO, in monetary terms in the first quarter, it decreased by 6%, in the second-by 21%. How did this affect Russian non-oil exporters?”
Thus, the journalist is able to dive into the topic and ask the right questions to economic experts.
For business community analysis
You can analyze the state of business in the world, consumer trends and production trends using the Euromonitor International website . The database presents market research on countries, industries, companies, and consumers. Using it, a journalist can get comprehensive data to analyze the business environment, industry indicators, market shares by brands and companies, the industry composition of the world's largest economies, and the relationship between companies (B2B). Thus, in the article “The virus changes the DNA of the consumer” , the Kommersant uses the Euromonitor International report on the main consumer trends of 2021 as an informational occasion.
...and more useful resources
If a journalist needs to follow technical innovations and trends in digitalization, then the JSON.TV resource will be useful for him, where research is conducted mainly on technical topics. The database contains data on the Internet of things, digitalization, blockchain, artificial intelligence, telecom, as well as advertising, online games, education, and much more.
The journalist can find unusual statistics on countries and on 170 industries on the Statista resource , one of the largest databases. For example, if you are wondering which country has the most people on social media or how much the average glass of wine in the UK costs in 2020, you can go to this site. The BBC often uses this resource, as, for example, in an article about crypto hackers : “According to the leading statistical database Statista, more than 47 million people use virtual money in the world”.
Data journalism opens up new opportunities for producing fascinating and reliable stories, features, articles, and news. That is why a journalist should be able to handle all possible sources of reliable data, especially the most popular and important ones.