Computer Assisted Investigative Reporting: Development and Methodology

Abstract

"Computer-Assisted Investigative Reporting: Development and Methodology" by Margaret H. DeFleur is reviewed.

DeFleur, Margaret H. (1997). ComputerAssisted Investigative Reporting: Development and Methodology. Mahwah, NJ.: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates. Paperback, $24.50. Hardback, $59.95.

"CAIR." The word sounds Scottish-like the Scotts' name for a kind of dog, or a heap of stones. But no.

"CAIR," the leading acronym in Margaret DeFleur's ambitious text on the topic, stands for "computer-assisted investigative reporting." It's a facet of investigative journalism that well might be Scottish, or Greek, to many journalists and journalism teachers.

That's because CAIR involves analysis of giant government data bases, which requires using database management programs or writing special computer programs. Comparatively few can do that, although, as DeFleur rightly states, "Reporting on government ... now requires an ability to use computers ... [and] the need for such proficiency will increase." If so, the appropriateness of her book will increase too."

The book is ambitious because ultimately it offers a formal "systematic methodology" for large database analysis. The methodology reflects considerable thought. Likewise it reflects lessons learned from a revealing project DeFleur directed that analyzed 5.5 million federal court cases. And then there's the implication that the author wishes journalists to follow the "series of steps, strategies, and responsibilities" she describes. Thus journalism would gain added credibility.

DeFleur presents her methodology in the book's ninth, and final, chapter, making it a kind of how-to-do-it guide. Yet, as DeFleur puts it, "Computer-Assisted Investigative Reporting is not a `how-to' book ... it will not tell ... exactly which buttons to push on the computer... or which specific software to use, but it will help to plan and conceptualize a project."

Fulfilling that promise should help resolute reporters and professors teaching computer-assisted or investigative reporting. Maybe some graduate students too. But not undergraduates.

Indeed, undergraduate-friendly texts resembling DeFleur's are few. Brant Houston's 286-page Computer Assisted Reporting: A Practical Guide is one. The 1996 edition, which is being revised, sketchily covers many topics DeFleur raises. Yet it does tell the buttons to push and the software to use.

Bruce Garrison's seemingly similar Computer-Assisted Reporting also tills some of DeFleur's ground and delves into the history of computer use in journalism, discussions of government record keeping and such. But Garrison's expansive, 410-page volume doesn't focus tightly on investigative database analysis.

Such things aside, De Fleur provides what's arguably an added value. The Boston University theory and methods and computer applications professor compares computer-assisted investigative reporting with social science research and precision journalism; clearly outlines the goals, theories, and caveats of each, and explains the science of social science.

That's a boon for reporters and some academics who little heeded such stuff way back when, or who may have gotten a little rusty lately.