Term: Winter 2025
Instructor: David McKie
Email: davidmckiec@gmail.com
Phone: 613-290-7380
Office Hours: By appointment, via Zoom
Classes: Fridays: 2:35 pm ADT from Jan 6 to April 7, 2025 with synchronous remote delivery
No sessions/classes: Feb. 7, Munro Day;
Feb. 24, reading week
King’s and Halifax (Kjipuktuk) sit on unceded Mi’kmaw land in Mi’kma’ki.
African Nova Scotians are a distinct people whose histories, legacies and contributions have
enriched Mi’kma’ki and Nova Scotia for more than 400 years
About me
I am an Ottawa-based, award-winning journalist who spent 26 years honing his skills at the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation as an investigative producer.
I am the National Observer’s deputy managing editor.
I teach at the schools of journalism at Carleton University, the University of King’s College, and Toronto Metropolitan University, and have co-authored three journalism textbooks and two user guides on freedom-of-information laws and privacy, respectively.
In addition to my teaching, I’m a data-journalism trainer who has conducted workshops for the Canadian Association of Journalists, the U.S.-based National Institute for Computer-Assisted Reporting, the Humber Institute of Technology and Advanced Learning, and the Canadian Association of Community Television Users and Stations. I also continue to offer data-journalism training to the CBC.
I’m a judge for the National Institute for Computer-Assisted Reporting’s Philip Meyer Journalism Award, and the Investintech – Canadian Association of Journalist Data Journalism Scholarship.
I have a Bachelor of Journalism degree and a Master of Journalism degree from Carleton.
You can find more information about me on my online cv.
Course Description
So what kind of problems can we solve using data journalism (there’s that term again!) tools?
We can quickly find the biggest construction contract or the smallest car (or CAR). We can
answer questions such as how much? How many? Answers to those questions, and many others, are buried in datasets, some easier to obtain than others.
And there are many ways to analyze the data. For instance, we can sort and filter a table to see what pops to the top. We can use pivot tables to summarize the data in such a way as to see newsworthy patterns. Or we can take two different datasets to see how they compare or what they have in common. And we can visualize our findings with a bar or line graph, scatterplot, or whatever we like.
And speaking of visualizations, we can also make maps to how the patterns we’ve discovered in our data are displayed within geographic boundaries such as neighbourhoods, census tracts or political ridings.
Ultimately, we can use these skills to tell original stories, or stories that give newsworthy events, additional context. If your journalism exists behind a paywall, as is the case with many media outlets, this is the kind of original content that will entice subscribers.
We’re going to Excel use an open source SQL database program called MySQL for our analysis, and simple queries that will slice through the data in seconds. MySQL also allows you to combine tables from the same dataset (Statistics Canada, or municipal restaurant inspections, for instance), or tables from different datasets such as lobbying records and political donations.
A note about tools This kind of work gives us a lot of choices, and one of those is which tools we will use to work with our data. Some prefer the point-and-click familiarity of a spreadsheet and others the raw power of structured query language, usually written as SQL. Some like doing everything in code. Yet others use proprietary platforms such as Tableau. Much of it comes down to personal preference and perhaps what you happened to learn first. The key is having a base knowledge about data journalism, and then finding the tool(s) to fit your purposes and level of expertise.
Tools have evolved, however, as has their usage by journalists, even while the underlying intellectual practice has stayed relatively the same. Our goal, therefore, is to understand those methods while learning about them using a technology that is relevant today. We’ll begin with Excel, referred to as data journalism’s Swiss army knife, capable of accomplishing many tasks with minimal effort. The advantage of Excel and Google Sheets, is the relatively shallow learning curve. Once you have a basic knowledge, learning advanced techniques to give your analysis more depth is easier than you think. However, Excel can only take you so far. A database containing hundreds of thousands, or even millions of rows, is too large for Excel. Enter one solution: the database manager MySQL.
The SQL queries produce tables that can be exported and opened in Excel to continue your analysis that could lead to stories.
Those stories will contain more than words. In our increasingly multimedia universe, our stories possess contain graphics. For this we can use Datawrapper or Tableau. While Datawrapper is the easier of the two to learn, Tableau has more raw power, allowing users to create more complicated visuals and interactive dashboards. We will be using both programs in this course, giving you the choice of which one to use for your final project.
While both programs can produce maps, the best tool for creating these visualizations is ArcGIS Online, a mapping tool that can create layers to show audiences the census tracts with the highest level of poverty, expensive houses, or the highest rates of property crimes such as break-ins and car thefts.
We will also learn the different ways to obtain this data. Many datasets reside on federal, provincial and municipal open-data portals. Other datasets are available for the asking. And when all else fails, we must file a formal access-to-information or freedom-of-information request. We’ll learn how to use these data-gathering techniques.
And, of course, once we obtain this data, we need to learn techniques to clean and analyse it.
Because we will be on Zoom, the classes will be recorded, allowing you to review the technical parts as instructional videos.
The tools you’ll need
Excel;
Google Sheets;
MySQL;
Datawrapper;
Tableau;
ArcGIS
Learning Objectives
By the end of this course you should be able to:
●Think critically about the role and use of data in journalism.
●Obtain data from a variety of sources for use in your reporting, including downloading data from open-data portals and filing formal and informal access-to-information requests.
●Adopt a problem-solving approach to using data and correcting its deficiencies.
●Choose the appropriate tool for solving a journalistic problem.
●Identify problems in data and correct them.
●Work with data: cleaning, sorting and filtering, summarizing, joining,
locating and visualizing.
●Use a relational database program to query data for patterns and outliers.
●Use a mapping application to find patterns and relationships in geographic data.
●Make charts and graphs to make the results of data analysis more accessible.
Additional learning objectives for each week will be posted in Brightspace and on the WordPress site I have created for this course.
Expected time commitment
You may need to put in an average of six to eight sustained hours into this course weekly, but this is just an estimate. By sustained hours, we mean hours on task, not including breaks. How much time it takes will depend on your own working habits and will also vary weekly with the content, hence the wide estimate.
Texts/Learning Materials
● Vallance-Jones, Fred, David Mckie, (2016) The Data Journalist, Toronto: Oxford
University Press. The best and cheapest way to obtain this book is to buy the e-book
version available at https://www.chapters.indigo.ca/en-ca/books/the-data-journalistgetting-
the/9780199020089-item.html. You can view it in the free Kobo app on a
smartphone, tablet or your computer. You can also buy a physical copy of the book in the university bookstore.
● Various websites
Required software
You will need to install necessary software on your own computer, beginning with Excel. You can use a Windows 10/11 PC or a Mac using MacOS. You will need to install the MySQL Community Edition database manager program from MySQL.org. We’ll discuss in class. We’ll use Datawrapper, Tableau and ArcGIS Online. You can set up a free account at Datawrapper.de. We will also sign you up for a Tableau account and provide a ArcGIS account.
We assume you already have Excel installed on your computer. If not, you can get it free from your my.dal account. We do have some older Windows PCs available for loan if you don’t have a computer suitable for the course, which normally means a Windows 10/11 PC or a Mac, with its operating system still supported by the manufacturer and sufficient hard drive space and memory (100 gb and 8 gb respectively recommended).
Please let me know if you are unsure. If you do borrow a computer, you’ll need to sign a contract promising to return it or pay to replace it. We’ll figure out if your computer is suitable in the first class.
Ground Rules/Protocol
This course is hands-on, because learning by doing is always the best way to learn journalism methods and thinking.
Absences Reasonable accommodations at the discretion of the instructor will be made for students who, because of illness, are unable to attend class. Such accommodations may include rescheduled assignment due dates and presentations (where feasible), or alternate coursework (consistent with the integrity of the class evaluation). As a rule, if you are sick, you shouldn’t attend class.
For absences of UP TO THREE consecutive calendar days including a missed test or graded assignment, students must contact the course instructor in advance of the date of the academic requirement. They must then complete and submit a Student Declaration of Absence Form (Journalism) to the instructor in person, via email or through Brightspace no later than three calendar days after the last day of the absence.
Note: The form does not provide an automatic exemption from academic requirements that were missed or late during the absence; any alternate coursework arrangements for missed or late academic requirements are at the discretion of the instructor. For courses weighted three or six credit hours, a Student Declaration of Absence can be submitted for two separate absences, up to three days each, per course per term. For a nine-credit hour workshop, a Student Declaration of Absence can be submitted for a single such absence.
For absences of MORE THAN THREE consecutive days, a student should follow the same procedure and contact their course instructor within five calendar days after the last day of the absence. Documentation from an on-campus or other health care professional is required to support a long-term absence and should describe how the medical condition affects the student’s ability to fulfill academic requirements.
For a LONGER-TERM ABSENCE or MORE THAN TWO SHORT-TERM ABSENCES, a student is encouraged to meet with the School’s Graduate Coordinator or the Director of Journalism.
Ways to contact me
You can email me for non-time-sensitive matters. Please start the subject line with JOUR6705. I respond promptly.
Assessment
- Data FOI request. File a request for a dataset and follow it through the course. Write a summary of your experience. If you are lucky, you can use your FOI data for the final project. 15 per cent of the grade
- Data story presentation. You will find a data-centered news story online, interview the reporter and prepare a 15-minute presentation to your classmates introducing the story, explaining the data and techniques used in the story, why you chose it as a good example of data techniques in practice, and how it contributes to public understanding of the topic. By data-centered we mean a story that has its origins in data and data analysis as discussed in class. By story, we mean journalism, so do a presentation on a news site online. We will have one or two presentations per week, starting in the third week of the course. There will be a signup sheet. We will allow up to 30 minutes including questions. 15 per cent of your grade
- Mini technical assignments. You will do four, mini in-class tests to gauge how well you have acquired technical skills with the following: Excel, MySQL, data visualization and mapping. Each test will be 5 per cent for a total of 20 per cent of your grade
- Final project. In this multi-part assignment, you will bring together data analysis and visualization techniques with text storytelling and basic photography. In the first part of the assignment, you will find and clean your dataset and complete your analysis and visualizations, by an agreed deadline in early March. Then, you will complete your conventional reporting and, and hand in a draft and visualizations revised per feedback by an agreed deadline in late March. Finally, after receiving more feedback, you will submit a final version of all of the work in the form of a draft Signal post, by an agreed deadline about when classes end.
Final project weighting: Initial data work and visualizations, 15 per cent. First draft of story, 10 per cent. Final draft of story, plus revised visualizations and your photos, 25 per cent. You will have regular individual check-ins with your instructor as you progress through the work. Final assignments that receive a grade of at least a B+ may be published in The Signal if publication standards are met.
Submission of Assignments
Assignments will be emailed.
Assignments reviewed
Data FOI request: 15 per cent – due date: TBD
Data story presentation: 15 per cent – due date: TBD
Four mini technical assignments: 20 per cent – due date: TBD
Initial data work and visualizations: 15 per cent – due date: TBD
First draft of story: per cent 10 – due date: TBD
Final draft of story, plus revised visualizations and photos: 25 per cent – due date: April 11
Readings schedule reviewed
By week two: Chapters 1, 2 and 3 by next week ;
By week four: Chapter 5;
By week five: Chapter 8
By week eight: Chapters 6 and 7
Deadlines & Late Penalties
The late penalty is 10 per cent of the assessed grade for every full or partial week an assignment is late, up to four full weeks late, after which assignments will not be accepted and will receive 0, except for the final assignment final draft, which cannot be more than one full week late. There is a one-day grace period before each week’s penalty kicks in, so an assignment handed in up to one day after the due date will not be penalized. There will be no individual extensions without extenuating circumstances such as illness or a family emergency
| Grade Scale | |||
| Grade | Grade Point Value | % | Definition |
| A+ | 4.30 | 90-100 | |
| A | 4.00 | 85-89 | |
| A- | 3.70 | 80-84 | |
| B+ | 3.30 | 77-79 | |
| B | 3.00 | 73-76 | |
| B- | 2.70 | 70-72 | |
| F | 0.00 | 0-69 | |
| INC | 0.00 | Incomplete | |
| ILL | Neutral and no credit obtained | Compassionate reasons, illness | |
Grading Rubrics
| Outstanding to Excellent (A- to A+) | Good to Very Good (B- to B+) | Below Standards (C+ and below) | |
| Required tasks and skills (100%) | Required tasks completed in such a way as to demonstrate mastery of the assignment’s specific skillset, as detailed in the individual assignment requirements. | Required tasks completed in such a way as to demonstrate good understanding of the assignment’s specific skillset, as detailed in the individual assignment requirements. | Required tasks completed in such a way as to demonstrate limited understanding of the assignment’s specific skillset, as detailed in the individual assignment requirements. |
Course Schedule
Note: This schedule will be adjusted as necessary depending on class progress. If it takes
longer for the class to master something, we will slow down. Conversely, if the class is slicing
through a topic, we can move on more quickly. The class will always be consulted on changes
to the schedule. Most importantly, if you are having trouble with something, please tell me. This is often-technical material that may be more challenging for some than for others. I won’t know if you don’t tell me.
Because of the George III/Munro Day holiday and reading week, we lose two
Fridays. Dal has given us the last Monday and Tuesday of term to catch up. That’s a bit awkward for regular classes, so we’ll use those two days to review skillsets that may be giving you problems.
Class 1-January 10 , 2025
What you will learn
– An introduction to different ways to obtain data: open data portals; information access-to-information requests and formal access-to-information requests;
– Data and data formats;
– Downloading tables from open-data portals and opening them in Excel
Links:
Question Period Notes
https://search.open.canada.ca/en/qp/
Completed Access to Information Requests
https://open.canada.ca/en/search/ati?_ga=2.69692565.406018153.1536604353-1818651053.1522773341
Open by Default
https://theijf.org/open-by-default
Open Government – Proactive disclosure and access to information
https://open.canada.ca/en
Secret Canada – The Globe and Mail’s access-to-information search tool
https://www.secretcanada.com/
Access to information
Access to Information and Privacy Coordinators
http://www.tbs-sct.gc.ca/atip-aiprp/apps/coords/index-eng.asp
Information about programs and holdings
https://www.canada.ca/en/treasury-board-secretariat/services/access-information-privacy/access-information/information-about-programs-information-holdings.html
Access to Information: general info
https://www.tbs-sct.gc.ca/hgw-cgf/oversight-surveillance/atip-aiprp/ai/index-eng.asp
Access to Information request forms
http://www.tbs-sct.gc.ca/tbsf-fsct/350-57_e.asp
epost Connect
https://www.canadapost.ca/cpc/en/business/postal-services/digital-mail/epost-connect.page
PROVINCES AND TERRITORIES
Alberta
http://www.servicealberta.ca/foip/
British Columbia
Main: http://www.gov.bc.ca/citz/iao/foi/
Completed requests:
http://www2.gov.bc.ca/gov/search?id=4BAD1D13C68243D1960FECBBF7B8B091
Manitoba
Main: http://www.gov.mb.ca/chc/fippa/
Completed requests: https://www.manitoba.ca/openmb/infomb/fippa.html
Proactive disclosure:
https://www.manitoba.ca/openmb/index.html
https://manitoba.ca/openmb/infomb/departments/index.html
New Brunswick
https://www2.gnb.ca/content/gnb/en/departments/finance/office_of_the_chief_information_officer/content/rti.html
Newfoundland and Labrador
Main: http://www.atipp.gov.nl.ca/info/accessrequestform.html
Completed requests: http://atipp-search.gov.nl.ca/
Northwest Territories
https://www.justice.gov.nt.ca/en/access-to-information-held-by-public-bodies/
Nova Scotia
Info: http://novascotia.ca/is/programs-and-services/information-access-and-privacy.asp
File a request online: https://iaprequest.novascotia.ca/
Completed requests: https://beta.novascotia.ca/search-previously-released-information-freedom-information-and-protection-privacy-foipop-request
The Right to Know Coalition of Nova Scotia
http://www.nsrighttoknow.ca/
Nunavut
http://www.gov.nu.ca/eia/information/how-place-atipp-request
Ontario
https://www.ontario.ca/page/how-make-freedom-information-request
Prince Edward Island
https://www.princeedwardisland.ca/en/information/justice-and-public-safety/freedom-information-and-protection-privacy-foipp
Quebec
Main: http://www.cai.gouv.qc.ca/english/
Yukon
Main: http://www.atipp.gov.yk.ca/
Completed requests: https://open.yukon.ca/data/sites/default/files/20200800-Release.pdf
CITIES
Calgary
https://www.calgary.ca/CA/city-clerks/Pages/Information-Access-Privacy/FOIP-request.aspx
Information disclosure: https://www.calgary.ca/ca/city-clerks/legislative-services/confidential-information-release.html
Edmonton
http://www.edmonton.ca/city_government/city_organization/freedom-of-information-and-privacy.aspx
Fredericton
http://www.fredericton.ca/en/right-to-information-and-protection-of-privacy
Halifax Regional Municipality http://www.halifax.ca/AccessPrivacy/index.php
Completed requests: https://www.halifax.ca/city-hall/accountability-transparency/access-information/completed-requests
Hamilton
http://www.hamilton.ca/CityDepartments/CorporateServices/Clerks/MFIPPA_adn_PHIPA.htm
Moncton
https://www.moncton.ca/my-govt-work/right-information-and-protection-privacy-act
Montreal
http://ville.montreal.qc.ca/portal/page?_pageid=5798,39687582&_dad=portal&_schema=PORTAL
Ottawa
Main: http://ottawa.ca/en/city-hall/your-city-government/access-information-and-privacy
Completed requests: https://ottawa.ca/en/city-hall/accountability-and-transparency/accountability-framework/freedom-information-and-protection-privacy/disclosure-mfippa-requests
Regina
Main: https://www.regina.ca/city-government/administration/office-of-the-city-clerk/#outline-access-to-information-and-protection-of-privacy
Completed requests: http://open.regina.ca/group/freedom-of-information
Saskatoon
https://www.saskatoon.ca/city-hall/send-comments-concerns-city/freedom-information
Completed requests: https://open.toronto.ca/dataset/freedom-of-information-requests-summary/
Vancouver
Main: http://vancouver.ca/ctyclerk/foi/index.htm
Completed requests: http://vancouver.ca/your-government/information-released-through-foi-requests-this-year.aspx
Winnipeg
Main: http://winnipeg.ca/clerks/fippa/
Completed requests: http://winnipeg.ca/clerks/fippa/AccessToInfo.stm
COMPLETED ACCESS REQUESTS
Federal
https://open.canada.ca/en/search/ati
British Columbia
http://www2.gov.bc.ca/gov/search?id=4BAD1D13C68243D1960FECBBF7B8B091
Vancouver
http://vancouver.ca/your-government/information-released-through-foi-requests-this-year.aspx
Manitoba
https://www.manitoba.ca/openmb/infomb/departments.html
https://www.manitoba.ca/openmb/infomb/fippa.html
Winnipeg
http://winnipeg.ca/clerks/fippa/AccessToInfo.stm#1
Regina (Note: not all are freedom-of-information responses)
http://open.regina.ca/group/freedom-of-information
Nova Scotia
https://informationaccess.novascotia.ca/
Halifax
https://www.halifax.ca/city-hall/accountability-transparency/access-information/completed-requests
Newfoundland
http://atipp-search.gov.nl.ca/
Yukon
https://open.yukon.ca/data/sites/default/files/20200800-Release.pdf
Additional resources
Dean Beeby’s access-to-information tipsheet.pdf
Example of an Ontario request:
http://www.davidmckie.com/Ontario%20Data%202018%20Request.pd
Click here to see a complete example of federal, provincial and municipally-based access-to-information requests required for the assignment.
Click here to see an example of a formal federal access-to-information request.
Click here to see an example of a provincial request.
Click here to see an example of a municipal-based request
Dean Beeby’s blog about journalism and transparency
https://www.deanbeeby.ca/blog
Dean Beeby’s access-to-information tipsheet.pdf
Readings: 1, 2 and 3
Class 2-January 17 , 2025
What you will learn:
-A review of last weeks discussion about open-data portals, access to information and downloading data;
– Finding patterns in data by sorting, filtering, counting and grouping and pivot tables
– Visualizing these patterns in Excel, then in Datawrapper
Links:
Class 3-January 24 , 2025
What you will learn:
-Continue working with Excel using more advanced functions to analyse and clean data
Links:
Reading: Chapter 5
Class 4-January 31, 2025
What you will learn:
– Presentations 1 and 2;
– tackling unanswered Excel questions and explaining how this basic data-manipulation and analytical knowledge using a spreadsheet can be used for more advanced work in a database manager;
– Introduction to analyzing data with Structured Query Language and MySQL because we’ll be doing most of our analysis in MySQL
– Downloading MySQL and the browser we’ll be using to access the data
– Doing some basic math using summary queries to answer questions such as “how many”? and “How much”?
– Walking through a typical workflow of using MySQL to summarize data, then visualizing
the results using Datawrapper.
Links:
Class 5-February 7, 2025
No class Munro Day
Class 6-February 14, 2025
What you will learn:
– Presentations 3 and 4;
– In-class Excel test;
– Continuation of MySQL from the previous week;
– SQL Window functions to calculate such things as rolling averages and
rolling totals;
– visualize the results using Datawrapper.
Links
Class 6-February 21, 2025
What you will learn
– Presentations 5 and 6
– Joining data from more than one table from related and unrelated datasets in MySQL
– Workflow to prevent you from losing your data
Readings: chapters 6 and 7
Class 7-February 28, 2025 (READING WEEK. WILL HAVE TO MAKE UP THE CLASS)
Class 8-March 7, 2025
What you will learn:
– Presentations 7 and 8;
– Finishing up with MySQL
– Reviewing tasks such as data-cleaning;
– Discussion of how our knowledge of manipulating data in Excel and MySQL can be visualized in tools such as Datawrapper and Tableau.
Links:
Class 9-March 14, 2025
What you will learn
-Introduction of ArcGIS Online discussion of mapping by going under the hood of ArcGIS and discovering similarities to databases
Links:
Class 10-March 21, 2025
What you will learn:
-Data visualization min test;
– Continuing with ArcGIS, taking an even deeper dive into map making.
Links:
Class 11-March 28, 2025
What you will learn:
– Catch up, review and discussion of final project.
Class 12-April 4, 2025
What you will learn:
– Mini mapping test
-Catch up, review and discussion of final project.
Other important information
Learning & Support Resources
Accessibility
Students may request accommodation as a result of barriers to inclusion related to disability, religious obligation, or any characteristic under the Nova Scotia Human Rights Act. If you experience barriers related to the design, instruction, and/or experiences within this course please contact the Student Accessibility Centre. Please note that a classroom may contain specialized furniture and equipment. It is important that these items remain in the classroom, untouched, so that students who require them will be able to participate in the class. Accommodations are provided by means of approved accommodations plans only. If elements of an approved accommodations plan are unworkable in the context of this course, I will work with you and your advisor in the Accessibility Centre to find practical alternatives. If you seek further accommodations not included in your approved plan, I will refer you back to your advisor.
Student support advisor
Students seeking support in navigating resources, life changes, mental health, goal setting or problem solving can contact Isaac Wright (they/he), the student support advisor, to make an appointment. < isaac.wright@ukings.ca> In addition to resources at King’s, many are available to you at Dalhousie University. These include the Student Health & Wellness Centre, the Indigenous Student Centre, the Black Student Advising Centre, the International Centre and the South House Sexual and Gender Resource Centre, among others.
Ethical Conduct
All students are expected to familiarize themselves with the Journalism programs’ Handbook of Professional Practice and abide by its ethical standards.
Fair & Inclusive Conduct
All students in the School of Journalism, Writing & Publishing should feel they are participants in a respectful, fair and safe learning environment. Classrooms, newsrooms and online course delivery systems are spaces where everyone should feel welcomed and supported. The School expects students, staff and faculty to abide by the highest standards of collegial learning. The University has policies, procedures and resources to guide students’ experience, whether in a class or as part of a reporting assignment. If you are concerned about your learning environment you may take a range of steps to initiate a discussion or a process:
Meet with the Course Instructor: You are encouraged to discuss concerns about a particular course first with the instructor. This instructor may be able to address concerns informally. Such concerns may relate to grading, course content, interpersonal issues with other students, or any other issue. The instructor may also direct you to other resources within the University. If you have an unresolved issue with an instructor, you can also:
● Appeal a final grade in a course by filing a Request for Reassessment of a Final Grade form.
● Provide written comment on an instructor in the Student Learning Experience Questionnaire, distributed near the end of the course. Evaluations are reviewed by the Director each year and used in tenure and promotion decisions for Faculty.
Meet with the Director of Journalism: The director welcomes any comment on the experiences of students within the Journalism programs. Concerns may be addressed informally — especially as they relate to the curriculum, academic environment and interpersonal issues. The director may refer students with more specific or serious concerns to individual policies, procedures and resources of the university. Inclusion and respect for others are key values of King’s. An experience of racism, intolerance or inequitable treatment will typically prompt co-operation between the director of journalism and the equity officer in working toward immediate and longer-term resolutions.
● Write a letter to the director of journalism to express a strong concern about an experience in the journalism programs. The director may bring it to a meeting of journalism faculty and will keep the letter on file.
Sexual Health and Safety Officer: The SHSO provides support around experiences of sexualized violence and administers King’s Sexualized Violence Policy. This support is confidential and can include informal discussion, academic accommodations, and assistance with disclosures and reports. All decisions regarding disclosure of sexualized violence are in the hands of the individual disclosing. Academic accommodations may be available to those who do not wish to make a formal report. The SHSO is also available if you are supporting someone who has experienced sexualized violence. The SHSO is Jordan Roberts jordan.roberts@ukings.ca, 902 229-6123.
Review the Journalism Programs’ Safety Guidelines: The Journalism programs’ Handbookof Professional Practice contains safety guidelines for physical safety while reporting. To do journalism well, you must sometimes be uncomfortable, but you should never be unsafe. If you run into trouble or if you feel a situation might put your or others’ personal safety at risk, call your instructor right away.
Equity Officer: At this time, the position of equity officer is vacant. Further announcements will be forthcoming from the university.
Contacting the Police
Journalism students must talk to their instructor before they contact Halifax Regional Police or RCMP. On approval of their request, they must send the police an email from their official school account that is cc’d to their instructor.
Use of generative artificial intelligence tools
Students in Journalism courses are not permitted to use generative AI tools such as ChatGPTor Midjourney to create draft or final versions of any written, audio, visual or computer-coding material for classes or academic credit, except when specifically authorized in writing by an instructor. Any other such use constitutes academic misconduct.
When permitted by an instructor and under their guidance, generative AI tools may be used for journalistic research purposes or as part of classroom exercises. However, you must verify output from these tools with non-AI sources. You must make clear to your instructor any research that is the product of AI.
Never upload personal or private information or material that does not already exist on the open web to a generative AI tool, as these services may be used by the service in ways you cannot predict.
Academic Integrity
At King’s and Dalhousie, we are guided in all of our work by the values of academic integrity: honesty, trust, fairness, responsibility and respect. As a student, you are required to demonstrate these values in all of the work you do. Plagiarism — stealing someone else’s work and presenting it as your own — is a form of academic fraud and unethical journalism. The most common instance involves copying material from the Internet without attributing it. If you have any doubt about proper citation for an academic paper or proper attribution in a piece of journalism, contact your instructor. For more information, consult the section on Intellectual Honesty in Dalhousie’s Graduate Studies Calendar or the King’s academic calendar.
Appeals
Disputes over academic performance and assessment will be dealt with according to the Academic Regulations of the School. Students may appeal decisions of the Journalism Studies Committee to the Faculty of Graduate Studies. For more information, see p. 240 of King’s Academic Calendar.