Bits, Bytes and Barks — Uplink Archive

NICAR has updated its U.S. Coast Guard boating accident and boat registration databases, which journalists can use to analyze local boating safety data, with pricing based on circulation size. The newsletter also highlights a new IRE Beat Book on using math and statistics in journalism and provides access to tipsheets from the recent IRE National Conference.

Bits, Bytes and Barks

NICAR Data Updates

The summer boating season has started and that means it's time for accidents. You can get a better picture of accidents, injuries and the boats in your area by analyzing the U.S. Coast Guard's boating accident and boat registration databases. The NICAR Database Library recently updated both datasets.

The boat registration data is current as of December 2000. The boat accidents data runs from 1969 through 1999, the most current information available from the Coast Guard.

The accidents database includes all recreational boat accidents involving: death, injury requiring more than first aid, vessel damage greater than $500, or the disappearance of a person from the vessel under circumstances that indicate death or injury.

The boat registration database has owner information and other details about currently registered commercial vessels and large recreational vessels (26 net tons or greater). A second table in the database includes all vessels, expired registrations and smaller recreational vessels.

More information about both datasets, including sample tables and record layouts, is available at www.ire.org/datalibrary/databases

Prices for the databases are:

Boat accidents. Entire U.S., all years:

Circulation below 50,000 or market 50-200 (university freelance): $25 Circulation 50,000 to 100,000 or market 25-50: $50 Circulation above 100,000 or top 25 market: $75

Boat registration. Entire U.S.:

Circulation below 50,000 or market 50-200: $40 Circulation 50,000 to 100,000 or market 25-50: $80 Circulation above 100,000 or top 25 market: $105

To order, call (573) 884-7332. Or you can download an order form from www.ire.org/datalibrary/orderform/orderform.pdf

Math for journalists

The fourth volume in the IRE Beat Book Series is titled "Numbers in the Newsroom: Using Math and Statistics in News." The guide, written by Washington Post database editor and former IRE training director Sarah Cohen, focuses on putting numbers into perspective for stories. It's also a great deadline guide.

Other books in the series: "Understanding Crime Statistics," "Covering Aviation Safety," and "Home Mortgage Lending: Detecting Disparities."

Additional information and ordering details can be found at: www.ire.org/store/books/math.html

Tipsheets from IRE National Conference in Chicago

Tipsheets from panels at the June IRE conference are available at www.ire.org/resourcecenterlinitial-search-tipsheets.html