In a context where citizen security demands evidence-based reporting, how can data help journalists tell more rigorous stories with greater impact?
Learn how to investigate and communicate citizen security issues through the on-demand course Data Journalism for Citizen Security, produced by the Knight Center for Journalism in the Americas and the UNDP Infosegura Regional Project, in partnership with the United States Agency for International Development (USAID).
Over four weeks, you will work with key sources and datasets, learn how to search for, extract, and process information, and build data-driven journalistic narratives with a gender, intersectional, and youth-focused perspective. The course is led by Sandra Crucianelli and Alejandra Monteoliva, experts in data journalism and citizen security.
By the end of the course, you will be able to:
Enroll for FREE and strengthen your data journalism skills to report on citizen security with depth, clarity, and impact.
This is an asynchronous course, meaning you can progress at your own pace and complete the activities at times that best fit your schedule. The course includes an optional inaugural session and is organized into four weekly modules, featuring video lectures, readings, exercises, discussion forums, and quizzes.
Introduction Module
The Introduction Module serves as the gateway to the course. It introduces key concepts in data journalism and citizen security and explores how combining both can help uncover stories hidden in large volumes of information. This module also examines the global open data movement and explains why appropriate data formats and information repositories are essential for extracting, contextualizing, and giving meaning to data.
Module 1: Elements to Understand and Approach Citizen Security
This module introduces the fundamental concepts of citizen security as a public policy issue and as a condition for development, framed within a human rights perspective, particularly in the Latin American context. Participants will learn to identify key actors, data sources, and indicators related to crime, violence, and associated factors.
This module covers:
Module 2: Main Characteristics of Data Journalism
This module focuses on the practice of data journalism and its role within today’s media ecosystem. Participants will explore the benefits of open data, learn to distinguish between closed and open data formats, refine online data searches, and access databases commonly used in data-driven investigative journalism.
This module covers:
Module 3: The Generation of Evidence for Citizen Security
This module highlights the importance of evidence generation for decision-making in citizen security. Participants will examine the information management model developed by the UNDP Infosegura Regional Project and explore best practices for the use, dissemination, and effective communication of security-related data.
This module covers:
Module 4: Data Extraction, Conversion, and Processing
The final module focuses on practical tools and techniques for extracting, converting, and processing data—key steps in building data-driven news stories. Participants will learn how to work with spreadsheets, convert closed formats into open formats, and apply basic mathematical operations to analyze data and support storytelling.
This module covers:
Sandra Crucianelli is a journalist specializing in data journalism and investigative reporting. Currently, she is the coordinator of the Data Intelligence Unit at www.infobae.comin Argentina. She is also a member of the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ) (https://www.icij.org/author/sandra-crucianelli/). She has been part of teams involved in projects such as Panama Papers, Paradise Papers, Implant Files, and FinCEN Files, among other transnational initiatives.
Since 2003, she has been conducting training courses in Mathematics for Journalists, Investigative Journalism, Electoral Coverage and analysis of electoral polls, Crisis Coverage, and data journalism.
She was a Knight International Journalism Fellow member at the International Center for Journalists from 2012 to 2013 (https://www.icfj.org/our-work/knight/profiles/sandra-crucianelli).
Additionally, she is a member of Connectas, a collaboration among journalists from Latin American countries, and was involved in the Panama Papers project (https://www.connectas.org/member/sandra-crucianelli/.)
She contributes to digital journalism education as an instructor at the Digital Training Center of the University of Guadalajara, Mexico (https://www.cfpdudgvirtual.org/personnel/sandra-crucianelli/).
She has conducted online courses for the Knight Center at the University of Texas since 2003 (https://www.journalismcourses.org/instructor/sandra-crucianelli/).
Sandra is also the author of the book “Herramientas Digitales para Periodistas” (Digital Tools for Journalists) (https://journalismcourses.org/es/ebook/herramientas-digitales-para-periodistas/.)
She resides in the city of Bahía Blanca, Argentina.
Alejandra Monteoliva: Graduated from the Faculty of Political Science and International Relations at the Universidad Católica de Córdoba, Argentina, and holds a Master’s in Planning and Management of Development from the Universidad de los Andes, Colombia.
With over 28 years of experience, she specializes in designing and implementing public policies and regional development processes in Latin America. She focuses on citizen security policies and programs, particularly in police operations, statistics, and crime analysis.
She has extensive experience coordinating efforts with various security forces across Latin America. In Colombia, she served as an advisor for academic and curricular management for the National Police of Colombia from 2003 to 2015.
As a public official in Argentina, she has held high-level positions in security, including Minister of Security in the Province of Córdoba, Director of Strategic Planning, and Coordinator of the first Crime Observatory in the province. On a national level, until December 2019, she served as the National Director of Operations for Federal Security Forces at the Ministry of Security of the Nation.
She is a teacher and researcher at various universities in Colombia and Argentina, with numerous publications. She is a member of international networks and associations and is the Director of the Observatorio de Seguridad Ciudadana.
Currently, she is part of the citizen security team at the Regional Office of the UNDP-Infosegura Project.
Mariana Alvarado is a bilingual journalist and editor based in Mexico City, with more than 27 years of experience in web and print. She is a professor at Florida International University (FIU) in the United States and at the University of Guadalajara and ITESO in Mexico. As a collaborator with the Knight Center for Journalism in the Americas, she was recently an assistant instructor for “How to use ‘ChatGPT and other generative AI tools in your newsrooms”, a free multilingual course in English, Spanish and Portuguese that attracted more than 10,000 students from 150 plus countries.
As a Google teaching fellow, she trained more than 18,000 journalists in Mexico, Colombia, Central America and the Caribbean in digital tools for investigative journalism and to combat disinformation and promote innovation. She’s the founder and coordinator for the Network of Diversity in Latin American Journalism and a Media Viability Ambassador with the Deutsche Welle Akademie.
Pioneer of digital newsrooms in Mexico, founded mural.com and negocios.com for Grupo Reforma. In 2019 she was inducted into the FIU Hall of Fame for his contributions to journalism in the United States and Latin America. She has collaborated with Grupo Reforma and Grupo Expansión in Mexico, and with media such as the Arizona Daily Star in the United States. For her research on border issues, migration, and health, she received the AP International Perspective Award among other honors from the Arizona Press Managing Editors, Investigative Reporters and Editors (IRE), Felix Varela Award, and Best of the West.
Twitter: @alvaradomariana
