TycheManual:StartWithQuestionsOrData

Where to start? Data storytellers might start from one of two angles

Start with a question - You may have a passion or interest about a particular topic - healthcare, public safety, budgets - and you want a data story to answer a question. You don't necessarily have a specific dataset in your hands now. Your approach is "I have a question, let me find the data"

Start with data - You may have access to a dataset through a FOIL request or an open data site. You may not have a specific question in mind, you're starting with the thought "I have data, what questions can I answer with it?"

Either of these approaches are perfectly acceptable. We sometimes refer to "Start with a question" as "demand-side data storytelling"; you have a question and you will need to find data to answer it. Starting with data can be called "supply-side data storytelling"; you don't lack data, you have a supply, you need to infer meaning from it.

Next: Storytelling Resources