Common questions
Common questions
Thirty-four answers, grouped by theme, on what this site is, how it works, what it does not do, and how its material should and should not be used.
Scope of the project
The questions in this group come up most often, and they all concern the same distinction: this is a published reference about a craft, not an institution that assesses or admits anyone. Nothing on the site can be exchanged for a credential, and nothing here creates a relationship between a reader and the publisher beyond that of reader and publication.
Is Open Data Desk a journalism school?
No. It is an open-access editorial reference. It runs no courses, lessons or examinations, enrols no students, and awards no degrees, diplomas or certificates of any kind.
Does reading this material confer a qualification?
No. It confers no qualification, accreditation or professional registration, in Ireland or anywhere else. Where a page describes a professional practice it describes it; it does not qualify anyone to perform it.
Does the site help with employment or publication?
No. It offers no placement, makes no introductions to newsrooms and promises no professional outcome.
Who is responsible for the content?
The publishing company named on the contact page. Responsibility rests with the publication as a whole, and the published details give readers an identifiable point of contact.
Why are there no author names on the pages?
Because the work is organised as roles — research, verification, standards, accessibility — rather than as bylines, and a correction has to be answerable by the publisher rather than by an individual who may have no ability to make it.
Is the site connected to any of the bodies it names?
No. Statistical offices, registers, regulators and public bodies are named for identification and description only. There is no affiliation, membership, sponsorship or supervision in either direction.
Method and sources
The procedure summarised in these answers is set out in full on the protocol page, which also states what the procedure cannot deliver. The short version is that primary documents outrank commentary on them, that figures are re-derived rather than copied, and that a page which cannot be written from documents is not written at all.
Which sources are used?
In order of preference: legislation and official acts, statistical methodology notes and register filings, peer-reviewed research, professional standards from recognised bodies, and established reporting only where it records a traceable fact.
How is conflicting evidence handled?
It is presented as conflicting. Where research or practice does not converge, the page says so instead of adopting the simpler or more striking version.
Does the site make predictions?
No. It describes procedures, recurring errors and open questions. Any scenario mentioned is conditional and attributed to a named source.
How often is material revised?
Whenever a relevant source, statistical definition or legal reference changes, and in any case at least annually. Each page shows its last review date and substantive changes are noted.
Why are there no links out to the sources described?
Because the site loads and links nothing from another domain, which keeps reading it free of third-party requests. Institutions, instruments and series are named precisely enough in the text to be found directly at their publisher.
Are the worked examples based on real datasets?
The procedures are; the figures inside an example are illustrative unless a source is named beside them. Inventing a plausible statistic to make a point would contradict the method the page is describing.
Using the material
Everything here can be read, quoted and taught from without asking. The answers below mark the two places where care is needed: attribution, so that a reader of your work can reach the original, and the difference between a checklist that makes steps explicit and a guarantee that a piece of work is sound.
May a page be cited in academic work or an article?
Yes, giving the page title, the site and the date consulted. Reuse conditions are set out on the terms page.
Do the checklists guarantee a result?
No. They make certain steps explicit. They do not replace professional judgement and they do not guarantee that an analysis is free of error.
Are the calculators forecasts?
No. They perform arithmetic on values the reader enters, in order to make an order of magnitude visible in a discussion. They assess no real survey or dataset.
May the material be used to train newsroom staff?
The pages are public and free to consult. No programme, certificate, instructor or training support is provided, and no endorsement of any training arrangement is implied.
Can a page be translated or adapted?
A translation or adaptation of a substantial part needs written permission, which can be requested through the contact page. Short quotations with attribution need neither permission nor notice.
Where should someone start who has never worked with a dataset?
The field pages on open data portals and cleaning data cover the ground the other pages assume, and the guide on turning open data into a story shows where each of those steps sits in a working sequence.
Techniques and legality
Open-source research has acquired a vocabulary that can suggest intrusion, so the boundary is stated rather than implied. The material covers records that are published or lawfully obtainable, and the answers below describe where it stops. None of it is legal advice, and the rules differ by jurisdiction.
Does the site explain how to bypass access controls?
No. It covers publicly available records and lawfully obtained data only. Circumventing controls, using credentials that are not yours or acquiring data of unclear origin are outside its scope.
Are the descriptions of access rights legal advice?
No. They are general information. A specific request, refusal or appeal needs the legislation in force and a qualified professional; this project provides neither.
Does journalistic purpose remove data-protection duties?
No. The framework provides exemptions from parts of it while proportionality, security, minimisation and retention duties continue to apply. Take advice on your own situation.
Will the site help with a request or an appeal?
No. It does not draft or submit access requests for anyone, does not obtain records on anyone's behalf and does not assess a refusal. The public body's own procedure and, where needed, a lawyer are the routes for that.
Can confidential documents be sent here?
No. Neither the enquiry form nor ordinary electronic mail is a secure channel, and this project is not equipped to receive material requiring protection. It should go to a publication with the arrangements to handle it.
Personal data and technical
The site was built so that reading it leaves as little trace as a web page can. Two functional keys record choices a reader has made, nothing is loaded from another domain, and the pages remain usable when scripting or storage is refused.
Does the site collect personal data?
It runs with no advertising technology and no third-party tags. Advertising consent signals remain refused by default and permanently, and the cookies page lists every storage key used.
Why does a notice appear on a first visit?
To make the informational nature of the project and its limits clear before reading. The choice is stored locally for a year and can be withdrawn by clearing site data.
Can the site be used with assistive technology?
It is built for keyboard use, with a consistent heading structure, text alternatives, visible focus and respect for reduced-motion preferences. Reports of obstacles are welcome.
What happens to a figure typed into the calculator?
It stays in the browser. The calculation runs in the page, and there is no server-side processing, no analytics and no third-party script that could receive it.
Does the site work without JavaScript?
Yes for everything that matters. All text, tables, checklists and section links work; only the entry notice, the cookie banner and the calculator result depend on scripting.
Corrections and contact
A reference that cannot be corrected is not a reference. The routes, the response window and what to include in a report are on the contact page; these answers describe what happens after a report arrives and what a reader will be able to see.
How is an error reported?
Through the enquiry form or the published electronic mail address, naming the page, quoting the sentence in question and giving a verifiable source with its publisher and date.
Does a report always produce a correction?
No, but it always produces a documented check against the original sources. Where a report is not accepted the reason is given, and a difference of interpretation is recorded as a stated disagreement rather than dismissed.
Are corrections visible after the fact?
Yes. A corrected page carries a dated note saying what was wrong, what is now correct and whether the surrounding conclusions change. Earlier text is not replaced silently.
What happens if a page can no longer be maintained?
It is withdrawn rather than left to decay, and the withdrawal is recorded on the index of pages so that the gap is a stated fact rather than a broken link.
Can a subject for a new page be suggested?
Suggestions are logged and read. A page is only written where the procedure can be described from documentation rather than inferred, so a suggestion may be recorded as a gap on the project page instead of becoming a page.
Is there a newsletter or a feed?
No. There is no subscription of any kind, which is why the site asks for no address for that purpose. Each page shows its review date, and the index of pages is the record of what exists.
If a question is not answered here, the contact page lists the routes for corrections, data-protection requests, accessibility reports and general enquiries.
Answers describe the practice of this site. They are general information and not legal or professional advice on any individual situation.