ABSTRACT
The previous chapters of this book have provided background information essential to understanding the origins and nature of CAIR. The opening chapter explained how it is related to, and an extension of, traditional approaches to investigative reporting. Additional chapters described the development of computers, the evolution of the legal statutes governing computerized records of government, and the kinds of stories that have been generated through CAIR analyses since the 1960s. The remaining chapters in the book focus on methods—the techniques and procedures of data examination as well as the criteria for accepting or rejecting conclusions that are appropriate for CAIR analyses and reporting. This chapter lays a foundation for those that follow by explaining what methods have been used in the past and in recent times by journalists who have analyzed electronic records to develop stories. The remaining chapters build on this foundation and present a systematic methodology—a logic of analysis suitable for CAIR. That methodology will include some of the techniques and strategies that are discussed here, but it will also incorporate additional features derived from other sources. Illustrations of CAIR methodology in use will be provided within the context of a large-scale case study.
