QUESTION: Ask the class who they consider an expert.

DEFINE: An expert is someone who is knowledgeable in their field, this expert should have an expressed opinion or bias. As you gather research, you will need to find credible experts to support and/or provide background for your reporting.

One expert opinion in reporting to share with students:

“In general, newspapers don’t have a policy about whom they call an expert,” says Michael Hoyt, executive editor at the Columbia Journalism Review, a well-regarded trade magazine. “You look for someone who knows the beat, someone who doesn’t have a political ax to grind. But it’s really a judgement call. I’m not sure if you could turn that into a policy.”

Source: John Hopkins Magazine, “The Accidental Pundit” November 2006

Credibility is important when finding an expert. Being aware of what to look for in a credible expert is essential.  Some factors to look for in a credible expert:

• Affiliation (reputable organization, university, business, etc)
• Author (respected in field, supported by other reputable sources)
• Authority and Virtue (respected and identified by others in field, these go hand in hand when dealing with government agencies for example)  

You are responsible for doing your own research, do not take anything at face value. You do not want to be embarrassed by not properly vetting your source, or worse repeating mistakes someone else has made. Take your time and find credible experts.

You’ve grasped the concept of the importance of credibility and diversity in your sources. Let’s delve into how to find particular experts in a field, starting with scholarly sources

SCENARIO: You are assigned a story that you have little experience in, but you have a quick turnaround for your deadline. What should you do?

Let students know that it is a good idea to tap into scholarly experts as a source — you can find them in/at:

• Colleges/Universities

Most if not all universities have faculty directories that list expertise in fields, or specialized to speak to media. Use those tools to find an expert.

• Trade publications

Provide expert sources to others in their respective fields. A better fit than a consumer magazine that may be geared toward a general audience.

• Google Scholar

Using Google Scholar will help you discover who is publishing work on a particular topic. You can use your public library or academic library to dig deeper into databases that have particular topics too.

QUESTION: What type of experts might you need to look for when reporting? — Then, guide to the following:

Expanding on what was discussed in Section 1, you are not an expert in everything and you may have to write about topics you are not familiar with at all. Knowing how to reach experts in a variety of different fields and industries will strengthen your reporting.

Make sure you are familiar with using keywords and search terms when looking for different fields and industries. Being familiar with jargon can help you navigate and find the expert you may need.

TIP: There are several free expert finding databases available to use, and will come in handy when dealing with the next section on finding experts in different fields/studies.

Try the following resources (for all remaining fields/studies of expert finding):

Expert Click

Expertise Finder

Expert File

*NOTE: Let students know these are popular fields/studies but not inclusive experts for their reporting.

Looking for attorneys or criminal experts can seem intimidating or difficult at first.  But, it is not as hard you may think to approach them for your stories

Attorneys can be found by searching state bar association’s member search database. Most states have an online database, if not reach out and call them for more information.

Other resources to consider to search for legal professionals:

FindLaw

Martindale

When looking for crime experts (criminal justice, prison, police, etc) – it may not be obvious but you can look at faculty experts in their respective fields. You can look at retired professionals from prison, corrections or police departments.

Similar to scholarly experts, you can find criminal justice professors via universities – this will work for most sources. Another source to consider:

Scholars Strategy Network

You may look for an expert for a business story, because you are not sure about how the stock market works,  or you need a refresher on the difference between bonds and stocks. Whatever the case may be, tapping into business analysts can seem daunting.

TIP: Don’t forget to remind students that the strategies can be used in more than one instance. Don’t let them get caught in a hole that they just use one tool or strategy, allow them to build on the concept of finding expert sources

Look at the following for leads on finding experts in the business world:

Mergent You can search the Investext tab at the top right for Analyst’s Reports o cmpanies or industries.

Better Business Bureau

OpenCorporates