Data Journalist in Residence

Data competence meets journalism: making facts visible and knowledge understandable.

Data Journalism as a Bridge Between Research and Society

Data journalism is more than simply quoting numbers. It involves transforming public statistics, scientific studies, social media feeds, and original surveys into stories. Data are collected, processed, analyzed, and visualized systematically, resulting in transparent, fact-based reports that reveal patterns, uncover relationships, and present complex issues in a language a broad audience can understand and find engaging.

At DataNord, we aim to strengthen the connection between research and the public - for greater transparency, better understanding, and responsible data handling.

Through the Data Journalist in Residence Fellowship (Oct. - Dez. 2025), we bring data journalism expertise into the DataNord Data Competence Center and share it with researchers. Our goal is to provide researchers with practical skills for communicating data-driven research and enable an active exchange between researchers and our data journalist.

We are delighted to welcome data journalist Serafin Arhelger to the DataNord team! He has worked in both theoretical and practical aspects of data journalism for many years, and since August 2022, he has prepared publicly accessible data for the general public as a data journalist with the NDR Data team.

Interview with Serafin Arhelger

Which steps in your career have shaped you into the data journalist you are today?

"I began my career path with a B.A. in Journalism at the University of Applied Sciences Bremen and a M.A. in Media Culture at the University of Bremen. After that, I worked as a trainee and TV editor for a film production company based in Bremen. Since August 2022, I have worked as a data journalist at NDR Data, where we develop data-driven online stories, automated data articles, and radio, television, and social media reports. I also produce reports for TV and online.”

What skills do you bring to the Data Competence Center?

"I have a solid understanding of science communication. I can provide researchers with guidelines to help them prepare research results that are clear and appealing for scholarly publications and a broad audience. In planned workshops, I will show researchers how data journalists work and what they need to prepare, to apply and reuse research data and present results without distortion. I bring hands-on expertise, innovative ideas, and my network."

Why do you want to become part of the DataNord team and "look behind the scenes"?

"The fellowship offers a great chance to connect my journalistic skills with a wide network of data experts. I am attracted to the center's interdisciplinary approach and collaborative spirit. I want to understand the tools and methodologies of the DataNord Research Academy in more detail, follow the creation of citizen-science data (e.g., Guardians of the Hedgehogs), and learn data handling practices. This will allow me to build bridges between research, media, and the public."

What do you hope to take away from the fellowship?

"I hope to gain a deeper understanding of how scientific data projects are structured and the methods used for quality and ethics assurance. I also want to learn how to efficiently translate those data into journalistic formats. At the same time, I want to build a strong network of data experts, researchers, and media professionals who will continue to collaborate beyond the fellowship. This will enable me to tell more impactful, data-driven stories and help researchers make their findings accessible to the public."

What concrete projects or activities have you planned for the fellowship period?

"I see the fellowship as a symbiotic partnership. Researchers provide high-quality data, expertise in data-analysis methods, tools, and context. In return, data journalists contribute narratives, visualizations, and storytelling. This exchange allows us to develop a better mutual understanding and promote collaboration. Through the various formats I plan to offer, I will demonstrate how we work and how studies should be prepared to be usable for scholarly publications and the general public. Planned activities include individual exchange meetings, an interactive workshop on data journalism methods, adata story about my work as a data journalist, and an "office hour" for consultation."

Good practices in the responsible handling of data

Compliance with FAIR and CARE principles: Research data should be as open as possible and as closed as necessary, i.e., FAIR—findable, accessible, interoperable, and reusable. The CARE principles – collective benefit, authority to control, responsibility, and ethics – complement this and focus on people and purpose, namely the handling of indigenous peoples' data in order to protect their rights, interests, and self-determination.

Consideration of ELSA and FACT: Ethical, legal, and social aspects point to the need to consider ethical, legal, and social aspects when handling data throughout its entire life cycle (from planning to analysis to publication). When dealing with large amounts of data, especially in the field of data science, scientists should consider the principles of fairness, accuracy, confidentiality, and transparency (FACT).

Together, We Make Data Understandable:

The Data Journalist in Residence Fellowship promotes transparent, fact-based communication in society. If you are interested in speaking with Serafin Arhelger or learning more about data-driven science communication, please contact us.