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Data Analytics Project
DAILY NEXUS DATA ARTICLE: CRIME IN ISLA VISTA
Link to article
Overview / My Role
As part of the Daily Nexus data journalism team, I co-wrote an article that explored patterns in crime across Isla Vista and the UCSB campus community. Using a combination of local crime data and reporting, we aimed to make trends more visible and accessible to students. The final article combined statistical analysis, data visualization, and community context to show how certain types of crime cluster around specific locations and timeframes.
I worked on the data analysis, cleaning, and visualization side of the article. I worked with raw UCSB and Isla Vista crime log data, organizing and cleaning the records to group incidents by type, time, and location. Once we identified key patterns — like which types of crimes were most common and when they occurred — I created a series of clear, digestible charts in Datawrapper to accompany the article and support the narrative. Beyond the technical side, I reached out to local leaders to make sure our analysis supported the narrative and provided meaningful insight to the community.
Process
We started with messy datasets: inconsistent location names, overlapping timestamps, and vague categories. I cleaned and structured the data in R, grouping it by crime type, day of the week, and hour of occurrence. This helped us spot recurring trends — like spikes in alcohol-related citations during weekends, or noise complaints concentrated in certain areas. I then translated those insights into bar charts, timelines, and comparisons in Datawrapper, which we embedded directly into the article.
Tools
I used R for data cleaning and transformation, and Datawrapper to design interactive charts that readers could engage with directly in the published piece.
Reflection
This project showed me how powerful data journalism can be, not just in uncovering trends, but in making them visible and relevant to the people they affect. Our article was published in the Daily Nexus and shared with the entire UCSB community, reaching students, faculty, and local residents. It helped spark conversations around safety, awareness, and how data can support informed decision-making on and off campus.
On a personal level, it was one of the first times I saw my technical work live in a public space, paired with storytelling to make complex information understandable. It taught me the importance of clarity — both in the structure of the data and in how we present it visually. I’ve always been drawn to using data to surface stories that matter, and this project reminded me that even small insights, when shared widely, can make a meaningful difference.
Data Visualizations