Investigative Reporting

Records, sources, verification and the discipline a long story needs.

What the course covers

8 modules, 32 topics. Open any one to see what sits inside it.

1. 1.1 Investigative reporting against daily news
2. 1.2 Choosing a story worth months of your life
3. 1.3 Forming a hypothesis, and testing it
4. 1.4 Time, cost, and having editorial backing
1. 2.1 Tips, leaks and spotting a pattern
2. 2.2 Preliminary research before you commit
3. 2.3 Scoping: what would actually prove this
4. 2.4 Knowing when to drop an investigation
1. 3.1 Public registers and corporate records
2. 3.2 Freedom of information requests
3. 3.3 Court, land and regulatory filings
4. 3.4 Reading a large document set systematically
1. 4.1 Cultivating sources over time
2. 4.2 Whistleblowers, and what they are risking
3. 4.3 Protecting an identity in practice
4. 4.4 Interviewing a hostile subject
1. 5.1 Open source research techniques
2. 5.2 Verifying images, video and location
3. 5.3 Following money and ownership
4. 5.4 Digital security for reporter and source
1. 6.1 Organising evidence and chronologies
2. 6.2 Standards of corroboration
3. 6.3 Weighing what you believe but cannot prove
4. 6.4 Working with lawyers before publication
1. 7.1 Putting the allegations to the subject
2. 7.2 Managing the response
3. 7.3 Legal threats before publication
4. 7.4 Personal safety and intimidation
1. 8.1 Structuring a long investigation for readers
2. 8.2 Multi-part and multi-platform release
3. 8.3 The aftermath, and the follow-ups
4. 8.4 Collaborating with other newsrooms

By the end of this course you will be able to explain and apply:

Two hours, not two months Eight short modules. Finish in a day, or do one module a night for a week.

Depth beyond your coursework Pitched above taught content, for research, leadership and the work that follows the degree.

Built for a phone Watch on the bus, pause mid-module, pick up where you stopped. No download, no lab.

A certificate that can be checked Every certificate carries an ID your college or an employer can verify on our site.

About two hours in total — eight modules of roughly fifteen minutes. You can do it in one sitting or spread it across a week. Your place is saved either way.
No. There is no prerequisite course and no software to install. A phone, tablet or computer with an internet connection is enough.
Yes. This course is placed at Master's Degree for India, and the content is written for that level. If you are at a different stage, change your level at the top of the page and the courses will change with it.
A certificate for the course, carrying an ID that your college or an employer can check on our verification page. You keep access to the material afterwards.
Yes — ₹450 for this course on its own, or ₹1,450 for all five in this set, which works out cheaper if you want more than one.
There is a short quiz at the end of each module so you can check what stuck. It is not timed and you can retake it.
Change your country using the picker at the top. Level names, degree names and prices all switch to that country, and the courses adjust to its education system.

Wording shown for India. Pick a different country at the top and the terms, currency and programme names change with it.