Any investigation begins with a question. A hypothesis is a preliminary answer to that question. By imagining your story in advance, you increase the chance of success. This handout teaches you how to formulate a hypothesis in such a way that it opens up an inward path for your investigation.

Timelines are the royal road to a story. This handout shows how to record events along a timeline, and how to deduce and verify other events that affect the story. In the process you create a structure for your story.

A source map shows who is involved in your story — as initiators, witnesses, profiteers and victims — and what documents they create. The map shows the relationships between stakeholders, the paper trail and the target audience for your story. The latter is essential to increase impact.

Organization is the key to successful projects. Our specially developed tool is called the ‘master file’. In it, sources and insights are collected and organized. The masterfile is a management tool that provides insight into the status of the investigation and facilitates collaboration among team members. 

We have never met a researcher who could not find interesting material, but we have met many who stumbled in producing the story. Learn how to use narrative structures and literary or cinematic storytelling techniques.