Resources

Watch this recording from MuckRock's Sunlight Research Center and award-winning investigative reporter Jerry Mitchell for a practical workshop on reopening and reporting on cold cases, and finding the truth buried in decades-old evidence. Drawing on his experience helping solve cold cases, Mitchell walks through how to piece together investigations that law enforcement left unresolved and how to turn fragments of old records into new leads.

In this workshop, Sunlight Research Center and Anna Massoglia walked through how to use public and open-source records to identify who really controls entities; trace entities across jurisdictions even when data is fragmented; uncover cross-border foreign influence and lobbying; connect corporate structures to political and financial power; and navigate language and cultural barriers when records aren’t in English.

In this workshop, we walked through how to use public and open-source records to identify who really controls entities; trace entities across jurisdictions even when data is fragmented; uncover cross-border foreign influence and lobbying; connect corporate structures to political and financial power; and navigate language and cultural barriers when records aren’t in English.

Individuals and organizations are increasingly scrubbing their digital footprints, but journalists can often still track down what has been removed. This tip sheet provides you with tools to uncover deleted records, scrubbed public data, and hidden connections using investigative techniques and open-source intelligence.

The DOGE receipt scraper project maintains a set of data tables tracking changes made to the “savings” website hosted by the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), formerly known as the United States Digital Service. Sunlight Research Center researcher and data specialist Michael Nolan wrote this script to support their data reporting work at the Minneapolis-based publication MinnPost by tracking DOGE’s reported funding cuts and how they impacted the people of Minnesota.

This tip sheet can be used to find information on the disappearance of government data and explore what you can do to keep track of data relevant to your research and reporting.

This tip sheet includes tips for identifying and interviewing sources from Pulitzer Prize-winning investigative journalist, Laurie Cohen.

This tip sheet is for Steve Horn's students at the University of Florida, Sept. 2025.

Join experts from MuckRock and Sunlight for a hands-on session exploring how to use public records laws to investigate state and local politicians and candidates. This workshop will prepare you to file effective requests, handle common pushback, and use state transparency laws to uncover vital information. Whether you’re new to FOIA or looking to sharpen your skills, you’ll walk away equipped to access the records your community needs to make informed decisions at the ballot

This tip sheet is connected to workshop 4 of our fall candidate backgrounding series. It is best used in conjunction with the workshop recording, available here.

This tip sheet is connected to workshop 3 of our fall candidate backgrounding series. It is best used in conjunction with the workshop recording, available here.

Join Sunlight’s investigative research experts for a deep dive into the political pasts of state and local candidates and elected officials. This session will equip you with the tools to uncover a politician’s voting history, campaign involvement, public statements and policy positions. After this workshop, you’ll be ready to piece together political narratives that inform your audience about the background of politicians seeking to lead their community. 

Sunlight investigative experts will teach you to find key personal financial details for state and local politicians. After this session, you’ll be better prepared to analyze assets, business connections and financial disclosures to inform your audience about the financial background of the candidates seeking their trust.

This tip sheet is connected to workshop 2 of our fall candidate backgrounding series, discussing how to find information on candidate wealth. It is best used in conjunction with the workshop recording, available here.