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Methodology

Methodology February 10
How We Counted Referrals to Police About Substance Use During Pregnancy
New analysis finds the parents of 70,000 newborns were reported to law enforcement over substance use allegations, often based on flawed drug tests.
By and
A photo shows incarcerated people seen through a fence covered in black mesh, standing in a yard outside.
Methodology December 23, 2025
How We Cleaned Up and Clarified Federal Data on Deaths in Custody
Data collected under the Death in Custody Reporting Act has some serious problems. Here’s how we fixed some of them.
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An illustration shows a bar graph with bars of varying heights. Leaning at the base of some of the individual bars are figures of people dressed in teal-colored jumpsuits. The bars and the people cast shadows at an angle on the ground.
Methodology August 7, 2025
How We Analyzed the Justice Department’s Death in Custody Data
A rare look into data collected under the Death in Custody Reporting Act revealed serious problems.
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A combination of 15 screenshots of former President Donald Trump speaking at various events, wearing a suit and tie, and twice wearing a red Make America Great Again hat. In the top left and bottom right corners there is a set of quotation marks in red. The combination of screenshots is on a black solid background.
Methodology November 20, 2024
How We Reported on Rhetoric About Immigrants in the 2024 Election
The Marshall Project identified themes in over 12,000 immigration-related campaign statements and fact-checked 13 of Trump’s most repeated claims.
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A collage shows, from left, a gun in red tones; the St. Louis skyline in black tones; a lawsuit document showing the Metropolitan Police Department of the City of St. Louis as the plaintiff and the words “sunshine law” circled in red; the back of a St. Louis police officer in uniform; a stack of clipped bundles of papers; and in the background, a list of homicide incidents and whether the case was closed or open, with “open” circled in red.
Methodology June 3, 2024
How We Reported on Homicide Investigations in St. Louis
Getting and interpreting homicide clearance data involved litigation, complex analysis and patience.
By Jennifer Lu, APM Reports, and Rachel Lippmann, St. Louis Public Radio
Methodology October 20, 2023
How We Analyzed Changing Bail Trends in Cuyahoga County
Unpacking a complex, changing system.
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Methodology May 19, 2023
How We Investigated Abuse by Prison Guards in New York
The Marshall Project examined 12 years of employee discipline data and hundreds of prisoner lawsuits.
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A close-up shot of three peoples' hands at a table. A medium-skin person is writing on a piece of paper. Also on the table, there is a black pistol with a red tag, a water container, hand sanitizer, a blue lanyard with the words "Bureau of Organized Crime," a phone ,and the hands of a light-skinned person unloading a silver pocket pistol.
Methodology May 3, 2023
How We Reported on Rising Gun Possession Arrests
The Marshall Project used arrest data in Chicago and other cities to understand who was arrested for gun possession and how the number of arrests changed over time.
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Methodology October 26, 2022
How We Analyzed Cases of People Cycling In and Out of Cleveland’s Courts
The Marshall Project examined tens of thousands of criminal cases in Cuyahoga County.
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A White woman with long brown hair wears an orange shirt.
Methodology September 1, 2022
How We Tracked Prosecutions for Pregnancy Loss
Where we got our data and how we analyzed it.
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