Raportoin

Raportoin is a framework and practice for producing concise, transparent, and reproducible reports from data analyses and observations. It seeks to combine the speed of rapid reporting with formal methods for provenance, versioning, and auditability, so readers can understand how conclusions were reached.

The term appears to be a portmanteau of rapport and inform, and was coined by a coalition of data journalists and researchers in the early 2010s to describe a standard approach to reporting in dynamic data environments. Proponents describe raportoin as a discipline rather than a format, emphasizing consistent structure and traceable workflows.

A raportoin typically includes clearly stated objectives, a description of data sources and processing steps, the analytical methods used, key results with context, and interpretation. It also requires documentation of limitations, ethical considerations, and data provenance, along with reproducibility artifacts such as code, configurations, and data snapshots.

Applications span journalism, public administration, corporate analytics, and research. It is used to create on-demand briefings, dashboards with accompanying methodological notes, and open reports that can be independently audited.

Critics argue that raportoin can be cumbersome or slower than ad-hoc reporting, and that its emphasis on provenance may be difficult to maintain in fast-moving teams. Supporters counter that the added clarity improves decision-making and trust, especially for automated or semi-automated reports.

See also data provenance, reproducible research, transparency in reporting.