I am skilled at testing story ideas that sounded good to me, my sources or my bosses, and then disproving the bad ones. At Barron’s, these ideas usually involve an investment thesis. If there’s evidence somewhere against a favored hypothesis, I will find it and evaluate it. The good ideas are the ones still standing after my best efforts at falsifying them.That approach has worked well in my years as an investigative reporter, and also in the half decade I spent as a research analyst at a respected, high-performing hedge fund.My methods combine talking with knowledgeable people, studying public documents, pounding pavements and analyzing big data with the latest computer and statistical methods. In professional organizations for investigative reporters, I have taught the use of open-source data tools like R. I’ve teamed up with journalists and researchers around the world -- often through the sharp and brave Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project -- to trace funds laundered by powerful kleptocrats. My legal training usually kept me out of trouble, but when lawsuits tried to silence me, my trusty lawyers and I fought them as far up as the United Nations.I’ve righted wrongs while making money for my readers and had a great time doing it.You can find out more at my website: https://www.billalpert.org