Homework: Data Visualization Critique
You will be responsible for posting to the Canvas Discussion Board an example of data visualization being used "in the wild." This can come from a news source, social media, think tank report, YouTube commercial, academic article, or virtually any other source that has some relevance to your life. Your homework is to post a link to the source and critically reflect on the visualization using some aspect of either: i) D'Ignazio's framework for implementing feminist data viz (see reading & discussion for Jan 13); ii) Cairo's framework for evaluating the qualities of great visualizations (see reading for Jan 15); or iii) some amalgamation of the two frameworks. I expect your reflections to be about 500 words (~1 single-spaced page).
The standard for what constitutes "meaningful" will increase as the quarter progresses, as I will be looking for growth in the depth with which you are able to critically reflect on the technical and contextual details of data visualization.
The following represent suggestions for how you might structure your critique:
I. Start by discussing the background of the visualization, such as information about the publisher, source(s) of data used, and the general context of publication (i.e., What was happening in the world that motivated or gave meaning to the visualization?).
II. Who appears to be the target audience(s) for this visualization? What qualities about the visualization and its context (i.e., where it is published) support your conclusion?
III. What story - or stories - is the author of the visualization intending to tell? What insights were gained by visualizing the data in this way that text alone could not accomplish?
IV. What are some alternative ways to interpret the visualization that may not have been intended by the author? In what ways, if any, is the visualization potentially misleading?
V. How, if at all, might the interpretation of the visualization change depending on who is reading the visualization? What factors might influence these changes (e.g., the identities of the reader, level of education, cultural familiarity)?
VI. What else strikes you about the visualization? How might Cairo and/or D'Ignazio suggest that it be improved based on their respective frameworks for creating visualizations?
Format your homework according to the following formatting requirements:
(1) The answer should be typed, double spaced, using Times New Roman font (size 12), with one-inch margins on all sides.
(2) The response also includes a cover page containing the title of the homework, the student's name, the course title, and the date. The cover page is not included in the required page length.
(3) Also include a reference page. The Citations and references should follow APA format. The reference page is not included in the required page length.