This chapter points out data visualization’s double role as explorative and communicative means in humanities research. We draw from science and technology studies looking at the mediation process at stake: the interaction between visualization tool and researcher. To emphasize this mediation process and expose the various decisions at its heart we introduce the term ‘data interface’. We highlight how visualizations function as data interfaces and visualization practices allow for interfacing with data biographing a network graph’s ‘life’. Using the lens of the ‘data interface’ underscores that a particular (network) visualization provides just one perspective on the data. Moreover, we examine if and how the used data interfaces encourage scholars to critically position their investigative work, during research processes and communication.
{"title":"Approaching data visualizations as interfaces : An empirical demonstration of how data are imag(in)ed","authors":"D. V. Geenen, M. Wieringa","doi":"10.2307/j.ctvzgb8c7.15","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.2307/j.ctvzgb8c7.15","url":null,"abstract":"This chapter points out data visualization’s double role as explorative and communicative means in humanities research. We draw from science and technology studies looking at the mediation process at stake: the interaction between visualization tool and researcher. To emphasize this mediation process and expose the various decisions at its heart we introduce the term ‘data interface’. We highlight how visualizations function as data interfaces and visualization practices allow for interfacing with data biographing a network graph’s ‘life’. Using the lens of the ‘data interface’ underscores that a particular (network) visualization provides just one perspective on the data. Moreover, we examine if and how the used data interfaces encourage scholars to critically position their investigative work, during research processes and communication.","PeriodicalId":437386,"journal":{"name":"Data Visualization in Society","volume":"21 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2020-04-16","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"133027714","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Introduction:","authors":"Helen Kennedy, Martin Engebretsen","doi":"10.2307/j.ctvzgb8c7.7","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.2307/j.ctvzgb8c7.7","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":437386,"journal":{"name":"Data Visualization in Society","volume":"31 3","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2020-04-16","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"131892805","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
The line is a graphical element widely used in data visualizations, its purpose often being to signal a connection between other visual elements. Based on social semiotic theory, this article investigates what semiotic functions connecting lines can have and how these functions can be related to variations in form. The results show that, in addition to the basic function of connecting elements, such lines can also indicate the level of certainty, direct the viewer to read the information either as a narrative or a conceptual claim, indicate patterns of cohesion, and regulate the viewer’s position. These findings allow for further empirical research on the formation of visual conventions.
{"title":"What a line can say:","authors":"V. Lechner","doi":"10.2307/j.ctvzgb8c7.26","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.2307/j.ctvzgb8c7.26","url":null,"abstract":"The line is a graphical element widely used in data visualizations, its\u0000 purpose often being to signal a connection between other visual elements.\u0000 Based on social semiotic theory, this article investigates what semiotic\u0000 functions connecting lines can have and how these functions can be\u0000 related to variations in form. The results show that, in addition to the basic\u0000 function of connecting elements, such lines can also indicate the level of\u0000 certainty, direct the viewer to read the information either as a narrative\u0000 or a conceptual claim, indicate patterns of cohesion, and regulate the\u0000 viewer’s position. These findings allow for further empirical research on\u0000 the formation of visual conventions.","PeriodicalId":437386,"journal":{"name":"Data Visualization in Society","volume":"3 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2020-04-16","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"114180602","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2020-04-16DOI: 10.1515/9789048543137-005
H. Kennedy, Martin Engebretsen
{"title":"1. Introduction : The relationships between graphs, charts, maps and meanings, feelings, engagements","authors":"H. Kennedy, Martin Engebretsen","doi":"10.1515/9789048543137-005","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1515/9789048543137-005","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":437386,"journal":{"name":"Data Visualization in Society","volume":"134 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2020-04-16","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"124173416","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Data visualizations combine numeric data with visual representation, and these modes allow them to express certain kinds of knowledge more easily than others. This chapter uses examples of historical data visualizations in order to examine what ways of knowing they privilege. What is the difference between the spatial organization of tools in prehistoric homes and a photograph or bar chart showing information about the same tools, in terms of the kinds of knowledge they enable? How do the systems for gathering and visualizing data during the 18th and 19th centuries shape our understanding of the world? How do data visualizations make us feel that they are objective? How do they shape our ideas of what is possible?
{"title":"Ways of knowing with data visualizations","authors":"Jill Walker Rettberg","doi":"10.2307/j.ctvzgb8c7.8","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.2307/j.ctvzgb8c7.8","url":null,"abstract":"Data visualizations combine numeric data with visual representation, and these modes allow them to express certain kinds of knowledge more easily than others. This chapter uses examples of historical data visualizations in order to examine what ways of knowing they privilege. What is the difference between the spatial organization of tools in prehistoric homes and a photograph or bar chart showing information about the same tools, in terms of the kinds of knowledge they enable? How do the systems for gathering and visualizing data during the 18th and 19th centuries shape our understanding of the world? How do data visualizations make us feel that they are objective? How do they shape our ideas of what is possible?","PeriodicalId":437386,"journal":{"name":"Data Visualization in Society","volume":"505 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2020-04-16","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"116328868","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Evaluating data visualization:","authors":"Arran Ridley, C. Birchall","doi":"10.2307/j.ctvzgb8c7.14","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.2307/j.ctvzgb8c7.14","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":437386,"journal":{"name":"Data Visualization in Society","volume":"16 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2020-04-16","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"129127559","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"The data epic:","authors":"J. Gray","doi":"10.2307/j.ctvzgb8c7.25","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.2307/j.ctvzgb8c7.25","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":437386,"journal":{"name":"Data Visualization in Society","volume":"3 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2020-04-16","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"130272548","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2020-04-16DOI: 10.1515/9789048543137-027
R. Hill
Data visualizations are powerful semiotic resources, which, it is sometimes claimed, have the power to change the world. This chapter argues that to understand this power we need to consider the uses to which visualizations have been put. Using visualizations relating to abortion as a case study alongside Klein and D’Ignazio’s notion of a ‘Bring Back the Bodies’ in data visualization, I argue that visualizations tell a narrow story, removing contextual detail and omitting to ask questions important to women’s health. To grasp the signif icance of this I propose a new body issue: the neglect of the viewer and those affected by decisions taken based on visualized data. Far from being a simple device to graphically display numerical data, therefore, there are important social and ethical issues at stake in data visualization.
{"title":"23. What is at stake in data visualization? A feminist critique of the rhetorical power of data visualizations in the media","authors":"R. Hill","doi":"10.1515/9789048543137-027","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1515/9789048543137-027","url":null,"abstract":"Data visualizations are powerful semiotic resources, which, it is sometimes claimed, have the power to change the world. This chapter argues that to understand this power we need to consider the uses to which visualizations have been put. Using visualizations relating to abortion as a case study alongside Klein and D’Ignazio’s notion of a ‘Bring Back the Bodies’ in data visualization, I argue that visualizations tell a narrow story, removing contextual detail and omitting to ask questions important to women’s health. To grasp the signif icance of this I propose a new body issue: the neglect of the viewer and those affected by decisions taken based on visualized data. Far from being a simple device to graphically display numerical data, therefore, there are important social and ethical issues at stake in data visualization.","PeriodicalId":437386,"journal":{"name":"Data Visualization in Society","volume":"39 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2020-04-16","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"132038182","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2020-04-16DOI: 10.5117/9789463722902_CH03
G. Aiello
This chapter is an overview of social semiotics as a productive framework for research on data visualization. It provides conceptual instruments that can be used to explore the relationship between the formal properties of data visualization and the meanings and practices that these may promote or hinder among users. In particular, the chapter argues that a social semiotic framework can be used to inventorize, situate, and transform visualization resources. Overall, it links descriptive, interpretive, and critical objectives to generate a framework aimed at understanding how data visualization ‘works’ from a formal standpoint, what meanings are consistently associated with particular semiotic resources, and how both key semiotic ‘rules’ and dominant meanings may be questioned and changed.
{"title":"Inventorizing, situating, transforming : Social semiotics and data visualization","authors":"G. Aiello","doi":"10.5117/9789463722902_CH03","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.5117/9789463722902_CH03","url":null,"abstract":"This chapter is an overview of social semiotics as a productive framework for research on data visualization. It provides conceptual instruments that can be used to explore the relationship between the formal properties of data visualization and the meanings and practices that these may promote or hinder among users. In particular, the chapter argues that a social semiotic framework can be used to inventorize, situate, and transform visualization resources. Overall, it links descriptive, interpretive, and critical objectives to generate a framework aimed at understanding how data visualization ‘works’ from a formal standpoint, what meanings are consistently associated with particular semiotic resources, and how both key semiotic ‘rules’ and dominant meanings may be questioned and changed.","PeriodicalId":437386,"journal":{"name":"Data Visualization in Society","volume":"26 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2020-04-16","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"129621205","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"List of figures","authors":"","doi":"10.2307/j.ctvzgb8c7.4","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.2307/j.ctvzgb8c7.4","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":437386,"journal":{"name":"Data Visualization in Society","volume":"15 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2020-04-16","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"124325888","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}