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Abstract

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Terms like ‘big data’, ‘data science’, and ‘data visualisation’ have become buzzwords in recent years and are increasingly intertwined with journalism. Data visualisation may further blur the lines between science communication and graphic design. Our study is situated in these overlaps to compare the design of data visualisations in science news stories across four online news media platforms in South Africa and the United States. Our study contributes to an understanding of how well-considered data visualisations are tools for effective storytelling, and offers practical recommendations for using data visualisation in science communication efforts.

Details

1009240
Subject
Journalism;
Language;
Graphic design;
Scientific visualization;
Comparative analysis;
Science;
Big Data;
Communication;
Data science;
Design;
Storytelling;
News media;
Visualization;
Literacy;
Skills;
Data visualization
Location
United States--US; South Africa
Identifier / keyword
Data visualization; Graphs; Vision; Charts; Journalism; Language; Color vision; New York
Title
Off the charts: A comparative analysis of data visualisations in online science news from South Africa and the USA
Author
Marnell, Kirsten  VIAFID ORCID Logo  ; Joubert, Marina  VIAFID ORCID Logo  ; Ionica Smeets Winnifred Wijnker
Publication title
PLoS One; San Francisco
Volume
20
Issue
2
First page
e0316194
Publication year
2025
Publication date
Feb 2025
Section
Research Article
Publisher
Public Library of Science
Place of publication
San Francisco
Country of publication
United States
Publication subject
Medical Sciences, Sciences: Comprehensive Works
e-ISSN
19326203
Source type
Scholarly Journal
Language of publication
English
Document type
Journal Article
Publication history
 
 
Milestone dates
2024-05-08 (Received); 2024-12-08 (Accepted); 2025-02-21 (Published)
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0316194
ProQuest document ID
3169426550
Document URL
https://www.proquest.com/scholarly-journals/off-charts-comparative-analysis-data/docview/3169426550/se-2?accountid=208611
Copyright
© 2025 Kirsten et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ (the “License”), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited. Notwithstanding the ProQuest Terms and Conditions, you may use this content in accordance with the terms of the License.
Last updated
2025-06-30
Database
3 databases
  • Coronavirus Research Database
  • ProQuest One Academic
  • ProQuest One Academic