Data stories are a way of presenting data and information in a narrative format that is easy for people to understand and engage with (Li, 2018). They can be used to promote information literacy by helping people to understand and critically evaluate data and its sources. They can also be used to help people become more informed by helping them understand and make sense of the data that increasingly shapes our world.
Following Averroes’ principle of writing three general types of commentary based on Aristotle’s works (Adamson and Di Giovanni, 2018), namely literal, metaphysical and political, we propose a similar methodology that separates the data from the possible narratives and allows the promotion of data literacy at different levels by tailoring it to different audiences of different expertise and age.
We explored this topic in two projects carried out by the Department of Information Science at the Haute Ecole de Gestion, HES//SO-Geneva. With the VIDAS (VIsualisation of DAta Stories) project, we provided a comparative in-depth study of the distinctive nature of data stories (VIDAS, 2023). In MIDAS (MIcroclimate DAta Stories), we then put the concepts into practice and developed three data stories based on the same dataset and developed at three different levels (MIDAS, 2023), targeting scientists, policy makers and children.
We started our study with a thorough literature review seeking to find a clear definition of the term data story. As a result, data stories encompass various types of elements that need to be considered when telling a story: the data, the visual form, and the narrative component. The balanced combination of these elements is intended to drive behavioral change through the integration of narrative into the data presentation, and last but not least to lead to a call to action (Duarte, 2019).
While looking for ideas of relevant data stories relevant, we came across the history of a local chestnut tree, located in the old town of Geneva. Since 1818, the date of the first leaf hatching has been observed and recorded as a marker of the arrival of spring. This subject seemed particularly relevant to us because it is rooted in local history and it provides a tangible illustration of the impact of climate change on our environment. Data Stories developed on this topic seemed to us an appropriate communication tool to raise awareness among different audiences (children, adults, decision makers) about the impacts of global warming. The time shift of the first leaf hatching date of the chestnut tree to earlier and earlier dates could be put in parallel with the warming in Geneva due to climate change. In the paper we will present the genesis of the three data stories developed on this subject.
Our study shows that data stories can be used to help people make informed decisions by providing them with a clear and concise representation of the data. This can help people understand the implications of different choices and make decisions based on evidence rather than intuition. So far, data stories have been created for two datasets using the principle of Averroesian commentary. After creating the first set of data stories, self-evaluation procedures were used to gain insights that were subsequently applied to the second data set.
It is worth noting that the impact of data stories on data literacy will vary depending on the audience, the type of data presented and the way the story is presented. Overall, however, data stories can be a powerful tool to promote data literacy and help people become more informed and engaged citizens.
References
- Adamson, P., & Di Giovanni, M. (Eds.). (2018). Interpreting Averroes: Critical essays. Cambridge University Press.
- Duarte, N. (2019). Data Story. Explain data and inspire action through story. Ideapress Publishing.
- Li, Q. (2018). Data visualization as creative art practice. Visual Communication, 17(3), 299–312.
- MIDAS (2023). MIDAS (Microclimate Data Stories). Retrieved from https://campus.hesge.ch/id_bilingue/projekte/MIDAS/index.html
- VIDAS (2023). Comprendre et expliquer la VIsualisation des données et les DAta Stories. Retrieved from https://campus.hesge.ch/id_bilingue/projekte/vidas/index.html
René Schneider1, Vincent De Vevey2, Marielle Guirlet1, Laetizia Sabatini-Choqard1, Javier Lloret2
1Haute Ecole de Gestion Geneva – HESSO, Switzerland; 2Haute Ecole d’Art et Design Geneva – HESSO, Switzerland
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