Data Visualizations: An Integrative Literature Review of Empirical Studies Across Disciplines

Abstract

This paper addresses the increasing importance of information literacy, especially visual communication and data visualizations. We use visualizations here to mean the visual depictions of data via charts, graphs, and other forms. We focus on data visualizations because they are typically the first thing that draws the reader’s attention.Our study updates the results of a previous literature review on data visualizations [6] that reported on 25 empirical studies that asked participants about data visualizations in health and medical information contexts. By updating this integrative literature review with data from the last five years (2017-2021), our goal is to examine changes in empirical research on data visualizations across disciplines. This analysis of 32 empirical studies found that pictographs, icon arrays, and bar charts remain effective choices for data visualizations with diverse users. However, the studies also point to an ongoing need to conduct research with more contextualized research questions and a focus on interactive displays, issues of numeracy, and a closer look at risk. More so than scholars in other disciplines, TPC scholars are uniquely positioned to focus on context with an eye toward generalizable approaches, which are much needed in research communicating complex health information through data visualizations.