Undergraduates’ Perceptions on Data Visualization Consumption versus Production: It’s Communication, but Is It “Writing”?

Abstract

Is producing data visualizations (charts, graphs, tables) considered to be ’writing’? We know university students are fairly comfortable critiquing data visualizations and are exposed to data visualization interpretations as early as elementary school, but where does the onus of data visualization production fall within university curriculum? This exploratory study describes the results of a pilot test of undergraduate students’ experiences with and confidence of producing data visualization artifacts from raw data. The purpose of the paper is to provide a starting point for collecting information about how confident students feel by the time they reach college to produce graphs based on raw data. Most students were neutral/slightly confident in their current abilities but “hoped/planned to be so by graduation.” 65% of students were somewhat confident or confident in their ability to produce charts. The paper asks where we are teaching these skills, and is the humanities, rather than business, the right place for teaching data visualization production skills? The pilot survey is under review for revision to include additional questions posed by audience members for the conference session, and from members of SIGDOC, PROCOMM, Association of Teachers of Technical Writing (ATTW) and Council of Programs of Technical & Scientific Communication (CPTSC). The presentation will serve as a sounding board for when and where we teach the production of data visualization in our curriculums.