Research Interests
Physical Representations of Data
While many people tend to think of 2D graphs when they think of data visualizations there’s an entire world of physical representation to explore. These physical data representations tend to bend the rules of visual design in order to invoke more affective results, making them an interesting medium for display. Would you or I be able to truly comprehend the number of plastic bottles that are thrown away from a 2D bar graph? Or would seeing a physical representation of all the bottles that are not recycled from a single day help? By invoking the scale of a data set we may be able to better relate to it as well as make people care about it.
Difficult-to-grasp concepts
I’m also interested in the relationship between how we interpret visualized data and concepts that are difficult-to-grasp. This includes data sets that are massive, like the number of individuals who are impacted by poverty, or data sets that are abstract, like the impact of climate change on society. These insights could improve data literacy, which is especially important as we become a more data-centric society, and help us create more digestible visualizations. Not only does this offer an interesting perspective on the perceptive processes that occur when we view data, but it could also provide insights into our cognitive limitations.
Why do I (and hopefully you) care about this research?
I’m interested in this research because we live in an information-centric world and data visualizations are emerging as a new form of media. Even though the majority of the population is not trained in data science, we are still expected to understand the nuances associated with these visualizations. We use this data to make decisions ranging from medical to financial to even political choices, meaning misrepresenting and misinterpreting these visualizations could impact our health, communities, and future. Improving data literacy and providing the tools for smarter graphs are ways that we can help explain the importance of certain issues to those around us and improve our collective decision making skills. I believe it’s a small, but important step in the right direction.