Caitlyn Ralph

Date of Award

2018

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Bachelors

Department

Natural Sciences

First Advisor

Lepinski, Matthew

Area of Concentration

Computer Science

Abstract

As a reaction to society's heightened digitization, journalism has taken a "quantitative turn" [1] in order to parse through increasingly-available complex information. This quantitative turn is largely concentrated on data journalism. Yet, there is a definitional struggle surrounding data journalism and its unique derivatives. By combining literature on quantitative journalism, visual storytelling, and visualization, more stable definitions for the developing field are presented, allowing for its implications to be precisely considered inside and outside the newsroom. Focus is then placed on the visualization-heavy derivative of data journalism, which, through the previous taxonomic discussion, is labeled as narrative visualization. Effective design techniques for narrative visualization, including the JavaScript library Data-Driven Documents, are introduced before discussing underlying theory and greater societal impacts. Lastly, a suggested sequence of steps for the creation of a narrative visualization is presented through a case study addressing the exponential rise of one of the United Kingdom's most successful bands in recent history, the 1975. Alongside an example narrative visualization on the 1975's success story, a longform journalism article is also presented and used as a point of comparison between the two storytelling mediums. The overarching goal, for this case study and narrative visualization in general, is to break down a multifaceted idea into digestible components for a wide variety of audiences to consume.

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