The Social Construction of Visualizations: Practitioner Challenges and Experiences of Visualizing Race and Gender Demographic Data

Fuente: arXiv
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Autores principales: Dhawka, Priya, Dasgupta, Sayamindu
Formato: Preprint
Publicado: 2025
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author Dhawka, Priya
Dasgupta, Sayamindu
author_facet Dhawka, Priya
Dasgupta, Sayamindu
contents Data visualizations are increasingly seen as socially constructed, with several recent studies positing that perceptions and interpretations of visualization artifacts are shaped through complex sets of interactions between members of a community. However, most of these works have focused on audiences and researchers, and little is known about if and how practitioners account for the socially constructed framing of data visualization. In this paper, we study and analyze how visualization practitioners understand the influence of their beliefs, values, and biases in their design processes and the challenges they experience. In 17 semi-structured interviews with designers working with race and gender demographic data, we find that a complex mix of factors interact to inform how practitioners approach their design process, including their personal experiences, values, and their understandings of power, neutrality, and politics. Based on our findings, we suggest a series of implications for research and practice in this space.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2502_09048
institution arXiv
publishDate 2025
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle The Social Construction of Visualizations: Practitioner Challenges and Experiences of Visualizing Race and Gender Demographic Data
Dhawka, Priya
Dasgupta, Sayamindu
Human-Computer Interaction
Data visualizations are increasingly seen as socially constructed, with several recent studies positing that perceptions and interpretations of visualization artifacts are shaped through complex sets of interactions between members of a community. However, most of these works have focused on audiences and researchers, and little is known about if and how practitioners account for the socially constructed framing of data visualization. In this paper, we study and analyze how visualization practitioners understand the influence of their beliefs, values, and biases in their design processes and the challenges they experience. In 17 semi-structured interviews with designers working with race and gender demographic data, we find that a complex mix of factors interact to inform how practitioners approach their design process, including their personal experiences, values, and their understandings of power, neutrality, and politics. Based on our findings, we suggest a series of implications for research and practice in this space.
title The Social Construction of Visualizations: Practitioner Challenges and Experiences of Visualizing Race and Gender Demographic Data
topic Human-Computer Interaction
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2502.09048