Why More Text is (Often) Better: Themes from Reader Preferences for Integration of Charts and Text

TL;DR

This study explores reader preferences for integrating charts and text, revealing that more detailed annotations are often preferred for context and storytelling, despite concerns about potential misleading elements.

Contribution

The paper provides a thematic analysis of qualitative responses, highlighting key factors influencing preferences for chart-text integration and raising questions for future research.

Findings

Readers prefer more context in charts and text

Storytelling elements influence preferences

Suspicion of misleading information affects choices

Abstract

Given a choice between charts with minimal text and those with copious textual annotations, participants in a study (Stokes et al.) tended to prefer the charts with more text. This paper examines the qualitative responses of the participants' preferences for various stimuli integrating charts and text, including a text-only variant. A thematic analysis of these responses resulted in three main findings. First, readers commented most frequently on the presence or lack of context; they preferred to be informed, even when it sacrificed simplicity. Second, readers discussed the story-like component of the text-only variant and made little mention of narrative in relation to the chart variants. Finally, readers showed suspicion around possible misleading elements of the chart or text. These themes support findings from previous work on annotations, captions, and alternative text. We raise further questions regarding the combination of text and visual communication.