"The main message is that sustainability would help" -- Reflections on takeaway messages of climate change data visualizations

TL;DR

This study explores how different audiences interpret climate change data visualizations, revealing differences in message understanding and the importance of effective visualization design for public communication.

Contribution

It provides insights into lay and expert perceptions of climate data visualizations, highlighting key differences in message interpretation and sensemaking processes.

Findings

Lay audiences focus on main messages more than experts.

Differences in message content and abstraction between groups.

Visualizations influence understanding and communication effectiveness.

Abstract

How do different audiences make sense of climate change data visualizations and what do they take away as a main message? To investigate this question, we are building on the results of a previous study, focusing on expert opinions regarding public climate change communication and the role of data visualizations. Hereby, we conducted semi-structured interviews with 17 experts in the fields of climate change, science communication, or data visualization. We also interviewed six lay persons with no professional background in either of these areas. With this analysis, we aim to shed light on how lay audiences arrive at an understanding of climate change data visualizations and what they take away as a main message. For two exemplary data visualizations, we compare their takeaway messages with messages formulated by experts. Through a thematic analysis, we observe differences regarding the included contents, the length and abstraction of messages, and the sensemaking process between and among the participant groups.