Narrative Scaffolding: A Narrative-First Framework for Data-Driven Sensemaking

TL;DR

This paper introduces Narrative Scaffolding, a framework that makes narrative construction central to data exploration, enhancing reasoning, reflection, and coherence in data analysis processes.

Contribution

It presents a novel narrative-first framework and system for data exploration, addressing the gap where existing tools treat narrative as secondary.

Findings

Facilitates broader exploration

Enhances reflection depth

Produces more coherent narratives

Abstract

When exploring data, analysts construct narratives about what the data means by asking questions, generating visualizations, reflecting on patterns, and revising their interpretations as new insights emerge. Yet existing analysis tools treat narrative as an afterthought, breaking the link between reasoning, reflection, and the evolving story from exploration. Consequently, analysts lose the ability to see how their reasoning evolves, making it harder to reflect systematically or build coherent explanations. To address this gap, we propose Narrative Scaffolding, a framework for narrative-driven exploration that positions narrative construction as the primary interface for exploration and reasoning. We implement this framework in a system that externalizes iterative reasoning through narrative-first entry, semantically aligned view generation, and reflection support via insight provenance and inquiry tracking. In a within-subject study N=20, we demonstrate that narrative scaffolding facilitates broader exploration, deeper reflection, and more defensible narratives. An evaluation with visualization literacy experts (N = 6) confirmed that the system produced outputs aligned with narrative intent and facilitated intentional exploration.