Enthusiastic and Grounded, Avoidant and Cautious: Understanding Public Receptivity to Data and Visualizations

Area of Science:

• Data Visualization
• Human-Computer Interaction
• Public Data Engagement

Background:

• Open data initiatives aim to inform the public, yet understanding of non-expert engagement with data visualizations remains limited.
• Existing research often overlooks how individuals outside data analysis communities interact with public data.

Purpose of the Study:

• To explore lived experiences of diverse audiences with public open data and visualizations, specifically in the energy sector.
• To identify factors influencing engagement beyond traditional data literacy and visualization engagement metrics.

Main Methods:

• Qualitative interview study with 19 participants from varied ethnic, occupational, and demographic backgrounds.
• Analysis of participant experiences with open data and visualizations related to energy consumption, production, and transmission.

Main Results:

• Introduced "information receptivity" as a distinct concept, describing an individual's openness to information.
• Identified four clusters of receptivity: Information-Avoidant, Data-Cautious, Data-Enthusiastic, and Domain-Grounded.
• Highlighted diverse responses to data and visualization rhetoric among participants.

Conclusions:

• Recognizing information receptivity is crucial for the data visualization community.
• Findings suggest opportunities to enhance the accessibility and inclusivity of open data initiatives for broad audiences.
• Emphasizes the need to consider varying levels of audience openness to information.