Abstract

Much existing data journalism literature chooses to focus on how to create data journalism; comparatively little research has examined how audiences react to elements of data journalism. In examining this subject, this research aims to determine specific elements of data journalism that can be applied to general news production. By creating a scale of numerical complexity, creating pieces of test journalism along this scale, and presenting the resulting articles in focus group discussions, this research found that data plays the specific role of corroborating a human experience, but cannot replace it in a traditional story structure. However, focus group participants viewed the inclusion of numerical information as essential evidence in an article. In short, this research finds that accessible data journalism must include (1) a central character through which the story can be followed, (2) sufficient numerical information to corroborate the account presented by the main character, and (3) a visual element that offers some level of interpretation of the information to the reader, rather than solely a “data-dump.” The findings of this research can serve as a foundation for attempting to create pieces of data journalism suitable for traditional news media and general news audiences.