Professor of Political Science Barbara Allen had a question. After years of using various data visualization methods in her classes, she now wanted to know: can three-dimensional visualizations show things that two-dimensional expressions cannot?
She knew of three-dimensional (3D) projections, though they were not frequently used in her field of political science. She was also aware that there were new tools available at Carleton: multiple 3D printers, virtual- and augmented-reality headsets, and software able to display multiple layers simultaneously, among other possibilities.
Could she put these newer tools to good use in her political science classes?
Barbara explained that she had a perfect opportunity to learn about using 3D visualizations with her classes on news coverage and political advertising in the 2018 US General Elections. She continues, “We pooled expertise and enthusiasm across three diverse courses — an A&I seminar, an upper level course, and a lab experience — to make six research teams. I challenged the students in three arenas of individual and team work:
- to use election data to understand various political science question of interest to them;
- to learn enough of a new software package (Tableau) to enable them to visualize possible answers to their questions;
- to present their findings in both 2D and 3D formats.”
Although the work was difficult, the students rose to the challenge. Barbara taught the teams principles of project management (based on agile software development methodologies). The students worked with Kristin Partlo and Paula Lackie to locate data sets with relevant information for their queries. Paula and her Data Squad also tutored them to use Tableau as a tool for looking for answers in visual form. Andrew Wilson offered an introduction to different 3D technologies and helped students with their specific projects. Doug Foxgrover focused the students’ attention on the overall visual communication of their exhibits. Michael Decker helped set up the projection technology.
So, how did the classes do, and was Barbara’s original question answered?
Barbara’s take is as follows:
“Working across the courses students came up with research hypotheses that ranged from the impact of felon disenfranchisement on election outcomes to the populist rhetoric of 2016 presidential candidates. Some students collected new data using such research methods as survey research and content analysis, while others learned to work with American National Election Study and Pew Research Center data. They examined their data in Tableau and gained a great basic understanding of what the data said, which gave everyone a foundation on which to construct more nuanced readings of trends and statistical relationships.
“Moving from a simple bar chart or a graph to a narrative infographic challenged them to see correlations and to reflect critically on the stories that we construct by interpreting results in light of theory. Most challenging, perhaps, was the move from flat-world 2D infographic presentation to a 3D view of the data. One team literally had viewers walk through and behind their flat data presentation to engage with projections in a 3D space.”
“The exhibit of the students’ work showed a wide range of possibilities for classroom use. I learned better ways of teaching project management and using data visualization to enhance my demonstration of media effects on political behavior. My research demonstrates the profound impact of the visual on political learning. In this experience of ‘learning by doing,’ the students saw how powerful a visual narrative can be — and how much one can show or, alternatively, hide from the viewer in a great looking graphic or 3D walk through of the data.”
– Barbara Allen