An Wang Professor of Computer Science, Hanspeter Pfister, and former HDSI Postdoc Carolina Nobre (now an Assistant Professor at University of Toronto) follow up on their previous Trust in Science award to explore how people process and trust scientific information when it’s presented through data visualizations, such as graphs and charts. Using eye-tracking technology, researchers will observe how 120 participants interpret visualizations of varying complexity and connect that information to their existing beliefs. The study builds on previous findings showing that simpler visuals are generally more trusted than complex ones. Over the course of a year, the team will design 12 different visualizations and analyze how viewers engage with them. The goal is to develop practical guidelines for scientists, journalists, and others who create scientific visualizations, helping them design graphics that are both easy to understand and trustworthy.
This project, and others like it, is made possible by the Trust in Science Fund.