CCQ205 Data-Driven Storytelling
To view more information for this unit, select Unit Outline from the list below. Please note the teaching period for which the Unit Outline is relevant.
| Unit code: | CCQ205 |
|---|---|
| Prerequisite(s): | CCQ104 or CCN104 |
| Antirequisite(s): | DXB502 |
| Equivalent(s): | CCN205 |
| Credit points: | 12 |
| Timetable | Details in HiQ, if available |
| Availabilities |
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| Domestic tuition unit fee | $2,976 |
Unit Outline: Session 4 2024, QUT Online, Online
| Unit code: | CCQ205 |
|---|---|
| Credit points: | 12 |
| Pre-requisite: | CCQ104 or CCN104 |
| Equivalent: | CCN205 |
| Anti-requisite: | DXB502 |
Overview
This unit examines visual communication for information and the application of design principles for effective information design, especially visual data stories across various contexts and audiences. Understanding and engaging with the ever-growing quantities of data is a challenge for both organisations and individuals. Increasingly, experts are required to not only manipulate and evaluate this data but also to identify and communicate it within, to stakeholders, clients, users, community groups, etc. The effective visual communication of those stories in the data is a design process informed by advanced principles of information design and is critical for audience engagement. Data-driven storytelling is an advanced visual information design unit.
Learning Outcomes
On successful completion of this unit you will be able to:
- Apply principles and considerations of advanced information design to effectively communicate a data story graphically.
- Interpret and respond to complex design briefs for a visual data story across a range of contexts.
- Manipulate data and identify salient themes from different datasets.
- Create a variety of information design types and high density (multivariate) graphical outcomes.
Content
This unit will explore topics such as:
- Key criteria for information design and visualisation
- Design principles for advanced visual information design
- History, contexts and various uses of information design
- How information design in maps and diagrams has been used to represent meaningful relationships between spatial, temporal and conceptual data
- The role infographics to leverage social media conversations and journalism and to visualise relationships between events
- Types of visualisations
- Tools for creating information design.
Learning Approaches
This unit will be delivered fully online and may include intensive delivery. It will be facilitated by a unit coordinator using a flipped learning approach. This approach requires you to complete online pre-workshop activities independently, prior to attending the online workshop. Indicative learning experiences in this unit may include:
- completing visualisation exercises
- interpreting and manipulating data activities
- analysing and critiquing information designs
- developing skills in the use of graphical applications
- creating visualisations
- completing online software application tutorials.
Feedback opportunities from members of the teaching team and your peers will be integrated into the unit as outlined in the Feedback to students section of this unit outline.
Feedback on Learning and Assessment
You will receive feedback on your learning in a variety of ways, including:
- Informal formative feedback will be provided via quizzes, self-assessment tools, peer feedback and through individual or whole of class feedback, the debriefing of learning activities or via comments in online communities.
- Formal written or recorded feedback will be received on both formative and summative assessment tasks, in addition to the grade on the Criterion Reference Assessment sheet.
Feedback on your formative assessment task will be received prior to the submission of your summative assessment task.
Assessment
Overview
You will be required to complete two assessment tasks in this unit: a critique of a data story and your own data story project. The assessment in the unit has been designed to provide you with the opportunity to develop and apply your understanding of advanced visualisation principles for making sense of complex data sets and effectively communicating data in the form of visual stories to a variety of audiences.
Opportunities to receive feedback and other formative activities, which mirror the assessment tasks will be available online and in workshops to help you to gauge your progress. Additionally, opportunities for self and peer evaluation will be integrated into the unit.
Unit Grading Scheme
7- point scale
Assessment Tasks
Assessment: Critique
One way of continuing to advance your own knowledge and skills as a digital communication practitioner is to constantly consume and evaluate the work of your peers. Over the course of this unit you should be reading at least one data journalism, or information visualisation article per day. Source these articles from both national and international sources, and be sure to read across the entire spectrum of content, not just in narrow specialist niches (i.e. just sport, or lifestyle).
Data storytelling is an emergent form of communication, and as such there are many whose work succeeds very well in its goals, whereas there are also examples whose execution requires improvement. An important part of being a reflective practitioner is being aware of the work of your peers and being able to incorporate and innovate on these ideas.
Being able to deconstruct data stories is an important way of identifying what elements of the story work, and also understanding ways in which you yourself could adapt these approaches. In this assignment you will select one data story and unpack it across a number of critical dimensions that include:
- What is the story and what does it tell us?
- What data is the story based upon?
- How is the data presented in the story?
- Why does data matter for this story?
- What do you like/dislike about this story and what would you have done differently?
This is an assignment for the purposes of an extension.
Assessment: Data Story
Data storytelling is an increasingly sought-after skill, and many organisations have pivoted towards the use of data storytelling to make strategic decisions around many aspects of their business. In this assessment you are required to present a data story using a topic provided to you by the teaching team. The format and deliverable for this will be a multiple-page Tableau story presentation that will form the basis for an oral presentation. You will present a compelling original visual data story using a combination of provided and (optionally) individually sourced data. It will be up to you what specific angle or story you look to present, and you will be assessed on your storytelling ability, originality, accuracy and ethics, impact, communication and creative flair.
This is an assignment for the purposes of an extension.
Academic Integrity
Students are expected to engage in learning and assessment at QUT with honesty, transparency and fairness. Maintaining academic integrity means upholding these principles and demonstrating valuable professional capabilities based on ethical foundations.
Failure to maintain academic integrity can take many forms. It includes cheating in examinations, plagiarism, self-plagiarism, collusion, and submitting an assessment item completed by another person (e.g. contract cheating). It can also include providing your assessment to another entity, such as to a person or website.
You are encouraged to make use of QUT’s learning support services, resources and tools to assure the academic integrity of your assessment. This includes the use of text matching software that may be available to assist with self-assessing your academic integrity as part of the assessment submission process.
Further details of QUT’s approach to academic integrity are outlined in the Academic integrity policy and the Student Code of Conduct. Breaching QUT’s Academic integrity policy is regarded as student misconduct and can lead to the imposition of penalties ranging from a grade reduction to exclusion from QUT.
Requirements to Study
Costs
The unit requires:
- Laptop computer with Tableau, Acrobat Reader Pro, Microsoft Excel, Microsoft Word, Open Refine, and Sublime Text.
- Internet access to review online modules, Lynda.com and/or other resources at QUT
- Digital storage media (USB memory stick or portable hard drive)
Risk Assessment Statement
You are advised to back-up your digital files on a regular basis to ensure work is not lost if there is a hardware failure. Information about the free file storage provided by QUT for students is available on the Storing your files page.
There are no out of the ordinary risks associated with this unit.