Developing Visualisation Literacy

This resource aims to help people make sense of data visualisations. It’s for the general public – people who are interested in visualisations, but are not experts in this subject. Each section tells you something different, and it attempts to build your confidence and skills in making sense of data visualisations. You can work through the sections in any order you like.

Why do we need to understand data visualisations? There is more and more data around us, and data are increasingly used in decision-making, journalism, and to make sense of the world. One of the main ways that people get access to data is through visualisations, but lots of people feel like they don’t have the skills and knowledge to make sense of visualisations. This can mean that some people feel left out of conversations about data. This resource aims to overcome that problem, by helping people to develop their ability to understand – and enjoy! – data visualisations.