Abstract
Sharing the complex narratives within scientific data in an intuitive fashion has proven difficult, especially for communicators endeavoring to reach a wide audience comprised of individuals with differing levels of scientific knowledge and mathematical ability. We discuss the application of data sonification – the process of translating data into sound, sometimes in a musical context– as a method of overcoming barriers to science communication. Data sonification can convey large datasets with many dimensions in an efficient and engaging way that reduces scientific literacy and numeracy barriers to understanding the underlying scientific data. This method is particularly beneficial for its ability to portray scientific data to those with visual impairments, who are often unable to engage with traditional data visualizations. We explore the applications of data sonification for science communicators and researchers alike, as well as considerations for making sonified data accessible and engaging to broad audiences with diverse levels of expertise.
Highlights
Conveying complex scientific narratives to a broad audience has been an ever-present challenge for science communicators and educators
As interdisciplinary explorations of rich datasets in the sciences and social sciences uncover vast interconnections between many variables that explain the systems we observe in the world around us, the challenge for science communicators attempting to balance data complexity, fidelity, and comprehensibility is more difficult than ever
The scientific narratives that result from such exploration need to be conveyed clearly and accurately, in ways that faithfully represent the underlying data while still remaining engaging the general public
Summary
Conveying complex scientific narratives to a broad audience has been an ever-present challenge for science communicators and educators. We suggest that a change in modality, from graphical representations to auditory ones using a process called data sonification, can reduce these barriers by creating an alternate way to engage with complex scientific data. Data Sonification for Science Communication well as its potential to highlight local interactions between variables, makes it a powerful tool for data exploration for educators, and scientific researchers We will explore both of these applications, as well as sonification’s unique potential to convey scientific data for the visually impaired, for whom graphical representations present greater challenges. As Oakes et al traveled south along the Alaskan coastline, the yellow cedar died off, replaced by western hemlock This sonification maps the data to several sonic parameters, with the twin goals of rendering audible patterns in the data and creating an aesthetically satisfying musical experience that tells the story of the Alaskan forests. While further research into data sonification can help to quantify the learning benefits for both sighted and visually impaired individuals, the modality certainly offers engaging ways for the visually impaired to interact with informal learning environments and scientific textbook studies that would otherwise be inaccessible to them
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