ResViz: Politics and design issues in visualizing academic metrics

Chris Elsden, Sebastian Mellor, Patrick Olivier, Pete Wheldon, David Kirk, Rob Comber

Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceedingConference contribution

Abstract / Description of output

The use of data and metrics on a professional and personal level has led to considerable discourse around the performative power and politics of 'big data' and data visualization, with academia being no exception. We have developed a university system, ResViz, which publicly visualizes the externally funded research projects of academics, and their internal collaborations. We present an interview study that engages 20 key stakeholders, academics and administrators who are part of the pilot release for the first version of this system. In doing so, we describe and problematize our design space, considering the implications of making metrics visible and their social use within a large organization. Our findings cut across the way people communicate, review and manage performance with metrics. We raise seven design issues in this space - practical considerations that expose the tensions in making metrics available for public contestation.

Original languageEnglish
Title of host publicationCHI 2016 - Proceedings, 34th Annual CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems
PublisherAssociation for Computing Machinery
Pages5015-5027
Number of pages13
ISBN (Electronic)9781450333627
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 7 May 2016
Event34th Annual Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems, CHI 2016 - San Jose, United States
Duration: 7 May 201612 May 2016

Publication series

NameConference on Human Factors in Computing Systems - Proceedings

Conference

Conference34th Annual Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems, CHI 2016
Country/TerritoryUnited States
CitySan Jose
Period7/05/1612/05/16

Keywords / Materials (for Non-textual outputs)

  • Critical data studies
  • Metrics
  • Visualization

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