IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/spr/jcsosc/v8y2025i4d10.1007_s42001-025-00407-6.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Exploratory and explanatory features in data storytelling: untangling the interplay and associations with linearity, interactivity, and structure

Author

Listed:
  • Bahareh Heravi

    (University of Surrey, Institute for People-Centred AI and Surrey Business School)

Abstract

In a journalism and communication landscape where data plays an increasingly important role in crafting reliable and engaging stories, data storytelling has become an integral part of the industry. Traditionally, journalism has often followed a linear, author-driven, and explanatory approach to storytelling. However, the rise of data storytelling has prompted a significant shift towards more interactive and reader-driven stories, with a higher potential for exploration. While the literature in the field has studied aspects such as interactivity in data visualisations, linearity and storytelling structures, the discourse surrounding exploratory features of data stories is relatively recent and scarce, and it remains largely unexplored. This paper addresses this gap and studies the exploratory and explanatory characteristics of data stories, and their interdependencies. It further examines the relationships of these facets with other key attributes of data stories, specifically linearity, interactivity, and storytelling structures. This is done through analysing a broad selection of data stories (N = 118) sourced from a variety of news outlets. Results uncover the complementary roles exploratory and explanatory characteristics play in data stories, and reveal the nuances in relationships with the other three facets. The findings provide both a deeper theoretical understanding of data story design and practical insights for data journalists seeking to balance explanation and exploration in their narratives.

Suggested Citation

  • Bahareh Heravi, 2025. "Exploratory and explanatory features in data storytelling: untangling the interplay and associations with linearity, interactivity, and structure," Journal of Computational Social Science, Springer, vol. 8(4), pages 1-36, November.
    • Handle: RePEc:spr:jcsosc:v:8:y:2025:i:4:d:10.1007_s42001-025-00407-6
    DOI: 10.1007/s42001-025-00407-6
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://link.springer.com/10.1007/s42001-025-00407-6
    File Function: Abstract
    Download Restriction: Access to the full text of the articles in this series is restricted.
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1007/s42001-025-00407-6?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to

    for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Edson C. Tandoc Jr. & Ryan J. Thomas & Lauren Bishop, 2021. "What Is (Fake) News? Analyzing News Values (and More) in Fake Stories," Media and Communication, Cogitatio Press, vol. 9(1), pages 110-119.
    2. Edson C. Tandoc Jr. & Ryan J. Thomas & Lauren Bishop, 2021. "What Is (Fake) News? Analyzing News Values (and More) in Fake Stories," Media and Communication, Cogitatio Press, vol. 9(1), pages 110-119.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Oscar Westlund, 2021. "Advancing Research into Dark Participation," Media and Communication, Cogitatio Press, vol. 9(1), pages 209-214.
    2. Jari Jussila & Anu Helena Suominen & Atte Partanen & Tapani Honkanen, 2021. "Text Analysis Methods for Misinformation–Related Research on Finnish Language Twitter," Future Internet, MDPI, vol. 13(6), pages 1-16, June.
    3. Lina Zhou & Jie Tao & Dongsong Zhang, 2023. "Does Fake News in Different Languages Tell the Same Story? An Analysis of Multi-level Thematic and Emotional Characteristics of News about COVID-19," Information Systems Frontiers, Springer, vol. 25(2), pages 493-512, April.
    4. Sami Nenno, 2024. "Propositional claim detection: a task and dataset for the classification of claims to truth," Journal of Computational Social Science, Springer, vol. 7(2), pages 1727-1752, October.
    5. Raúl Rodríguez-Ferrándiz & Cande Sánchez-Olmos & Tatiana Hidalgo-Marí & Estela Saquete-Boro, 2021. "Memetics of Deception: Spreading Local Meme Hoaxes during COVID-19 1st Year," Future Internet, MDPI, vol. 13(6), pages 1-19, June.
    6. Phimphakan Thongthip & Kannikar Intawong & Suepphong Chernbumroong & Perasuk Worragin & Yootthapong Tongpaeng & Kitti Puritat, 2024. "Design and analysis of personalized serious games for information literacy: catering to introverted and extraverted individuals through game elements," Humanities and Social Sciences Communications, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 11(1), pages 1-16, December.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:spr:jcsosc:v:8:y:2025:i:4:d:10.1007_s42001-025-00407-6. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Sonal Shukla or Springer Nature Abstracting and Indexing (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.springer.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.