Design in the Wild: Novel Insights into High School Students Identification and Perception of Misleading Data Visualisations

Design best practices for creating reliable visualisations have been extensively researched. However, such design practices are not always present in the visualisations we interact with in our everyday lives. Visualisations influence how information is interpreted and understood, so evaluating them critically is a valuable skill. High school students are constantly exposed to visual content, so understanding how they process visualisations is crucial. This study explores the ability of 396 students to identify misleading graphical and textual elements and their perceptions of deceiving elements in real-world and synthetic visualisations. Results suggest high school students are limited in their ability to identify misleading elements. Furthermore, the way components are perceived can lead to deception even when no explicit errors exist. The study highlights the need to improve students’ critical analysis of visualisations, providing a basis for future research to empower young individuals to critically engage with visualisations and enhance ethical design practices.