Abstract

This chapter focuses on data visualisation, an increasingly important method in the online research toolset and a means of communicating research results to peers and the wider public. The chapter starts with a brief note about what data visualisation is, before moving to a longer discussion of claims about what data visualisations can and cannot do. The subsequent section on visualisation tools, techniques and processes points readers in the direction of resources and highlights key principles and approaches, rather than cover this subject matter comprehensively. The chapter then moves to focus on examples of using data visualisation within social science research, drawing on the authors’ own experiences. It concludes by summarising the key issues for online researchers seeking to use data visualisation in their research, noting the importance of attending to audiences, their needs and the contexts of their visualisation use.