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Evaluating Sources: Evaluating Images

Introducing Visual Literacy

Visual literacy is the ability "to understand and analyze the contextual, cultural, ethical, aesthetic, intellectual, and technical components involved in the production and use of visual materials." (source)

Misuse of Images

To understand what you're seeing, ask yourself the following questions.

Content

  • What is the type of image - photograph, painting, cartoon, poster, map, chart or graph, meme, video, etc.? What does the type of image tell you about how it was created?
  • What is being depicted in the image? Mentally divide the image into four parts , and take time to notice a few details from each part.
  • Are you looking at the original image, or has it been edited in some way?
  • If there is a caption or title, what information does it provide?

Creator / Sender

  • Who created the image, where, and when? How can you tell?
  • If the image has been shared by someone other than the creator, did the creator receive credit?
  • What do you think the creator was trying to communicate through this image?

Viewer / Receiver

  • How did you encounter the image? Do you think you are part of the intended audience? Why or why not?
  • What is your response to the image? How do your personal experiences shape your response? 
  • Look for other responses. How do different types of viewers see the image differently?
  • What other information do you need in order to understand the image better?

Data visualizations like charts and graphs can present information in a more direct and engaging way than text alone. Like text, they can also present information in biased and misleading ways, so it's important to understand what you see.

5 Questions to Ask about Data Visualizations

  1. What is the topic? Check for a title or description.
  2. What is being measured? Look for labels.
  3. How is it being measured? What are the units of measure? Do they make sense, or do they distort the data?
  4. Do color, shape, and size add meaning to the image? If so, how?
  5. What is the source of the data? Is there a citation or link to the source?

Practice

The two images below represent the same set of data reported by Patient.info. Which one does a better job? Why?

A range of figures representing average male height by country, from 6' in the Netherlands to 5'2" in Indonesia. The tallest figure is about five times as large as the shortest.
A range of figures representing average male height by country. The scale in this image begins at zero, so the relative sizes of the figures are realistic.