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April 2023 - March 2026 | CHF 499'986 (NRP 80 project financed by the Swiss National Science Foundation)

Context

Data and the way they are produced, shared and interpreted can have a major impact on the way pandemics and other health crises are managed. Although there were abundant data in the case of Covid-19, the public did not always understand them very well, which occasionally resulted in confusion and resistance to public health measures as well as to disinformation.

Aim

The project aims to understand how data are produced and used in narratives (particularly by journalists) during a pandemic and also how they are perceived by the public by identifying how confidence in the media, data literacy levels and pre-existing beliefs shape the meaning conferred on them. Measures for improvement will also be proposed.

This project is part of the Swiss National Science Foundation's NRP 80, which aims to identify the key factors and social dynamics that played a decisive role in the Covid-19 pandemic, with a view to developing strategies on how society can be prepared for future pandemics. In general, NRP projects are intended to make a scientifically sound contribution to solving urgent problems of national importance. Defined by the Federal Council, they last between four and five years and are allocated ten to twenty million Swiss francs to fund their research projects.

Exemple de visualisation publiée durant la pandémie de Covid-19 (source: letemps.ch)

Approach

Concretely, we will first identify the key indicators and data used by journalists as framing elements of the health crisis, as well as their evolution. Qualitative case studies will document journalists' practices and visions. Then, through experimental studies, we will analyze audiences' understanding of data-integrated narratives, looking for ways to reduce interpretation bias and skepticism. Finally, through a collaborative and applied approach, we will test new forms of data narratives and visualizations to enhance their accessibility and intelligibility.

Relevance

Results will contribute to a better understanding of the role of data in media accounts of the Covid-19 pandemic, as well as their reception. The project aims to identify avenues of improvement to promote better information during times of pandemic, taking into account the conditions of data production and reception.

Exemple de datavisualisation publiée durant la pandémie de Covid-19 (source: rts.ch)

Application

This applied research project brings together researchers from several disciplines as well as civil society partners – the media, Federal Statistical Office, public health authorities and journalist training institutions – in a bid to better understand and, if necessary, help develop the practices of key actors.

Project partners

Media:

• Arcinfo
• Heidi.news
• Le Temps
• RTS
• Tamedia

Public administration:

• Public health office of Canton Neuchâtel
• Federal Statistical Office (FSO)

Journalism schools:

• Academy of journalism and media (AJM)
• Centre de formation au journalisme et aux médias (CFJM)
• Journalism school of the Université Catholique de Louvain (UCL)
• MAZ
• Institute of Applied Media Studies (ZHAW)

Consortium:

• Initiative for Media Innovation

Ressources

• Project presentation poster (March 2023)
• The project in five key points | Powerpoint presentation (March 2023)
• Project presentation poster | status after one year (March 2024)
• The project after one year | Powerpoint presentation (March 2024)
• Covid-19 Data Visualizations: from Source Diversity to Source Reflexivity, research presented at 2024 European Communication Research Association conference (septembre 2024)