Planning, conducting, and presenting visual journalism research: Considerations for visual data collection, analysis, and publication

Visual phenomena are, for many scholars, a secondary concern in contrast to analyzing verbal data and discourse; however, the digital news media environment is highly visual and an understanding of the considerations, tools, methods, and techniques for planning visually led journalism research is necessary to appreciate a more holistic understanding of the news ecosystem and of journalism practice. As such, this chapter details some of the unique considerations for visual journalism research as they relate to data collection, data analysis, and data reporting and presentation. Further, this chapter outlines considerations for presenting visual data enhanced through the author’s nine years’ experience as a visual communication journal editor. Taken together, this chapter offers a concise and compelling summary of the key ways that the visual dimensions of journalism are researched, the specific methodological challenges entailed in the analysis of visual news, and best practices for reporting and presenting visual data.<p></p>