static-content.springer.com10.1007/s105… · web viewthe second group from the undergraduate...

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Article Title: The scientific veneer of IPCC visuals

Journal Name: Climatic Change

Authors: Rosemarie McMahon, Michael Stauffacher, Reto Knutti

1 Table of results

This table contains all the results reported in the text to allow for easier cross-comparison between visuals, groups and SPM versus infographic visuals.

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2 Demographic profile of the sample

2.1 Profile of the full sample

Over half (57%) of the sample (N=128) was males and the prominent nationality was Swiss (77%) followed by other

Europeans (16%). The majority had a certificate (43%) and bachelors (40%) level education. The dominant disciplines

were Geography (21%), Neuroscience (17%), Earth science (16%) and Environmental Science (13%). Certificate level

education refers to the qualification achieved at the end of high school and is normally the entry qualification required

for universities in Switzerland and worldwide.

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2.2 Profile for group one, climate students

Students from the undergraduate lecture in climate science (n=69) were evenly comprised of males (52%) and females

(48%) and the majority were Swiss nationals (91%). They had certificate (75%) level education in natural science

disciplines such as Geography (39%), Earth Science (30%), and Environmental Science (25%).

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2.3 Profile for Group 2 – Non-climate students

The second group from the undergraduate lecture in computational visualisation (n=59) was made up mainly of males

(68%). The main nationality was Swiss (61%), followed by European (26%). The educational level for this group was

much higher with students achieving Bachelors (69%), Masters (14%) and Diploma (12%) levels. The main disciplines

included Neuroscience (36%), Psychology (20%), Computer Science (14%), and Biology (12%).

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3 Interview Responses

Only a few of the interview statements have been included in the main article because of limited space, however the

complete set of statements has been documented hereunder. The interviews were scheduled immediately after the

survey and the time, which elapsed between the survey and discussions, was a minimum one-day and maximum of two-

days.

(See main article section 3.1)

Task 1 - The first word that comes to mind when readers see this visual

Interview Question:

Why did you pick this word (refer to the feedback form)?

Fig. 1a – SPM time

series line graph

“I didn’t really understand what this graph was trying to tell me but I though it was

colourful so colour was the first word” [Non-climate student, Bachelors of Psychology]

“Sorry what is the question again? Okay, well I saw the four colours, blue, green, yellow

and red and thought about a rainbow” [Non climate student, Bachelors of Neuroscience]

“ I don’t know why but [graph] was the first word that came into my mind when I looked at

it” [Non-climate student, Bachelors of Mechanical Engineering]

“Rainbow seemed like the best word to describe it, I mean look at the colours, see they use

the primary colours red, green, and blue” [Non-climate student, Bachelors of Computer

Science]

“The colours are very vivid in this graph so [colour] was the first word that I thought

about” [Non-climate student, Bachelors of Physics]

“[Data] seemed to be the best word for this image as nothing else came to mind. Maybe if I

had time to understand it then I would have thought of something different” [Non-climate

student, Bachelors of Bioinfomatics]

“It was the first image and I only had a couple of seconds to look at it so [graph] is all I

could think of as I couldn’t tell what it was about and a graph was the first thing shown”

[Non-climate student, Bachelors of Bioinfomatics]

“Well I see a lot of [noise] frequency in this graph so all these bars here and this area here

so that is what I noticed first” [Non-climate student, Bachelors of Psychology]

“Yeah cause it is a [plot] of some kind and shows lines and something increasing” [Non-

climate student, Bachelors of Biology]

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“Well this graph shows temperature increase for a set of scenarios so I though of the word

[climate change]” [Climate student, Bachelors of Earth Science]

“As far as I remember this is probably produced by climate scientists and it shows

temperature change so I thought of [warming] ” [Climate student, Bachelors of

Geography]

“This graph shows the emission scenarios so the word [climate scenarios] came to my mind

first” [Climate student, Bachelors of Environmental Science]

“I think this is one of the graphs from the IPCC report so the word [IPCC], (pause) yeah I

think I am right, am I?” [Climate student, Bachelors of Earth Science]

“Yeah, well I have seen this graph before and the trends are the warming under different

scenarios so the word [scenarios] came to my mind” [Climate student, Bachelors of

Physics]

“It shows the warming of the globe for different scenarios so I wrote down the word

[emission scenarios] on the sheet” [Climate student, Bachelors of Geography]

“Yes, the word [temperature] well am I need to think (pause), well because it was written

on the graph and I read that first” [Climate student, Bachelors of Environmental Science]

Fig 1b – SPM visual

with multiple graphs

“Not sure what to say, there is a lot of data on this graph so I though of lines and I see lots

of lines so I wrote down [lines]” [Non-climate student, Bachelors of Psychology]

“Wasn’t sure where to look in this graph and [statistics] came into my mind as it shows lots

of statistical information and even too much, so yeah” [Non climate student, Bachelors of

Neuroscience]

“If you want to annoy someone you should show them this graph as it will confuse them so

[OMG] was my first reaction” [Non-climate student, Bachelors of Mechanical

Engineering]

“I choose the word complicated as I think this graph looks like its part of some scientific

report and it seems to be for experts as it is very detailed” [Non-climate student, Bachelors

of Computer Science]

“It is a very scientific looking graphic so yeah the word [scientific]. I think it really looks

like something from a text book or a scientific publication or something” [Non-climate

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student, Bachelors of Physics]

“You normally see graphs like this in science papers so I thought of [study] and that was

the first word to describe this for me” [Non-climate student, Bachelors of Bioinfomatics]

“[Increase] because it looks like everything is increasing as far as I couldn’t tell but I am

not sure (pause), no, that’s right things are increasing” [Non-climate student, Bachelors of

Bioinfomatics]

“It is very [complicated] and there are lots of lines and curves and statistics of something,

yeah but it is very complex” [Non-climate student, Bachelors of Psychology]

“[Mathematics] as it shows some complex equations presented as charts with a lot of

details and I guess it is for experts” [Non-climate student, Bachelors of Biology]

“[Climate warming] as this shows how the climate will change and the warming we can

expect in the future” [Climate student, Bachelors of Earth Science]

“The graphs show the change in temperature and sea level rise so, yeah [climate curves]

came into my mind” [Climate student, Bachelors of Geography]

“There is a lot of information on this image but I have seen it before so I know it is about

climate change so yeah [temperature warming]” [Climate student, Bachelors of

Environmental Science]

“[climate warming] as it is an IPCC graph that shows the future climate warming”

[Climate student, Bachelors of Earth Science]

“I am not sure but maybe I have seen this graph before but I still found it complicated and

immediately though of [complex]” [Climate student, Bachelors of Biology]

“Because it is [overloaded] there is just too much on one image” [Climate student,

Bachelors of Physics]

“It shows the warming and sea level rise so [climate projections]” [Climate student,

Bachelors of Geography]

“To me this graph is just overloaded and the first word that came to my mind when I saw

this image was [confusing]” [Climate student, Bachelors of Biology]

“[Science] came to mind. Why? Well this is a typical scientific graph full of information

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and showing lots of data” [Climate student, Bachelors of Environmental Science]

Fig 1c – SPM graph

with globes

“I liked the globes but I didn’t really understand what it was trying to show me so I put the

word [globe] as I wasn’t sure what else it was about” [Non-climate student, Bachelors of

Psychology]

“This is something you see in a scientific paper and I noticed the intense red so I though of

the word [red]” [Non climate student, Bachelors of Neuroscience]

“This is something that I quickly though of but if I had more time I might have thought of

something else but [map] was the first thing that came into my mind” [Non-climate student,

Bachelors of Mechanical Engineering]

“I am not sure what I am suppose to do with this, are the globes showing me something

different so yeah, am I put down [world map] as that is what I see” [Non-climate student,

Bachelors of Computer Science]

“[Earth] because I noticed the globes and though of that word” [Non-climate student,


“So what I wrote down was [oval] (pause) well, okay, I didn’t get time to really look at the

image in more detail but there was oval shaped worlds and that was the most obvious thing

to me” [Non-climate student, Bachelors of Bioinfomatics]

“It shows the [world] and some kind of information at the side. That’s all I got out of this

sorry” [Non-climate student, Bachelors of Bioinfomatics]

“It looks like [warm weather] or world weather or something, ok I see the title now

(reading) surface temperature yeah, something to do with the weather” [Non-climate

student, Bachelors of Psychology]

“ It shows a [heat] up of the earth okay maybe seasonal change or something like that”

[Non-climate student, Bachelors of Biology]

“[Global warming] because that is what it shows” [Climate student, Bachelors of Earth

Science]

“[Chaos]. Well this is showing a chaos for the climate” [Climate student, Bachelors of

Geography]

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“It made me think of [terabytes]. There is just so much data here in this graphic that is

what I first thought of” [Climate student, Bachelors of Environmental Science]

“[Global disaster] as the temperatures will continue to rise if we don’t cut our emissions”


“Ok well [ensembles] of climate models is what I see and this is what I wrote down, yes”

[Climate student, Bachelors of Physics]

“This is from a climate study and they are showing the heating up of the earth so [heat

map] was the first word that came to me” [Climate student, Bachelors of Geography]

“The red is really prominent and I know it shows the warming of the earth so I said

[warming]” [Climate student, Bachelors of Environmental Science]

Fig 1d – SPM graph

with a map

“I found it hard to grasp the message and [land] was the first thing I thought of as I wasn’t

sure what they were trying to explain here” [Non-climate student, Bachelors of

Psychology]

“It is showing me something about birth rates in the different regions – (pause) so yeah,

[birth rate] that is what I put down for this image” [Non climate student, Bachelors of

Neuroscience]

“[Population] because we have blue and pink here” [Non-climate student, Bachelors of

Mechanical Engineering]

“I didn’t understand what it was about. I looked at the [ocean] and that’s a big area of the

image so that’s why I picked it” [Non-climate student, Bachelors of Computer Science]

“[Travel] well that’s what came to my mind when I see this map. Okay maybe this isn’t the

best word but you asked what came into my mind first and that is what I see” [Non-climate


“It’s a [map] so that’s what I see and thought about. (pause, reading) Ah, no, okay, well I

don’t know really is it something to do with poverty or temperature I am not sure” [Non-

climate student, Bachelors of Psychology]

“Evidently blue and pink is the [birth rates] of females and males” [Non-climate student,

Bachelors of Biology]

“ [Land] as it is showing the world and some changes in the different locations. Okay this is

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marked in pink and blue, so it is the population change?” [Non-climate student, Bachelors

of Bioinfomatics]

“Well it is [boring] and I don’t like this type of visual as you never really know where to

look so I look at Europe because this is where I am located” [Non-climate student,

Bachelors of Bioinfomatics]

“ [Pastel] cause we have light pinks and blue and the ocean is also in a light blue and it

made me think of this word” [Non-climate student, Bachelors of Psychology]

“[Rising curves] in the different places. Why? Well somehow the curves are all rising and

generally upwards” [Non-climate student, Bachelors of Biology]

“The map shows [global warming] across the different regions on land and sea” [Climate

student, Bachelors of Earth Science]

“We see a [warming] up of the land surface temperature and this is not the same

everywhere but the trend is upwards” [Climate student, Bachelors of Geography]

“Yeah well it shows the effects of humans on the warming of the earth so how the

[temperature] increases” [Climate student, Bachelors of Environmental Science]

“Cause it shows the [global change] in temperatures” [Climate student, Bachelors of Earth

Science]

“This is a typical way to show [global warming] so yeah that is the word I put down as this

is what it is about” [Climate student, Bachelors of Physics]

“They are trying to show a [warming world] as you see the trend lines go up everywhere

including land and sea” [Climate student, Bachelors of Geography]

“It shows the temperature change in the different regions so [temperature] was the word

that I first thought of but you could also use different words” [Climate student, Bachelors of


Fig 1e – Well

designed infographic

“Yeah this visuals is easy to read and simply shows how [emissions] have increased” [Non-


“[Industry] as it produces a lot of emissions which are damaging and some countries

produce more or at least from this that is what I see” [Non-climate student, Bachelors of

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Biology]

“This has something to do with our [emissions] and why we need to reduce them” [Non-

climate student, Bachelors of Bioinfomatics]

“For me I thought of [pollution]. It is easy see here that pollution is bad as it comes from

industry” [Non-climate student, Bachelors of Bioinfomatics]

“Yeah, [smog] or some kind of smoke from industry that is causing a heating up” [Non-


“[Factories] and the waste they produce and how this is not a good thing” [Non-climate

student, Bachelors of Biology]

“It is about [climate warming] caused by pollution from industry” [Climate student,

Bachelors of Earth Science]

“The increase of [energy consumption] and the risk of increasing our emissions” [Climate

student, Bachelors of Geography]

“It shows the increase in [carbon dioxide] emissions over the years” [Climate student,

Bachelors of Environmental Science]

“[Global warming] as a result of carbon dioxide emissions” [Climate student, Bachelors of

Earth Science]

“ [Carbon emissions] are shown here and the increase in emissions so yeah that’s it really”


“Well because it looks like part of a [newspaper/magazine] article or at least it is made for

a magazine or a newspaper” [Climate student, Bachelors of Geography]

Fig 1f – Poorly


“It look like an old [vinyl] music disks, to me at least” [Non-climate student, Bachelors of

Psychology]

“I have no idea but these [blobs] are useless and it doesn’t really tell anything specific not

sure the person who made this understood what they wanted to show” [Non-climate


“Is it a [poster] of some sort or a graphic. Do we know what the circles represent? I find

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this difficult to read” [Non-climate student, Bachelors of Bioinfomatics]

“[Clouds] maybe or some representation of smog into the atmosphere. Okay yeah

emissions but I cant read this small text it is a very badly made” [Non-climate student,


“It looks like [CDs] and I couldn’t thing of anything else” [Non-climate student, Bachelors

of Psychology]

“Its not clear, are these circles suppose to tell me something. The first thing I see is

[circles] [Non-climate student, Bachelors of Biology]

“I presume the round circles represent [emissions] but it isn’t very clear what they

represent and how much it is (pause) it is confusing” [Climate student, Bachelors of Earth

Science]

“It is all black and blue so [why] came to my mind. I don’t understand why they used so

much colour” [Climate student, Bachelors of Geography]

“[Bubbles] is what I see and that is what this makes you think about” [Climate student,


“It looks like [bubbles] or at least that’s my impression” [Climate student, Bachelors of

Earth Science]

“I couldn’t really read what was in the circles and for me I wasn’t able to tell what it was

trying to say so I wrote [blue] as finally that is all you can see” [Climate student, Bachelors

of Physics]

“The word [bubbles] first came to my mind because there was a lot of big round bubbles

and I didn’t really focus on anything else” [Climate student, Bachelors of Geography]

“These [circles] do not give me more information and while I should look at them I don’t

know what it is trying to tell me” [Climate student, Bachelors of Environmental Science]

3.1 (See main article section 3.2)

Task 2: How much did this image affects the reader

Why did you select this ranking (refer to the feedback form)?

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Fig 1a – SPM time

series line graph

“Well [more or less] because I don’t really understand this graph and finally what am I

suppose to do with this information” [Non-climate student, Bachelors of Psychology]

“Yes [not at all] (pause) well am, it is ok but I’m not really drawn to it and I cant say it

affects me” [Non-climate student, Bachelors of Biology]

“I am [more or less] affected as I find the colours attractive but I cant follow it” [Non-


“Only [a little] as it doesn’t mean very much to me as I am not from this area and I don’t

know what it is trying to say” [Non-climate student, Bachelors of Bioinfomatics]

“This image doesn’t affect me [not at all] or should I be affected? No. I wasn’t affected as

it is just a graph and graphs are not really making me feel so emotional” [Non-climate

student, Bachelors of Psychology]

“Well maybe [a little] affected but not really as I don’t really know if I should. I mean its

very colourful but aside of that no it doesn’t really affect me” [Non-climate student,


“[More or less] affected by this as I am interested in what happens to the climate and what

changes we can expect” [Climate student, Bachelors of Earth Science]

“Well I am very concerned about global warming so this affects me yeah [a fair amount] ”

[Climate student, Bachelors of Geography]

“The climate is changing and this affects me [a fair amount] as I don’t think this is good

and we need to respond to changes in our environment ” [Climate student, Bachelors of


“Climate change is not a good thing and so yes I feel [strongly] affected by this” [Climate


“I was [more or less] affected by this as I know it shows the warming of the planet and

that’s not a good thing” [Climate student, Bachelors of Physics]

“Global warming is something bad so yeah sure it affects me [a fair amount]” [Climate


“Yes I’m [a fair amount] affected by this image as I think most people are as global

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warming is not something we want” [Climate student, Bachelors of Environmental

Science]



“Should I be affected by this image? Well, I don’t know there is just too much to look at

and I don’t feel affected by it [not at all]” [Non-climate student, Bachelors of Psychology]

“It is not my field so I cant judge this graph but I don’t feel affected [not at all].” [Non-


“This looks very complicated. Too many different graphs put together. For me I am [not at

all] affected as this graph doesn’t make me want to read it” [Non-climate student,


“Well I suppose I am affected [a little] by this graph as it looks serious but I don’t really

know if I understand it finally” [Non-climate student, Bachelors of Bioinfomatics]

“ No [not at all] affected I don’t find such graphs easy as they are full of information and I

don’t know if this is linked to this or if I need to read this first and then the other” [Non-


“Lets see well I had some issues as I didn’t understand it but I would say [more or less]

yeah, somewhere in the middle - that is right” [Non-climate student, Bachelors of Biology]

“For me [strongly] as it shows our changing climate and the expected levels in sea level

rise” [Climate student, Bachelors of Earth Science]

“I would say affected [a fair amount] as I am interested in climate change and what

happens in the future” [Climate student, Bachelors of Geography]

“Depends, I would say [a fair amount] as it is showing global warming so of course I feel

affected” [Climate student, Bachelors of Environmental Science]

“I am [a fair amount] as I know these graphs from my studies and they show how warm it

will get in the future and this is quite worrying” [Climate student, Bachelors of Earth

Science]

“What did you say? Okay, true, yeah [strongly] I would say as it is not a good thing at all”


“Did I say [a fair amount], okay, yeah well that is right, I would say I am pretty affected by

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this yeah” [Climate student, Bachelors of Geography]

“I selected [a fair amount] but I wasn’t sure which graph I should look at but it is all

related to global warming effects” [Climate student, Bachelors of Environmental Science]


with globes

“I like these type of graphics so I said [a fair amount]” [Non-climate student, Bachelors of

Psychology]

“[More or less], well yeah I would say I am somewhere in the middle. Why? Well I think

it’s a nice graph but I don’t feel very affected by it” [Non-climate student, Bachelors of

Biology]

“Do you mean how it makes me feel? Well then I am [more or less], is that what I said?

Okay then that’s right I am not strongly but it affects me more or less because I like images

with maps” [Non-climate student, Bachelors of Bioinfomatics]

“Its showing the world and I like maps so yeah [a fair amount] that is right” [Non-climate


“It is interesting and I was a fair amount affected because I would like to examine it and it

is interesting” [Non-climate student, Bachelors of Psychology]

“You see a lot of these images in scientific reports and it looks very professional so yeah I

am affected [a fair amount]” [Non-climate student, Bachelors of Biology]

“Then [a fair amount] is correct, as I see a lot of these images in my studies and it shows a

change our climate” [Climate student, Bachelors of Earth Science]

“Well I study climate science so I am [strongly] affected by these images because I am

interested in it” [Climate student, Bachelors of Geography]

“This is an image that is used by climate scientists to show the changes in our global

temperature” [Climate student, Bachelors of Environmental Science]

“Projections in temperatures shown in this way affects me [strongly] as you can really see

how different parts will be affected by global warming and how the polar regions become

much warmer” [Climate student, Bachelors of Earth Science]

“[Strongly], yeah that’s correct, the earth will get much warmer and you see this here it is

very red and here” [Climate student, Bachelors of Physics]

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“Well this is a typical image used in climate science to show the warming and I am affected

by these images” [Climate student, Bachelors of Geography]

“You see there are extreme differences - in the future it will be much warmer so yeah this

does affect me [strongly] especially when I see this - the poles” [Climate student,



with a map

“Well [more or less] okay, a little affected as I am interested in it but I wouldn’t say it

affects me” [Non-climate student, Bachelors of Psychology]

“ It is nice but I would say only [a little] as it don’t affect me, yeah I wouldn’t say I am very

affected by it” [Non-climate student, Bachelors of Biology]

“Well I was affected [a fair amount] by this graph because I think its about human

development in the different regions” [Non-climate student, Bachelors of Bioinfomatics]

“It is interesting so [a fair amount] but you see the trends are not so different, hmmm, not

sure” [Non-climate student, Bachelors of Bioinfomatics]

“This image doesn’t affect me [not at all] as I am not particularly attracted to it” [Non-


“I am not too affected by this so I would say [a little]” [Non-climate student, Bachelors of

Biology]

“It is showing the increase in temperature so I would say [a fair amount]” [Climate


“This map yeah [a fair amount] because it shows global warming and you see the impacts

for the different parts” [Climate student, Bachelors of Geography]

“[More or less] okay not that much but I am not sure as I don’t really understand (pause)

why don’t they make this clearer what the different lines are, okay maybe here it is written

but yeah” [Climate student, Bachelors of Environmental Science]

“Oh [strongly] cause I know how important this is and how a warming is not good for our

environment” [Climate student, Bachelors of Earth Science]

“This is a typical climate graphic and it is made by scientists so I feel [strongly] affected by

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this image” [Climate student, Bachelors of Physics]

“This is showing the changes in the different regions and I am affected [a fair amount] by

this as it shows how differently the warming will affect the different regions” [Climate


“I prefer the image with the globes so I would say [a fair amount] as I think this is not as

easy to follow and how I should interpret this here” [Climate student, Bachelors of


Fig 1e – Well


“Yes I would say [a fair amount] affected yeah as I don’t think polluting our planet is a

good thing” [Non-climate student, Bachelors of Psychology]

“[Strongly] yeah, this is a really good image and it simply shows the increase in pollution

and how it will increase and what we can do about it finally” [Non-climate student,


“More emissions in our environment is not a good thing so I am [more or less] affected by

this image” [Non-climate student, Bachelors of Bioinfomatics]

“Well it shows the pollution and what we can do but finally I would say it affects me [more

or less]” [Non-climate student, Bachelors of Bioinfomatics]

“No idea, I just find it easier than the other images. It shows the emission changes so yeah

I am affected [a fair amount]” by this” [Non-climate student, Bachelors of Psychology]

“I feel [strongly] affected because I think it really shows how we are producing more

carbon dioxide which causes a warming” [Non-climate student, Bachelors of Biology]

“Did I say [strongly], well ok I think it did capture me and I do feel that global warming is

something we need to be worried about” [Climate student, Bachelors of Earth Science]

“I would say [a fair amount] affected as this is quite a good image and it is easy to see the

information. It is much more visual than a graph” [Climate student, Bachelors of

Geography]

“I am concerned about global warming so I am definitely [strongly] affected by this

image” [Climate student, Bachelors of Environmental Science]

“It affects me [a fair amount] yeah I think it is well presented and I can see that we need to

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do something and they show what can be done so yeah it is a good way to show this”


“[A fair amount] as I am sure its right. I don’t know who made it but it looks convincing so

yeah a fair amount I would say” [Climate student, Bachelors of Physics]

“I am concerned about the environment so yeah this affected me [a fair amount]” [Climate


“You see lots of these images on newspapers and I think I am [strongly] affected because I

understand immediately what they are trying to say and yeah it affects me a lot” [Climate

student, Bachelors of Environmental Science]

Fig 1f – Poorly


“ Oh I cant say I was affected no [not at all] as I found it hard to really understand this”

[Non-climate student, Bachelors of Psychology]

“Okay, [not at all] well I selected this as I don’t think this image really affects me, I see a

lot of blue and some black rings but really it doesn’t make me want to read it” [Non-


“I could say it affected me [a little] but not really as I don’t understand what it is about”


“No [not at all] cause it isn’t a good image it is really badly made” [Non-climate student,


“The structure of these bubbles is not clear and while I should look at them I don’t know. I

have a hard time with this. How affected I was? So no I am [not at all] affected by this

image” [Non-climate student, Bachelors of Psychology]

“[Not at all] cause it is not very well done and I cant read this text. Look here how can one

read this it is too small” [Non-climate student, Bachelors of Biology]

“Well I suppose [a little] but I think the circles are too much and it isn’t very clearly

made” [Climate student, Bachelors of Earth Science]

“I don’t like this image so [not at all] ” [Climate student, Bachelors of Geography]

“The blue and these circles are very distracting. For me there is no message so no I am

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[not at all] affected no not at all” [Climate student, Bachelors of Environmental Science]

“[A little] maybe even less but I suppose it could be made better finally but yeah

somewhere between a little and not at all” [Climate student, Bachelors of Earth Science]

“I don’t think the bubbles or what ever they are - really doesn’t work so no [not at all].

Yes that is correct” [Climate student, Bachelors of Physics]

“I guess they were trying to show how emissions differ but I couldn’t really tell what was in

the circles but I guess I could say it affects me [a little] as it is something to do with

emissions” [Climate student, Bachelors of Geography]

“Yeah [more or less] but this is because I found the blue nice at first and I wanted to

understand this image but then I just gave up” [Climate student, Bachelors of



Task 3: The word that best fits how readers feel about this visual

Why did you pick this (refer to the feedback form) word?

Fig 1a – SPM time

series line graph

“You know I don’t understand this but finally it is interesting so I selected [interested]”


“[Interested], as it is quite a colourful image and it seems to show four lines that increase

and now looking at it more I guess (pause) yeah that is right” [Non-climate student,


“I find this totally confusing cause I am not from this topic and I don’t know what is A1B”


“[Interested] yeah it is interesting and I think the colours are fun but I have to say I am not

so sure I understand it” [Non-climate student, Bachelors of Bioinfomatics]

“There is a lot of information and they seem to show a lot but I just felt [confused]” [Non-


“You have to be from this area to understand it and I felt [confused]” [Non-climate student,


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“Well I think [concerned] best describes how I feel about climate change and images

showing climate change” [Climate student, Bachelors of Earth Science]

“There wasn’t a huge choice of words but [concerned] would definitely match how I feel as I

think global warming is something we all need to be concerned about” [Climate student,


“I found [interested] the best word as I am interested and I would like to know more about

the changes that are happening to our climate” [Climate student, Bachelors of


“This image [interested] to me at least so yeah it is interesting” [Climate student, Bachelors

of Earth Science]

“Okay I picked [interested] yeah that is correct I do find it interesting. I am studying this”


“Well it makes me feel [concerned] as global warming is a huge issue for everyone”


“The word that fits best is [concerned] as I am worried about the future and what changes

will happen” [Climate student, Bachelors of Environmental Science]

Fig 1b – SPM

visual with

multiple graphs

“Definitely [confusing] as this is just packed full of information and somehow it is just too

much to read at once” [Non-climate student, Bachelors of Psychology]

“Well it’s overloaded with so many areas to look at very [confusing] and I really don’t like

when there are too many graphs put together as I never know where to look first and I don’t

know if they should be read separately or together” [Non-climate student, Bachelors of

Biology]

“Looks more scientific, I guess these come from science so I was [interested] but I think it is

also confusing” [Non-climate student, Bachelors of Bioinfomatics]

“Looks too complicated and it makes me feel confused” [Non-climate student, Bachelors of

Bioinfomatics]

“[Confusing] it is just too packed with information” [Non-climate student, Bachelors of

Psychology]

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“Well I don’t really understand it, I find it interesting so yeah [interested]” [Non-climate


“More than [concerned] especially when I think that temperatures and sea levels will rise”


“I can follow this information but I think it is [confusing] in general and it would be better to

show one graph at a time so people can take time to look at it” [Climate student, Bachelors

of Geography]

“As a student I find it interesting so [interested] best fits me” [Climate student, Bachelors of


“It is confusing but I think [interested] as there is a lot of information available” [Climate


“This makes me feel [concerned] Why? Well because it shows what is going to happen if we

continue to increase emissions” [Climate student, Bachelors of Physics]

“Its definitely very scientific with a lot of information so it looks [confusing] at first and I

would need more time to read it as there is just so much information here” [Climate student,


“I know roughly what they are trying to say as I have studied this but still I think confusing

as there are too many graphics together” [Climate student, Bachelors of Environmental

Science]

Fig 1c – SPM

graph with globes

“Well I feel confused as I don’t really understand this and it looks very technical to me at

least” [Non-climate student, Bachelors of Psychology]

“I like images of maps and globes so yeah I feel [interested]” [Non-climate student,


“For me [interested] but I guess that is cause I think it looks interesting” [Non-climate


“I feel [confused] ah now I see, its about the climate, ah okay” [Non-climate student,


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“The globes look interesting but I don’t really know how I should interpret this so

[confused]” [Non-climate student, Bachelors of Psychology]

“I would say [interested] yeah as it isn’t something I understand but I think it shows some

interesting information” [Non-climate student, Bachelors of Biology]

“It is a typical climate science image and I think this type of image is interesting” [Climate


“I find it interesting so [interested]. Yes that is how I feel about this” [Climate student,


“There is a lot of information displayed and I am [interested] in this and what differs in the

different regions” [Climate student, Bachelors of Environmental Science]

“The word [interested] yes for me as I often see such images in my course and it is showing

the warming across the different areas of the globe” [Climate student, Bachelors of Earth

Science]

“The most fitting word was what? I picked [concerned] okay, well I think when you see lots

of red and orange on the globe you have to be concerned as it cant be a good thing”


“I was between [interested] and concerned but I think interested as this is something that

makes me want to know more and there is still lots that we need to find out [Climate student,


“Yes [concerned] I am very concerned as it is not a good thing that the world becomes

warmer” [Climate student, Bachelors of Environmental Science]

Fig 1d – Graph

with a map

“It’s a nice map and I found it interesting as I am [interested] in different types of maps”


“I don’t know I said [interested] but maybe I could have also said confused. This graph make

me feel both interested and confused but maybe I just need more information” [Non-climate


“The first word was [interested] and yeah I think that’s right. Why? Well maps are nice to

look at and it is something we can all relate too. I don’t know how births are influenced by

temperature, (pause) am, yeah well sorry I don’t know, I don’t study this” [Non-climate


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“Well I was [confused] as I didn’t quite understand what temperature had to do with

population so I didn’t feel comfortable with this and I don’t think I can tell with just this”


“Yeah it looks interesting but I would have to take a closer look to understand what it is

trying to say” [Non-climate student, Bachelors of Psychology]

“I felt [interested] because I think maps are interesting but still I don’t understand (pause)

not sure really what it is showing” [Non-climate student, Bachelors of Biology]

“For sure [interested] as I am interested in the topic and the content” [Climate student,


“Why I felt [interested], well, I think I am generally interested in climate change and I think I

have seen it before” [Climate student, Bachelors of Geography]

“It is obviously showing global warming and for me the word then is [interested] as I am

studying this and I find it interesting” [Climate student, Bachelors of Environmental Science]

“It is interesting and I think such graphics are important to show the changes in the regions

and how temperatures will change” [Climate student, Bachelors of Earth Science]

“Yeah [interested] as it is of interest to anyone who wants to understand more about the

climate and the changes on land and sea” [Climate student, Bachelors of Physics]

“The impact of temperature is quite high so yeah I would say [concerned]” [Climate student,


“Global warming is a big problem and I think this makes me feel very [concerned] especially

when you see how much humans are impacting the world” [Climate student, Bachelors of


Fig 1e – Well

designed

infographic

“I don’t know much about emissions but I think I am [interested] to know more and

understand what this image is saying” [Non-climate student, Bachelors of Psychology]

“We need to be [concerned] about the impact of our emissions and how we can make a

difference to prevent a warming” [Non-climate student, Bachelors of Biology]

“It is a problem how the US has produced so much emissions and countries like Switzerland

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cant stop these emissions as the bigger countries are producing more and more so it makes

me feel very concerned” [Non-climate student, Bachelors of Bioinfomatics]

“This automatically shows what its about plus it looks very interesting” [Non-climate


“Oh this is very interesting and I think I would have liked to study it more but even with this

quick look it was easy to grasp the message” [Non-climate student, Bachelors of Psychology]

“I feel [interested] in it somehow as it is very visual and simple to read” [Non-climate


“While there is a lot of information its very clear and well presented so I feel [interested]”


“Okay, [interested] why, well mainly because I think such presentations are appealing and it

is visual so you can see the important information fast” [Climate student, Bachelors of

Geography]

“It is easy to read and I think you remember it more than a graph as it is more visual”

[Climate student, Bachelors of Environmental Science]

“Oh [concerned], yeah as it is something that affects us all and while some countries emit

more emissions this affects the entire globe” [Climate student, Bachelors of Earth Science]

“This type of image draws me in and I find it really interesting. I like these type of images in

general” [Climate student, Bachelors of Physics]

“It makes me feel [interested] and probably because it is so visual. I find it easier to take in

the information when it is presented like this” [Climate student, Bachelors of Geography]

“This is very good and it isnt difficult to read so I was [interested] and I wanted to know

more about the different types of emissions” [Climate student, Bachelors of Environmental

Science]

Fig 1f – Poorly

designed

infographic

“Oh [confused] for sure that is the word. I didn’t understand it at all” [Non-climate student,

Bachelors of Psychology]

“Well it made me feel [confused] and it was not at all clear to me what I was supposed to

look at and what it was trying to tell” [Non-climate student, Bachelors of Biology]

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“I was [confused]” [Non-climate student, Bachelors of Bioinfomatics]

“Yeah, it is colourful but I am not interested in this at all and I was more [confused] than

anything by this image” [Non-climate student, Bachelors of Bioinfomatics]

“I think they were trying too hard to make it nice but forgot to remember that people also

need to understand the information. They could have made it simpler and I wouldn’t have felt

so confused” [Non-climate student, Bachelors of Psychology]

“It is difficult to read but I am [interested] and I would like to try to understand what they

are trying to tell” [Non-climate student, Bachelors of Biology]

“The bubbles take up all my attention and in the end I was just [confused]” [Climate student,


“Without a doubt [confused] yeah that is how I felt ” [Climate student, Bachelors of

Geography]

“First I felt okay about this image but then I just felt frustrated and [confused]” [Climate


“It made me feel [confused] and very confused and I think even if I tried I wouldn’t be able to

understand it” [Climate student, Bachelors of Earth Science]

“I am interested in this but I didn’t quite understand it” [Climate student, Bachelors of

Physics]

“Very [confused], confused about what they were trying to say but confused why they made it

so complicated and what all these circles are for” [Climate student, Bachelors of

Geography]

“I think all this graphic did was make me feel confused as I didn’t get anything out of this

and not sure what they were trying to do with this” [Climate student, Bachelors of



Task 4: How confident readers are in the data presented

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Why did you select this confidence ranking (refer to the feedback form)?

Fig 1a – SPM time

series line graph

“I am [more confident than not] yeah that would be correct. Let me think, why did I pick

this, it was probably because I think the graph is scientific and at least it looks like it was

made by experts” [Non-climate student, Bachelors of Psychology]

“[Confident] yeah more or less as it is showing lots of statistics and shows lots of

information but I don’t really understand what these words here mean” [Non-climate


“For me because it was made by scientists so I am [confident]” [Non-climate student,


“It isn’t my field but it looks serious and I am [confident] in it yeah it looks professional”


“Well all the information has been included see here the error ranges so I would say yeah I

am [very confident] that this information is complete” [Non-climate student, Bachelors of

Psychology]

“In this graph, [confident] hmm why? Well it looks reliable, it looks like I could trust it”

[Non-climate student, Bachelors of Biology]

“[Confident] because it is showing the possible climate changes under different emissions

and I know this is made by scientists so yes I’m confident” [Climate student, Bachelors of

Earth Science]

“This is from climate scientists so I am [very confident] in this - that it is reliable of course”


“[Very confident] as it is part of some of a climate report and it is produced by a climate

models” [Climate student, Bachelors of Environmental Science]

“Okay [confident] yes this is because I study it and I believe that the information is

accurate or at least it is our best understanding of the climate system” [Climate student,


“These lines show the increase in temperature and the different scenarios so I am very

[confident] that these projections are right as they are done using climate models” [Climate


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“You cant always be 100% [confident] as there are still many things we don’t know about

the climate system but I am confident that this is more reliable than not” [Climate student,


“I understand this graph and I am [very confident] it is made by scientists using models and

they have done a lot of research to make these images” [Climate student, Bachelors of




“Yeah I am [confident] because it looks more academic and it was probably made for some

scientific report or something” [Non-climate student, Bachelors of Psychology]

“I am [confident] as it is very scientific looking and has a lot of information, maybe too

much information but a lot of information is in this” [Non-climate student, Bachelors of

Biology]

“Well I know I shouldn’t be [confident] because I don’t understand it but I am confident in

the experts who made this image” [Non-climate student, Bachelors of Bioinfomatics]

“I have good confidence in this graph so yeah [confident]” [Non-climate student,


“I expect experts have developed this, so yeah [very confident]” [Non-climate student,


“You know it is not my area but I am confident that the persons who made this were experts

in their field and so yes I am confident” [Non-climate student, Bachelors of Biology]

“Oh [very confident] as this was made by climate scientists working in climate science”


“I would say [confident] as the information is very accurate” [Climate student, Bachelors

of Geography]

“I am [confident] but I find this graph is just too much. They should have reduced the

amount of graphs to one image it would be easier to read” [Climate student, Bachelors of


“I have seen this before or something like it during my studies so I am [confident] yeah”


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“This looks like it was produced by experts in climate so I am [confident]” [Climate


“It includes everything including the errors so I am [confident] totally” [Climate student,


“I say [confident] because I know this is probably made by climate scientists using models”



with globes

“[Confident] as it is made by scientists or using a scientific tool” [Non-climate student,


“Well I would say [confident] as I don’t fully understand it but I think there is a lot of data

in here and it looks like it comes from science” [Non-climate student, Bachelors of Biology]

“I am [more confident than not] cause I cant really say if this is right but it looks like there

is a lot of calculations behind it” [Non-climate student, Bachelors of Bioinfomatics]

“If you ask me now maybe I would have said confident but I said [low confident] as I am

not confident in my understanding as this is not my subject and I cant tell if I can trust this

information” [Non-climate student, Bachelors of Bioinfomatics]

“[Confident] as it looks technical but that’s probably not a good reason, is it?” [Non-


“It is complicated so I didn’t really know if I could say confident but I finally I feel

confident as it looks like I can trust it but I am unsure” [Non-climate student, Bachelors of

Biology]

“For sure [confident], as this is something I see in my studies and you find lots of these type

of images in climate science” [Climate student, Bachelors of Earth Science]

“As I study this I would say [very confident]” [Climate student, Bachelors of Geography]

“We see a lot of these images in our studies so yeah I am pretty [confident] that I can trust

this” [Climate student, Bachelors of Environmental Science]

“I am [confident] in this information as there is a lot of work going into producing this and

this comes from models with millions of calculations so yeah I am confident” [Climate


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“[Confident] as it was generated using a climate model” [Climate student, Bachelors of

Physics]

“I would say [very confident] as this is produced by climate scientists and I trust the

models” [Climate student, Bachelors of Geography]

“I am [confident] as I may have seen this before and I am sure it is made by experts”



with a map

“[Very confident] as it is showing the different regions and seems to be showing a lot of

information so I guess it is produced for a report or something” [Non-climate student,


“Not sure as I don’t understand the image fully but I am [confident] that the information is

probably reliable” [Non-climate student, Bachelors of Biology]

“I am [more confident than not] but as I don’t understand it I cant really say for sure”


“I never understand what I am suppose to look at and where I should look so I have [low

confidence]” [Non-climate student, Bachelors of Bioinfomatics]

“I guess this was produced for an academic paper so yes I am [more confident than not]”


“ Well I said [very confident] because it looks serious so yeah I am pretty confident in this

image” [Non-climate student, Bachelors of Biology]

“This graph is based on scientific evidence so I am [confident]” [Climate student,


“ [Confident] as this comes from climate scientists” [Climate student, Bachelors of

Geography]

“Yes [confident] maybe even very confident as we understand a lot about our climate and

scientist are pretty confident that climate change is happening” [Climate student, Bachelors

of Environmental Science]

“[Very confident] because I think I have seen this image in my studies or at least similar

statistics” [Climate student, Bachelors of Earth Science]

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“I would say I am [confident], yeah it seems very reliable to me” [Climate student,


“Definitely [confident] as it is made by scientists and they best understand the climate

system” [Climate student, Bachelors of Geography]

“Yeah I am [very confident] as I know this comes from climate experts and we can rely on

the information they produce from the models” [Climate student, Bachelors of


Fig 1e – Well

designed

infographic

“It is presented nicely so I am [more confident than not] but I am not the expert so I cant

really judge if I am right” [Non-climate student, Bachelors of Psychology]

“I’m [not confident] in this graphic as it doesn’t look serious” [Non-climate student,


“Well I said I was [confident] but probably less than that as it looks like it is made for a

newspaper and as I cant tell who the source is so that makes me less confident” [Non-


“No I am [not confident at all] as I don’t know if I can trust it really as it might come from

a newspaper and might not be accurate” [Non-climate student, Bachelors of Bioinfomatics]

“I have [low level of confidence] as I don’t know the source of this image and I am not sure

if I can trust it” [Non-climate student, Bachelors of Psychology]

“Yeah it looks well designed so yeah I would say I am [confident]” [Non-climate student,


“It is not very scientific so [low level of confidence] mainly because it looks like it would be

found in a magazine rather than a scientific article” [Climate student, Bachelors of Earth

Science]

“Well I don’t know I am not sure I can trust the content so I would say [more confident than

not]” [Climate student, Bachelors of Geography]

“[Low level of confidence] Why? Well because I am unsure if I can rely on this

information” [Climate student, Bachelors of Environmental Science]

“I would have to say I am [more confident than not] in this data as it is well presented but it

doesn’t look like it comes from academia. It is probably made for a newspaper or

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magazine” [Climate student, Bachelors of Earth Science]

“I am [more confident than not] because it looks good but I cant really be sure as I don’t

know the source of the information. If it has been made for a newspaper then I am not too

sure if I can rely on this information” [Climate student, Bachelors of Physics]

“It is nicely presented so [more confident than not] but still I am not sure as it is not from

climate scientists so it is unclear how reliable the information will be” [Climate student,


“Yeah [more confident than not] in this image but again it is hard to tell as it is not clear

who produced this image and what it has been used for” [Climate student, Bachelors of


Fig 1f – Poorly

designed

infographic

“It isn’t very scientific and I don’t have much confidence in it so [low level of confidence]

yes” [Non-climate student, Bachelors of Psychology]

“Too many distractions in this image. What did I put? [Low level of confidence], yes that is

right - I found this confusing and I don’t trust it” [Non-climate student, Bachelors of

Biology]

“I wouldn’t have any confidence in this, [not confident at all]” [Non-climate student,


“I am [not confident at all] in this image as it is a mess and I don’t think the data is

presented well” [Non-climate student, Bachelors of Bioinfomatics]

“Maybe I am too hard but [low level of confidence] because I think it is just too confusing

and it doesn’t look serious” [Non-climate student, Bachelors of Psychology]

“My initial reaction is [not confident at all] Why? Well because I don’t think this is made

by scientists and I don’t have any confidence in it” [Non-climate student, Bachelors of

Biology]

“No way confident - [low level of confidence] as it is just too much image and not enough

information – in my opinion it doesn’t look reliable” [Climate student, Bachelors of Earth

Science]

“It looks more like a poster or for magazine than a serious graphic so I think [low level of

confidence] as I don’t feel confident in the data” [Climate student, Bachelors of

Geography]

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“Well if I wasn’t distracted by the colour and circles then maybe more confident but at the

moment [not confident at all] in this” [Climate student, Bachelors of Environmental

Science]

“ [Low level of confidence] because I don’t feel confident in such an image. I cant read it

and I cant tell what it is trying to say” [Climate student, Bachelors of Earth Science]

“Not sure who made this image but I would say [low level of confidence] is how I feel about

it as it doesn’t look scientific at all” [Climate student, Bachelors of Physics]

“Unprofessional looking so [not confident at all] as I cant read it the text - too small and

the size of the circles don’t make sense” [Climate student, Bachelors of Geography]

“[Low level of confidence] well for many reasons but mainly because it doesn’t look serious

and I don’t know the source of this information and I don’t feel like I can trust it” [Climate


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