Data Storytelling and the DIKW framework: theory, practitioners, and pedagogy

Storytelling is a fundamental but frequently overlooked information form.

The S-DIKW framework modifies the classic data-information-knowledge-wisdom pyramid to focus on storytelling dynamics and data story creation.

Based on the national-funded US Data Storytelling Toolkit for Librarians (Institute of Museum and Library Services), this talk will introduce recent theory, demo the toolkit, and present in-press research on data storytelling as data literacy pedagogy.

Kate McDowell

Associate Professor of Information Science, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign

Kate McDowell regularly teaches both storytelling and data storytelling courses. She researches and publishes in the areas of storytelling as information research, social justice storytelling, and what library storytelling can teach the information sciences about data storytelling. Her projects engage contexts such as libraries, non-profit fundraising, health misinformation, social justice in libraries, and others. Dr. McDowell has worked with regional, national, and international nonprofits including the Pan-American Health Organization (PAHO, part of WHO) and the Public Library Association (PLA).

Her nationally-funded project Data Storytelling Toolkit for Librarians with co-PI Dr. Matthew Turk is under development. Her storytelling research has involved training collaborations with advancement with both the University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign and the University of Illinois system (Chicago, Springfield), storytelling consulting work for multiple nonprofits including the 50th anniversary of the statewide Prairie Rivers Network that protects Illinois water, and storytelling workshops for the Consortium of Academic and Research Libraries in Illinois (CARLI). She formerly served as interim associate dean for Academic Affairs and assistant dean for Student Affairs and has led multiple transformative projects for the School.

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