Data-Driven Webdocs: A Genre in Consolidation
Data-Driven Webdocs: un género en consolidación
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July-December of 2025
ISSN: 1696-019X / e-ISSN: 2386-3978
How to cite this article:
López-Lozano, A.; Herrero-Solana, V. and Sánchez-Mesa Martínez, D. (2025).
Data-Driven Webdocs: A Genre in Consolidation.
Doxa
Comunicación
, 41, pp. 117-142.
https://doi.org/10.31921/doxacom.n41a2652
Andrea López-Lozano.
Ph.D. student in the Social Sciences Department of the University of Granada (Spain). She
holds a Bachelor in Journalism from the University of Santiago de Compostela and an MSc in Interactive Media and
Multimedia Journalism from the University of Granada. She also works developing content and communication strategies
in interactive, collaborative, and transmedia projects for dierent areas: journalism and audiovisual communication,
research groups, NGOs, public administration, and private companies.
University of Granada (UGR), Spain
[email protected]
ORCID:
0000-0002-8731-8630
Víctor Herrero-Solana.
Full professor in the Information and Communication Department of the University of Granada.
He is the head of the research group Scimago-UGR (SEJ036) and a member of the Unit for Computational Humanities and
Social Sciences (U-CHASS). He holds a Bachelor’s in Documentation from the University of Mar del Plata (Argentina),
an MSc in Library Science at the National Autonomous University of Mexico, and a Ph.D. in Information Science from
the University of Granada (Spain). He publishes widely in the research areas of information science, data visualization,
and scientometrics:
https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=OKIleUEAAAAJ
University of Granada (UGR), Spain
[email protected]
ORCID:
0000-0003-1142-5074
Domingo Sánchez-Mesa Martínez.
Full professor in Literary eory and Comparative Literature at the University of
Granada (UGR). He is the director of the Research Project I+D FIC-TRANS, Fiction, Transmedia Creativity and Postruth
in Contemporary Media Culture (
https://nar-trans.com/
) as well as of the European Project (Erasmus+) MIGRIMAGE
(https://www.
migrimage.eu
). He is author or coauthor of about a hundred academic texts, among them two recent
books: (2022)
Transmedialización y Crowdsourcing
(Tirant lo Blanch), coedited with J. Alberich, and (2019)
Narrativas
transmediales. La metamorfosis del relato en los nuevos medios digitales
(Gedisa). He has been a visiting professor at
Barnard College (Columbia Univ. 2016) and UMass Amherst (2012) and a guest researcher at CUNY, Colegio de México,
or KULeuven. He was the supervisor of the Master in New Interactive Media and Multimedia Journalism (UGR 2015-22)
and has supervised 13 PhD theses. He is part of the Scientic Committees of several Journals as
Pasavento. Journal of
Hispanic Studies; Tecmerín. Journal of Audiovisual Essays
and
eory Now.
University of Granada (UGR), Spain
[email protected]
ORCID:
0000-0003-2242-4421
is content is published under Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial License. International License CC BY-NC 4.0
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1. Introduction
Interactive documentaries have emerged as a leading innovative format in journalism over the past decade, developing
along multiple trajectories. While substantial research exists on this format, studies examining its integration with data
visualization remain limited. Despite numerous scholars acknowledging the symbiotic relationship between documentaries
and data visualization (Fallon, 2016, 2019; Takahashi, 2017; Nash, 2021; Ocak, 2021; Freixa, Pérez-Montoro and Codina,
2021; Kim, 2022), their convergence has not yet been systematically analyzed.
Webdocs, or web documentaries, represent a journalistic genre that emerged with the Internet’s development (Gifreu,
2013, 2021; Rose, Gaudenzi and Aston, 2017; Alkarimeh and Boutin, 2018; Nash, 2021; Kim, 2022), reecting the conuence
of traditional documentary practices with novel interactive possibilities. While early web adaptations of documentaries
maintained conventional structures (Dovey and Rose, 2012; Gaudenzi, 2013), technological advancement has facilitated
increasingly interactive and non-linear formats, integrating video content with diverse multimedia elements. Within this
evolution, data visualization has progressively emerged as a crucial component in certain productions (Gaudenzi, 2013;
Fallon, 2019; Nash, 2021; Kim, 2022).
Journalism and data visualization have long employed innovative techniques to explain abstract and complex phenomena
(Dick, 2020). From the statistical charts traditionally used in science to the more artistic and creative visualizations of
today (Vizoso, Figueiras, and Dick, 2020), these disciplines have continually adapted to meet the social, academic, and
Recibido: 06/05/2024 - Aceptado: 30/10/2024 - En edición: 04/12/2024 - Publicado: 01/07/2025
Resumen:
El documental interactivo y la visualización de datos llevan años bus
-
cando formas de contar historias con datos, concretamente, intentando
hacer que las visualizaciones sean más narrativas, aunque existe poca li
-
teratura al respecto. Por este motivo, este artículo pretende ser un primer
paso para ampliar el conocimiento actual en torno a la convergencia
de ambas disciplinas. Esta investigación se centra en los denominados
data-driven webdocs, un tipo de documental web que utiliza la visua
-
lización de datos como contenido principal, dando acceso a otros ele
-
mentos multimedia a través de ella. En este paper hemos recopilado las
publicaciones existentes sobre este tema y realizado un análisis de apro
-
ximadamente una treintena de ejemplos para identicar las caracterís
-
ticas distintivas de este tipo de piezas. Finalmente, y teniendo en cuenta
investigaciones previas, proponemos este tipo de webdoc como un género
en consolidación para contar historias con datos.
Palabras clave:
Documental interactivo; documental web; webdoc; visualización de
datos; visualización narrativa.
Received: 06/05/2024 - Accepted: 30/10/2024 - Early access: 04/12/2024 - Published: 01/07/2025
Abstract:
Documentaries and data visualizations have long sought innovative
approaches to narrate data-driven stories, striving to balance
eective storytelling and insightful data visualization. Despite the
growing interest in this intersection, limited research has been
published on the convergence of these two domains. is article
aims to bridge this gap, oering a preliminary exploration into their
points of convergence. Our study centers on data-driven webdocs
–a novel form of web documentary that places data visualization at
its core while incorporating other multimedia elements to enrich
the narrative experience. In this paper, we compile existing research
and analyze specic examples to identify the distinctive features of
data-driven webdocs. Furthermore, building upon prior studies, we
propose that this emerging format be recognized as a new genre for
narrating stories through data.
Keywords:
Interactive documentary; webdoc; narrative visualization; data
visualization; data stories.
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informational needs of their time, becoming particularly popular in the modern digital ecosystem, especially in an
interactive format (Dick, 2020; Kennedy and Engebretsen, 2020).
In an era of increasing behavioral quantication (Mayer-Schönberger and Cukier, 2013), data visualization has attained “a
social relevance on a scale we have not seen before” (Kennedy and Engebretsen, 2020: 19-23), and the capacity to process,
visualize, and communicate data has become fundamental (Kennedy and Hill, 2017, 2018). Nevertheless, practitioners
face persistent challenges in managing and representing data eectively, particularly in incorporating narrative elements
that render complex information both accessible and engaging.
Web technologies of the past two decades have enabled journalists, designers, and developers to create innovative
documentary pieces incorporating data visualization. Given the proliferation of such works, our research specically
examines webdocs that employ data visualization as their primary content.
1.1. eoretical Framework
Initial predictions of the Internet supplanting traditional media have given way to a more nuanced understanding.
Contemporary scholarship demonstrates that media forms coexist through continuous processes of remediation and genre
hybridization, with reciprocal inuences (Manovich, 2002; Jenkins, Ito and Boyd, 2015; Baetens, De Graef and Mandolessi,
2020; Belcher, 2023). Today, digital media is considered to function less as a replacement and more as a “super medium”
(Baetens, De Graef and Mandolessi, 2020: 101), enabling unprecedented convergence and combinations of existing media
forms.
Scholars have long examined digital media, including the web, as a remediation of cinema (Manovich, 2002; Baetens,
De Graef and Mandolessi, 2020; Nash, 2021), progressively incorporating elements from photography, radio, literature,
and print journalism. Technological advancement has fostered hybrid forms that challenge, though do not preclude,
distinctions between adapted traditional genres and emergent forms since the web’s distinctive characteristics —
particularly multimedia content and hypertext — have profoundly inuenced genre evolution, generating medium-
specic hybrids that often become inextricable from their platform (Nielsen and Askehave, 2005; Murray, 2011; Baetens,
De Graef and Mandolessi, 2020; Nash, 2021).
e Internet’s emergence has necessitated an ongoing academic reconsideration of genre conceptualization, as content
diversication challenges traditional analytical frameworks (Nielsen and Askehave, 2005; Baetens, De Graef and
Mandolessi, 2020; Belcher, 2023). is study employs specic denitions of
medium
and
genre
. We adopt Véron’s (1994:
52) denition: “a set composed of technology and social practices around the production (...) and appropriation of the
generated message, when there is public access to these”, understanding the
medium
as the support for the various genres
that materialize in it.
Our genre conceptualization draws from functional theory and Yates, Orlikowski and Okamura’s (1999: 84) denition:
“socially recognized types of communicative actions that are habitually performed (...) to achieve particular social
purposes. A genre can be identied by its socially recognized purpose and the shared characteristics of the form”. is
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denition encompasses both communicative function and “appearance” (Yates, Orlikowski and Okamura, 1999: 122),
including lexical and grammatical elements (Eggins, 1994; Swales, 1990, cited in Nielsen and Askehave, 2005), textual
arrangement, and visual composition (Martin, 1992, cited in Nielsen and Askehave, 2005).
Multiple authors have recognized the strong connection between digital medium and genres. Baetens, De Graef and
Mandolessi’s (2020) inuential framework distinguishes between
digital-borne
works (existing physical formats digitized
without substantial modication) and
digital-born
works, which are “created on a computer and intended to be read on
[it] (...) that can no longer be done adequately in print form” (p. 111) or any prior medium. To explicate medium and genre
evolution, they reference Gaudreault and Marion’s (2005) three-phase theory of “appearance, emergence and constitution”
(p. 5), which particularly illuminates webdoc evolution, as we will examine in Results and Conclusions.
Our analysis encompasses additional digital medium characteristics and features of the contemporary media ecosystem.
We consider webdocs’ potential for openness and participation, allowing user-generated content beyond author-dened
datasets (Green et al., 2017; Nash, 2021), and their trans- and cross-medialization –their narrative extension beyond the
web. We distinguish between
crossmedia
, where content extends across platforms without requiring user participation or
narrative expansion, and
transmedia
, where audience collaboration actively expands the narrative universe through new
stories, perspectives, and content (Ryan and on, 2014; Karlsen, 2018; Freixa, Sora-Domenjó and Soler-Adillon, 2022).
2. Material and Methodology
Given the limited academic literature on this subject, our research methodology comprises three distinct phases:
1. A comprehensive literature review examining data visualization in traditional and interactive documentaries.
2. An analytical assessment of data-driven webdocs and their distinctive features.
3. Based on these analyses, a theoretical proposition of these webdocs as an emergent genre for telling stories with data.
e literature review employed systematic searches across Scopus, Web of Science, Google, and Google Scholar databases.
We constructed Boolean search queries combining the terms
documentary, interactive documentary, i-doc, webdoc, web
documentary, data visualization, narrative visualization,
and
dataviz
in both English and Spanish. For Google and Google
Scholar, which yielded extensive results, we included the rst three pages of search results. All results from Scopus and Web
of Science were incorporated due to their more manageable volume. After removing duplicates, the initial corpus of 282
publications was rened to 59 based on the following inclusion criteria:
–
Texts analyzing interactive documentaries where data visualization serves as the main content, rather than as an additio
-
nal or secondary resource.
–
Publications focusing on journalistic documentaries intended for the general public, excluding narrative data visualiza
-
tions designed for the scientic community (e.g., in elds such as medicine, physics, or chemistry).
–
eoretical works explicitly addressing the relationship and convergence between the documentary genre and data
visualization.
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For the case study analysis, we utilized the sample identied by López-Lozano, Herrero-Solana, and Sánchez-Mesa Martínez
(2024), focusing on 27
data-driven
webdocs featuring interactive data visualization as their core content. Our analysis
encompassed currently accessible webdocs and, for unavailable content, we consulted the Wayback Machine (
https://
archive.org/
), relevant articles, YouTube and Vimeo documentation, and technical documentation from MIT Docubase,
IDFA DocLab, NFB of Canada, and IMDb repositories. We systematically documented the following characteristics in a
structured database:
–
Type of data visualization: Categorized as either customized/tailored or traditional (e.g., maps, bar charts, pie charts)
following Figueiras’s (2016) typology.
–
Testimonies or personal stories: Identifying whether these are included and if they can be directly accessed through the
data visualization.
–
1:1 relationship: Evaluating the presence of a direct correspondence between testimonies and individual data records.
–
Video content: Determining whether videos serve as introductory elements or are the primary format for including
testimonies.
–
User participation: Assessing whether users can contribute content to the documentary or data visualization, creating an
open or participatory webdoc.
–
Transmediality or crossmediality: Examining whether the webdoc’s narrative or content extends to platforms beyond the
web and how this adaptation occurs.
In proposing data-driven webdocs as a novel genre in data storytelling, we apply Gaudreault and Marion’s (2005) double
birth theory, as contextualized in Baetens, De Graef and Mandolessi’s (2020)
Digital Reason: A Guide to Meaning, Medium
and Community in a Modern World
.
3. Results and Discussion
Despite Gaudenzi’s (2013) early recognition of data visualization’s potential to guide interactive documentaries, research
in this area remains limited. Our bibliographic analysis reveals that scholars have increasingly identied this research gap,
noting the unique capacities of both documentary and data visualization to represent contemporary society (Kennedy and
Hill, 2017; Nash, 2021; Kim, 2022).
While scholars have identied substantial connections between the documentary genre and data visualization (Fallon,
2016, 2019; Nash, 2021; Kim, 2022), particularly regarding the representation of phenomena resistant to camera capture,
most analyses remain theoretical or limited to isolated examples and case studies.
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3.1. Documentary and Data Visualization: Making Visible the Invisible
Fallon (2016) initially explored this convergence by examining documentary genre limitations in explicating abstract
concepts and intangible phenomena that resist camera-based documentation. After analyzing historical parallels between
both forms of non-ction visual representation, Fallon proposes data visualization as “an expanded eld of documentary
expression” (2016: 296), oering solutions to these representational challenges.
Takahashi (2017) advances a similar perspective in “Data Visualization as Documentary Form: e Murmur of Digital
Magnitude,” emphasizing both genres’ capacity to represent abstract, complex, and polyphonic phenomena. She positions
data visualization as “a key form of contemporary documentary” (2017: 392) and “a new dominant rhetorical form that (...)
produces the most coherent, authoritative and ‘audible’ arguments about today’s world” (2017: 381-383). Furthermore,
the author conceptualizes data visualization as the primary representational form of “the murmur of digital magnitude”
(Takahashi, 2017: 376) –the digital footprint of contemporary life that remains invisible until transformed through
visualization.
Beyond academic discourse, practitioners have also noted this emerging convergence. Astle’s (2014) “Charting the
Course: Data Visualization in Documentary Film” traces decades of synergy between these disciplines, from basic data
visualization included in traditional documentaries to interactive documentaries “that invite viewers to manipulate and
explore graphics” (2014: 7). While primarily examining data visualization as supplementary content, Astle acknowledges
its potential to drive the overall story (Soyk, 2014, as cited in Astle, 2014).
Smith (2020) predicts increasing convergence between documentaries and data visualization, citing a rise in the production
and consumption of documentaries alongside a growing number of Google searches for
storytelling with data.
e author
identies journalistic works that combine “aggregated data with individual interviews (...) [that enable] people to tell their
own story” (Smith, 2020: 12), a hallmark of the webdocs analyzed in this study.
In case study literature, Duijn and Koenitz’s (2017) analysis of e Industry (2017) examines a webdoc utilizing an interactive
map as its primary navigation interface for accessing dierent video chapters. eir work, “Beyond e Timeline: A Data-
Driven Interface For Interactive Documentary”, demonstrates how “the (...) video does not determine the narrative, but the
data (...), combining data and multimedia clips into a compelling narrative experience” (2017: 34-35).
Hook (2018) extends this inquiry in “Facts, Interactivity and Videotape: Exploring the Design Space of Data in Interactive
Video Storytelling”, analyzing 43 interactive video pieces, including interactive documentaries. While primarily focused on
video-based projects, Hook (2018) acknowledges data visualization’s emerging role as a narrative interface, by mentioning
the existence of pieces that use data visualization as the interface to access lms and videos, which we consider a clear
reference to this type of documentary.
Ocak’s (2021) “A Critical Inquiry on Data Visualization Based Interactive Documentary: ‘e Fallen of World War II’ as
an example”, examines a webdoc that replaces traditional camera footage with animated data visualization. is format,
variously termed ‘cinematic data visualization,’ ‘data video’ (Shi et al., 2021), or ‘data epic’ (Gray, 2023), integrates interactive
elements by pausing the documentary lm to enable user exploration of visualized data.
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Figure 1. e Fallen of World War II Interface
Source: Halloran, Neil. (2015). e Fallen of World War II.
http://www.fallen.io/ww2/
As Ocak (2021) defends, “though any camera record has not been used (...), the lm has a very cinematographic language”
(p.367), demonstrating data visualization’s capacity to replace traditional camera footage in documentary storytelling.
While acknowledging this work’s relatively conventional structure –a linear narrative with an omniscient narrator
intercepted with interactive intervals– Ocak identies the emergence of “new modes [of documentaries] (...) based on data
and its visualization” (2021: 368), suggesting that “data visualization is iconically pointing out the coming future of truth
claim of the documentary” (2021: 370).
Nash’s (2021) seminal work, “Interactive Documentary: eory and Debate”, dedicates signicant attention to documentary
and data visualization convergence. rough multiple case studies, the author positions these documentaries’ novel
interfaces and navigational structures as “key sites of documentary expression” (Nash, 2021: 18), arguing that their
interfaces function “as a form of documentary argument” (Nash, 2021: 19).
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A comprehensive analysis of data visualization in webdocs appears in López-Lozano, Herrero-Solana, and Sánchez-Mesa
Martínez’s (2024) “Interactive Documentary and Data Visualization: New Approaches to Telling Stories with Data”. eir
examination of over 80 webdocs reveals that data visualization constitutes half or more of the content in nearly 65% of
cases, indicating its growing prominence in documentary practice.
e authors identify three distinct trends among the analyzed documentaries. First,
text and image-driven webdocs
, where
the primary content consists of texts and static images, with occasional data visualizations included. Second, the most
prevalent type:
video-driven webdocs
, in which the main content comprises a lm or series of videos, with data visualizations
serving both as supplementary information and as an alternative means of accessing the multimedia content. Finally, they
describe
data-driven webdocs
as a unique subset of documentaries that use data visualization as their primary content and
as the main interface for accessing other multimedia elements. It is this latter category that forms the focus of our analysis.
3.2. Narrative Visualization: Telling Stories with Data
e term
narrative visualization
(Segel and Heer, 2010) encompasses data visualizations designed to create interactive
online narratives, sometimes functioning as complete narrative vehicles that “function in place of a written story” (p.1).
is approach synthesizes techniques from “oratory, comic books, video games, and lm production” (Segel & Heer,
2010: 1), requiring diverse expertise spanning storytelling, screenplay writing, computer engineering, and data science
–competencies equally essential in webdoc development.
Segel and Heer’s (2010) taxonomy identies two genres particularly relevant to the documentary practice: the
Annotated
Chart
, featuring text annotations overlaid on charts and other graphical representations, and the
Film/Video/Animation
genre, comprising narrated animated data visualizations. However, these categories dier from our sample in signicant
ways:
Annotated Charts
lack multimedia integration beyond textual annotations, while the
Film/Video/Animation
genre
remains conned to linear, non-interactive formats.
Narrative visualization has been the subject of research in many elds, but journalism has emerged as a pioneer in its
implementation (Kosara and Mackinlay, 2013). e past decade has witnessed concentrated eorts to craft narratives
integrating data visualizations, text, and multimedia elements (Segel and Heer, 2010; Cairo, 2012), specically aiming “to
make visualizations (...) independent of other types of narratives” (Cairo, 2012: 138) rather than supplementary elements.
is evolution aligns with observations by Diakopoulos, Kivran-Swaine and Naaman (2011) regarding journalistic
innovations in creating visual narratives around a data set, and Figueiras’s (2016) recognition of eorts to develop
visualizations as “independent forms of telling stories that can exist by themselves” (Figueiras, 2016: 138).
Recent Stanford University research has explicitly examined the documentary-narrative visualization nexus. rough their
concept of
Documentary Narrative Visualization
, Bradbury and Guadagno (2020) investigate how narrative visualization
techniques inuence audience engagement, revealing substantial parallels with traditional documentary approaches. eir
analysis suggests documentary techniques can inform data visualization practices, as exemplied by 200 Countries, 200
years, 4 minutes (Wingspan Productions, 2010), where Hans Rosling orchestrates discourse through animated statistical
representation.
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Figure 2. 200 Countries, 200 years, 4 minutes Video
Source: Wingspan Productions. (2010, November 26). Hans Rosling’s 200 Countries, 200 Years, 4 Minutes - e Joy of Stats -
BBC Four [Video]. Youtube.
https://bit.ly/43YmuHp
Edmond and Bednarz (2021) delineate three evolutionary trajectories for narrative visualization. e rst, termed
leading
narrative
, incorporates data visualizations within established narrative frameworks. e second,
integrated narrative
,
elevates data visualization to “the predominant language” (Edmond & Bednarz, 2021:34), relegating traditional narrative
elements to a supporting role. e third,
supporting narrative
, minimizes textual and conventional narrative techniques in
favor of visualization-driven storytelling. e authors believe that approaches emphasizing robust contextual integration
of data visualization will demonstrate the greatest proliferation, anticipating the emergence of increasingly sophisticated
narrative forms in this domain.
3.3. Webdocs Analysis
Our analysis examined 27 webdocs from the MIT Docubase, IDFA DocLab, IMDb, and NFB of Canada repositories, all
featuring data visualization as their primary content. e systematic assessment revealed several distinctive characteristics,
summarized in Table 1, with notable patterns in visualization approaches:
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In terms of data visualization usage, 37% of the webdocs employ custom visualizations specically tailored to the
documentary’s content. Conversely, 63% utilize traditional visualizations, with maps being the most frequently used
format (48%), followed by timelines (11%) and bar charts (4%).
Figure 3. Type of data visualization by repository
Source: created by authors, using Google Sheets based on the data from Table 1
Regarding the use of video, 55% of the webdocs in the sample do not include any video content. Among the 45% that do
incorporate video, its use varies: the majority employ it as a format for testimonials (30%), as an introduction to the data
visualization that serves as the documentary’s centerpiece (11%), or, in some cases, as a medium for observing nature
(11%). Notably, these functions often appear in combination across several examples.
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Figure 4. Characteristics of the analyzed webdocs
Source: created by authors, using Google Sheets based on the data from Table 1
Table 1. Webdocs that use data visualizations as the main content
WebdocYearSource
Data
Visualization
Testimonies
1:1
Relation
Video
Open and
Participatory
Transmedia
or
crossmedia
Wordcount2003IDFACustomNoNoNoNoNo
Yellow Arrow
2004MITMapYesYesNoYesYes
Flight Patterns
2005MITCustomNoNoNoNoNo
e Dumpster
2005IDFACustomYesYesNoNoNo
We Feel Fine
2006
MIT, IDFA
CustomYesYesNoNoYes
Lovelines2006MITCustomYesYesNoNoNo
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WebdocYearSource
Data
Visualization
Testimonies
1:1
Relation
Video
Open and
Participatory
Transmedia
or Crossmedia
e Iron Curtain
Diaries
2009IDFAMapYesNoYesNoNo
Invisible Cities
2010MITMapYesYesNoYesYes
How Much Is
Left?
2010MITTimelineNoNoYesNoNo
is Land
2010NFBTimelineNoNoNoNoYes
Hip Hop Word
Count
2011MITCustomNoYesNoNoNo
Farewell
Comrades!
2011
MIT, IDFA,
IMDb
MapYesYesNoNoYes
Bear 71
2012
MIT, IDFA,
NFB, IMDb
MapNoNoYesNoYes
Tidmarsh
Farms: Living
Observatory
2012MITMapNoNoYesNoYes
Here at Home
2012
MIT, IDFA,
NFB
CustomYesYesYesNoNo
Out of Sight, Out
of Mind
2013
MIT, IDFA
TimelineNoNoNoNoNo
17000 Islands
2013
MIT, IDFA
MapNoYesYesYesNo
StreetMusicMap2014MITMapNoYesYesYesYes
A Cartography of
Iconic Memory
2014MITMapNoNoYesNoYes
e G Word
2015MITCustomYesYesYesYesNo
e Counted
2015MIT
Bar Chart
YesNoNoNoNo
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WebdocYearSource
Data
Visualization
Testimonies
1:1
Relation
Video
Open and
Participatory
Transmedia
or Crossmedia
Quipu Project
2015
MIT, IDFA
CustomYesYesNoYesYes
Radio Right Left
2017MITMapYesYesNoYesNo
A Father’s Lullaby
2017MITMapYesYesYesYesYes
Mémoires des
déportations
2017IDFAMapYesYesYesNoYes
Destruction and
Return in al-
Araqib
2018IDFAMapYesYesNoNoNo
Yesterday, Today,
Tomorrow
2021NFBCustomYesYesNoYesNo
3.4. Examples of Data-Driven Webdocs
To exemplify the data-driven webdoc paradigm, we present four illustrative cases from our analytical sample that embody
the genre’s dening characteristics.
We Feel Fine (2006) represents a pioneering exploration of digital emotional expression, analyzing sentiment data from
2.3 million blog entries. Its interface, which Kamvar and Harris (2011) term
Experiential Data Visualization
, combines
quantitative visualization of aggregated emotional data with demographic ltering capabilities across variables including
emotion, age, gender, and additional parameters. Users can navigate from macro-level patterns to individual narratives
through interactive data points, creating an immersive experience that bridges quantitative analysis with personal
storytelling. is structure exemplies the potential of data-driven narratives to simultaneously capture broad social
patterns and individual human experiences.
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Figure 5. We Feel Fine Interface
Source: Harris, Jonathan & Kamvar, Sep. (2006). We Feel Fine.
http://wefeelne.org/
We Feel Fine’s structure foregrounds an innovative data visualization interface while maintaining deep connections
to individual narratives. Each data point links directly to a personal testimony presented primarily through text and
occasionally supplemented with static imagery. e project extends beyond its digital platform through a companion book
oering enhanced statistical analysis and curated testimonials, exemplifying a cross-media approach to documentary
storytelling that distributes content across multiple platforms.
e Quipu Project (2015) demonstrates similar structural principles while addressing profound human rights violations.
is interactive documentary chronicles the experiences of over 300,000 individuals subjected to involuntary sterilization
during Peru’s Fujimori regime. e project’s core interactive data visualization enables systematic exploration through
multiple ltering criteria, with each quantitative data point providing direct access to survivor testimonials, creating a
powerful synthesis of statistical documentation and personal narrative.
<p>[Enlace de URL / hc (has AS)]</p>
<p>[Enlace de URL / hc (has AS)]</p>
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Figure 6. Quipu Project Interface
Source: Court & Lerner. (2015). Quipu Project.
https://interactive.quipu-project.com/
e Quipu Project exemplies participatory documentary practice (Nash, 2022; Jenkins, Ito and Boyd, 2015) through
the integration of audience response mechanisms, enabling viewers to transmit messages of solidarity to survivors. e
visualization’s deployment of the
quipu
–a traditional indigenous accounting system– introduces semiotic self-awareness
to its data representation. e project transcends conventional digital boundaries through its innovative transmedia
strategy: mobile phones distributed among indigenous communities with limited internet access enabled survivors to
receive audience messages, establishing a dialogue between digital and traditional communities (Green et al., 2017).
Another example of a data-driven webdoc is
e G Word
(2015), created to combat discrimination and gender violence.
Its interface visually represents each personal story as a circle, organizing them around themes such as emotional abuse,
consent, and classism. Clicking on a circle reveals a personal story presented in text, audio, image, or video format. Users
can also contribute their own stories to be added to the webdoc. Alongside the visualization, two introductory videos
provide additional information about the project.
<p>[Enlace de URL / hc (has AS)]</p>
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Unlike previous examples,
e G Word
incorporates video content, though it is not a central feature of the webdoc. Instead,
the video serves as one of several formats for presenting personal stories and introducing the project. As in the other cases,
the core of the webdoc is a data visualization, with a 1:1 relationship between each data point and the corresponding story.
Notably, the dataset remains open, allowing users to add their own stories and experiences, thereby enriching the project’s
scope.
Yesterday, Today, Tomorrow (2021) examines the COVID-19 pandemic’s emotional impact through sentiment analysis of
social media discourse. Its visualization interface enables exploration of over 600,000 tweets, categorized by emotional
valence –fear, joy, sadness, trust– revealing temporal patterns in collective emotional response. is data-driven approach
illuminates macro-level emotional trends while maintaining connections to individual experiences.
Figure 7. Yesterday, Today, Tomorrow interface
Source: Jam3 and NFB. (2021). Yesterday, Today, Tomorrow.
https://yesterday.nfb.ca/
<p>[Enlace de URL / hc (has AS)]</p>
<p>[Enlace de URL / hc (has AS)]</p>
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e timeline used to explore the content oers three navigation options: chronology, topic, and sentiment. is visualization
consists of a series of circles, each representing an individual tweet that users can access by clicking on it. Additionally, the
interface highlights key milestones and events, providing context for understanding shifts in collective emotions. ese
interaction options enable users to transition from observing global trends to delving into the feelings and personal stories
behind them. Notably, the project remains open, allowing users to contribute tweets through a designated hashtag, further
expanding its scope and relevance.
3.5. Specic Characteristics
Our analysis reveals several dening characteristics of data-driven webdocs. Primary among these is the centrality of data
visualization –not as supplementary content, but as the documentary’s core structural element. Unlike traditional webdocs
anchored in video content, these productions position data visualization as the primary interface for accessing multimedia
elements (Geenen and Wieringa, 2020).
Many of these documentaries transcend conventional data visualization formats such as bar charts, pie charts, and maps
(Figueiras, 2016), instead employing bespoke visualization designs that emphasize aesthetic and artistic innovation
(Manovich, 2008). ese custom visualizations function “as a new abstraction (...) transforming the visual chaos of the
data (...) into clear and orderly forms (...) to map such phenomena” (Manovich, 2008: 7-8), drawing inspiration from “new
media art (...) and data modernism” (Manovich, 2000: 1-3).
A distinctive feature of these documentaries is their open-data architecture, enabling audience contribution through
multiple modalities. Users can submit textual, audio, visual, or video content via structured forms, as demonstrated in e
G Word (2015); contribute telephonic audio messages as in the Quipu Project (2015); or participate through hashtag-based
content aggregation, as seen in Yesterday, Today, Tomorrow (2021). ese projects often extend beyond digital platforms
through transmedia or crossmedia strategies, exemplied by We Feel Fine’s (2006) emotional almanac publication and
Quipu Project’s (2015) voice messaging system connecting digital audiences with aected communities.
ese webdocs serve dual representational functions: documenting collective, polyphonic phenomena while enabling
two levels of exploration. ey facilitate a numerical and objective analysis, through data visualization, and an emotional
and subjective experience, understanding through linked personal narratives. is approach aligns with Takahashi’s
(2017) vision of documentary-data visualization synthesis in representing complex, multivocal phenomena. e
web environment’s inherent characteristics, particularly hypertextuality, fundamentally shape these documentaries’
functionality, enabling direct connections between quantitative visualizations and personal stories. is technological
aordance facilitates seamless navigation between macro-level patterns and micro-level personal experiences.
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3.6. Dierences Regarding Narrative Visualization
While narrative visualization and data-driven webdocs share foundational elements, their distinctions emerge primarily
through their function and intention. Narrative visualization, applicable across domains from scientic articles to press
infographics, constructs stories around data visualization to illuminate topics ranging from sports to economics. However,
the examples documented by Segel and Heer (2010) fundamentally dier from these webdocs beyond their multimedia
integration since documentaries focus on social representation.
e divergence lies primarily in intentionality. Narrative visualization prioritizes complex data comprehension, whereas
data-driven webdocs probe deeper social realities, contextualizing numerical data within personal narratives. ese
documentaries illuminate the human dimension of statistics, transforming navigation from quantitative exploration into
an emotionally resonant, subjective experience. Nash’s (2022) observation that documentaries aim to “reveal realities (…)
(to) make sense of the complex and controversial challenges of contemporary societies” (p. 11) crystallizes this distinction.
Data-driven webdocs transcend data exploration by providing access to individual narratives behind each data point,
creating an experiential layer absent in traditional narrative visualization. While narrative visualization techniques
prioritize data comprehension, they typically exclude rst-person testimonies, resulting in a fundamentally dierent user
experience where visuals and graphics remain primary, with narrative serving a supplementary, contextual function.
In comparison with traditional print journalism, these webdocs parallel press reporting, integrating statistical analysis with
personal testimony. However, they transcend written press limitations by enabling comprehensive exploration of all the
individual narratives, structuring content in dual layers: a quantitative visualization interface and an underlying stratum of
personal stories. Conversely, narrative visualizations more closely resemble infographics, where visual elements dominate
and textual annotations just provide contextual information.
Despite varying approaches to multimedia integration across examples (audio, video, text, etc.), these documentaries share
a fundamental objective: representing contemporary society or distilling collective experience. is representational aim,
as noted by Kennedy and Hill (2017, 2018) and Nash (2021), distinguishes documentary work from other informational
content forms.
3.7. Appearance, Emergence, and Constitution
Gaudreault and Marion’s (2005) theory of the double birth of genres and mediums provides an illuminating framework
for understanding the evolution of data visualization in webdocs. eir three-phase model –
appearance
,
emergence
, and
constitution
– maps remarkably onto the developmental trajectory of these documentaries.
In the initial
appearance
phase, the new medium typically adheres to established practices, functioning as “a simple
auxiliary to existing genres” (Gaudreault & Marion, 2005: 12). is pattern manifests in productions like Hazardous
Hospitals (2013), First World War (2014), and Seven Digital Deadly Sins (2014), where data visualization serves an ancillary
function to primary video content. ese early implementations exhibit two distinct patterns: non-interactive visualizations
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integrated within video footage, as in Hazardous Hospitals (2013); or interactive elements accessed during programmed
video pauses, as exemplied by First World War (2014).
e
emergence
phase marks the development of a distinctive identity, where the medium becomes “fertile ground for new
experiments in communication or artistic creation” (Gaudreault & Marion, 2005: 12). During this period, it “adapts itself
to the mediascape, to become acceptable (...) bringing something new to the eld and oering the guarantee of being
recognized by the users” (Baetens et al., 2019: 92). Works like Unspeak (2013), Last Hijack (2014), and Network Eect (2015)
exemplify this evolution, elevating data visualization to equal prominence with the documentary lm and incorporating it
as an alternative navigational structure.
e nal evolutionary stage manifests in works like We Feel Fine (2006), Invisible Cities (2010), e G Word (2015), Quipu
Project (2015), and Yesterday, Today, Tomorrow (2021), where data visualization becomes the central organizing principle.
In these productions, traditional documentary elements such as video or lm become optional or absent, with narratives
conveyed through text, static images, or audio. As a consequence, this transformation raises fundamental questions
about genre classication and the essential characteristics of the documentary form: can webdocs without video or
lm be considered mere adaptations of the traditional documentary lm genre? Or do they have sucient distinctive
characteristics to be considered a new genre?
Gaudreault and Marion’s theory of double birth –comprising
integrating
and
distinguishing
births– illuminates the
emergence of data-driven webdocs as a distinct genre. While the nal phase,
institutionalization
, marked by institutional
control and regulation (Gaudreault & Marion, 2005:3), remains incomplete, signicant indicators of this process have
emerged. Major institutions have begun systematic documentation of data visualization webdocs, including MIT
Docubase’s categorical organization and the Digital Storytelling Index maintained by the Novos Medios Research Group.
Investigative journalism platforms like Inkyfada, through initiatives such as Inkylab, actively produce data visualization-
driven documentaries.
e academic sphere further evidences this institutional recognition. Beyond existing scholarship on documentary and
data visualization convergence (Fallon, 2016; Takahashi, 2017; Duijn and Koenitz, 2017; Bradbury & Guadagno, 2020; Nash,
2021), signicant institutional developments include Princeton University’s establishment of the VizE Lab for Ethnographic
Data Visualization in 2017, aimed at “bring[ing] data visualization and documentary media together” by combining “data
sets (...) with person-centered perspectives”. In addition, the introduction of “Visible Evidence: Documentary Film and
Data Visualization” into Princeton’s Film Studies curriculum in 2018 further signals the genre’s growing institutional
recognition.
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4. Conclusions
e identication of emergent genres presents inherent challenges, as evidence of novelty typically manifests in fragmented,
sometimes contradictory patterns. While some nascent formats dissipate without lasting impact, others demonstrate
increasing coherence and stability –as observed in the case of data-driven webdocs.
Despite limited scholarly attention, our cross-disciplinary literature review reveals growing recognition of documentary-
data visualization convergence. Interactive documentaries increasingly incorporate data visualization elements, ranging
from supplementary roles to primary narrative interfaces for multimedia content access.
Our comprehensive analysis demonstrates data visualization’s integration across the interactive documentary spectrum.
is ranges from linear productions like e Fallen of World War II (2015) and e Shadow Peace: e Nuclear reat
(2017), where animated data visualizations replace traditional camera footage under omniscient narration, to highly
interactive, participatory platforms enabling user exploration and content contribution. While linear documentaries
maintain traditional video player interfaces with occasional interactive pauses, more innovative productions like e
Industry (2017) replace conventional interfaces with data visualizations that facilitate navigation through video chapters
and diverse multimedia content.
is evolution emerges from the convergence of interactive documentary practices with data visualization capabilities
enabled by web technologies. Data visualization has transcended its supplementary role to become increasingly central
to documentary storytelling, sometimes comprising half the content, oering alternative navigation pathways, or serving
as the primary interface and organizational framework. Our analysis specically examines documentaries that have
abandoned traditional video player interfaces in favor of data visualization-driven navigation systems.
ese productions distinctively represent polyphonic social phenomena by integrating quantitative data with personal
narratives. Rather than privileging traditional lm content, they employ interactive data visualization as a portal to
multimedia narratives, with each data point linking to individual testimonies. is structure enables dual-layer exploration:
a macro-level examination through quantitative visualization and a micro-level engagement with personal, subjective
experiences.
e absence of traditional video content in many examples suggests these works represent not merely an adaptation but
a fundamental evolution of documentary form. eir distinction from narrative visualization lies in their commitment to
constructing polyphonic social representations rather than simply facilitating data comprehension and engagement.
Applying Gaudreault and Marion’s (2005) double birth theory, we propose that these webdocs constitute a new genre
in constitution within the web medium, entering early institutionalization as evidenced by their integration into
academic curricula at institutions like Princeton University and the establishment of dedicated research facilities. While
acknowledging the need for further research, this analysis represents an initial theoretical framework for understanding
data-driven webdocs as a distinct genre recognized across disciplinary boundaries.
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5. Acknowledgements
is article has been translated into English by Nicolás Robinson to whom we are grateful for his work.
is publication is part of the research project of the Spanish Ministry of Science Innovation and Universities PID2021-
124434NB-I00 nanced by MCIN/AEI/10.13039/501100011033/ and FEDER “A Way of Making Europe”; Grant C-SEJ-
353-UGR23 funded by Andalusian FEDER Operational Plan 2021-2027; Grant PID2023-149646NB-I00 funded by MICIU/
AEI/10.13039/501100011033/ Knowledge Generation Projects 2023.
6. Specic contributions of each author
Name and Surname
Conception and design of the workAndrea López-Lozano, Víctor Herrero-Solana and Domingo Sánchez-Mesa Martínez
Methodology
Andrea López-Lozano, Víctor Herrero-Solana and Domingo Sánchez-Mesa Martínez
Data collection and analysisAndrea López-Lozano
Discussion and conclusionsAndrea López-Lozano, Víctor Herrero-Solana and Domingo Sánchez-Mesa Martínez
Drafting, formatting, version review
and approval
Andrea López-Lozano, Víctor Herrero-Solana and Domingo Sánchez-Mesa Martínez
7. Conict of interest
e authors declare that there is no conict of interest contained in this article.
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