
Accompanying text for the “Designing for interactive exploratory data analysis requires theory of graphical inference” Explainer Zine
Before you read our explainer zine, it may be helpful to have some context about what a zine actually is. A zine, short for “magazine”, is traditionally a self-published collection of text and images that is not-for-profit. Think of it as a passion project, shared hand-to-hand. Historically, zines have been a way for subcultures to find their voice, be heard, and cultivate communities of shared interest.
This zine approach was inspired by a workshop by Sarah Mirk given at the Data Science by Design Creator Conf co-organized and attended by Stoudt. Mirk provided instructions for how to create a zine which can also be found online.
We like to think of zines as an opportunity for researchers to create and distribute accessible summaries of their work, like a business card, but more fun. Consider passing out a cartoon summary of your work to people at conferences: job seekers could concisely tell folks what they are working on while those hiring could inspire prospective candidates to come work with them. Since Hullman and Gelman’s paper is a call to action for a new line of research, we hope our explainer version will broaden the pool of candidates who might consider working in this field.
Our zine was designed to have a stand-alone pull-out for those who want more details nestled in a high-level overview of the paper. The Bayes-ics zine-within-a-zine can be pulled out to be repurposed in other related explainers. Want a tangible version? Coming soon, you’ll be able to print these drawings on three pages of standard paper, and we will show you, via a video, how to fold and combine them into your very own zine. Our goal is to make the original research paper more accessible to a broader audience, and to ensure that the audience is as wide as possible we have also provided an alt-text version so that those with visual impairments can also enjoy the story.
Download a printout in US letter format and in A4 format here.
For optimal folding, opt for borderless printing whenever possible or cut out the borders otherwise, and watch our folding instructions video here.