At the Intersection of Mobile Thematic Cartography and Data Journalism

Abstract

Mobile devices are increasingly used in every part of daily life.Individuals are more likely to read the news on mobile devices than on paper or on desktop devices.Maps, too, are common both in mobile apps and browsers, necessitating design considerations specific to these devices (Abraham 2019).However, most research on mobile map design has focused on reference maps, particularly those used for navigation (Lee et al. 2022).Mobile thematic maps, despite their wide use in data journalism, are understudied in academic cartography, and are typically designed using principles from web or print cartography.While responsive design that considers both web and mobile is important, I argue for the need to make mobile-first design a priority in research (see Bartling et al. 2022 for a related call to action on mobile design).Here, I present a literature review on mobile thematic cartography as it intersects with data journalism.I define data journalism as a field that uses infographics and related digital content to inform, guide, or compose news stories (Gray et al. 2012).In addition to developing a literature review at this intersection of topics, a range of potential cartographic research questions deserve further attention:

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