Infographics are a graphical representation of data. They are a great way to display information and to make connections between different statistics. There are several online sites that allow you to create your own infographic which include a range of tools to add charts, pictograms, icons, text and images.
By considering the use of infographics, your practice can become multisensory making your work more accessible for students, peers and whoever else you decide to target. Read more on the benefits of using structured multimedia in learning environments here.
Infographics for your own work:
Infographics can be used to raise the profile of your research and widen your audience. You could start by demonstrating your results in an infographic format within your academic paper or at a poster event or presentation. Once you have trialled presenting findings in a visual way to peers, you might be inspired for other ways to showcase your research – perhaps to popular media if you would think it is beneficial to a larger audience?
Whether you wish to create an infographic yourself or commision one, you will need a clear idea of what information you wish to display and how would be best to display it. The Journal of Marketing Management has guidance on how you can turn your article into an infographic – click here.
Click here for examples of academic infographics.
Infographics for your teaching:
Free tools such as Piktochart, Venngage, Easelly and Canva are easy to use and allows students to create quick infographics to share with the group. A simple seminar activity could be to split the students into groups with a different article to read. At the end of the seminar the students present back an infographic of what the article is about. This demonstrates understanding of the article and gives them experience in summarising information and presenting on a small scale.
Infographics could also be used within assessments including written assignments or presentations. In a written assignment an infographic could enhance a conclusion, action plan or could showcase an individual part of the report e.g. demographics. They could add value to a pitch or VIVA, be it either a formative, summative or as part of a consultancy project module. To assist a pitch the infographic could be comparative, a flowchart or a timeline of events. See the video below for more common types of infographics as inspiration for when you create your first infographic.
Read here for more information on how to use the free infographic tools mentioned in this article. For more information on how to use infographics, contact a member of the SBS TEL team.
