P SC 5940: Data Visualization

Fall 2026

Instructor: Joe Ripberger
Office: 5 Partners Place, Suite 2300
Office Hours: By Appointment
Time and Location: M 9:00am - 11:50am, 5 Partners Place, Suite 2300

Course Details

Description

Data visualization is the process of transforming data into clear, honest, and effective graphics. In this course, students will approach visualization primarily as a design discipline. They will learn what makes a graphic work, how people perceive visual information, and how to make deliberate design choices that communicate ideas clearly. Along the way, they will develop both a critical eye for evaluating visualizations and the skills to create effective graphics of their own.

R and ggplot2 will be the medium, but this will not be a programming course. Students will use AI coding assistants, principally Claude Code, to develop, debug, and improve R code. The goal is not to memorize syntax, but to learn how to use code as a tool for creating effective visualizations. Students will also build transparent and reproducible workflows so that every figure can be traced, reproduced, and trusted.

The course moves from the fundamentals of visual perception and graphical design to visualizing distributions, relationships, uncertainty, geospatial data, and interactive graphics. By the end of the semester, students will be able to design and build clear, reproducible visualizations that communicate complex information to a wide range of audiences. They will also have the skills to use modern AI tools effectively and responsibly as part of the visualization process.

Format

This course will use a flipped instructional model. Rather than sitting through traditional lectures, students will complete the assigned readings before class and spend class time solving problems, discussing ideas, and building visualizations. Each session will center on a visualization sprint: a focused, collaborative exercise in which students use live data to answer real questions. Class time will be devoted to applying course concepts, receiving feedback, and refining both visualizations and workflows.

Management

The course will use three tools for course management. Canvas⁠ will host announcements and grades. GitHub⁠ will host course code and assignments. Through GitHub Classroom, each student will receive a personal repository for each visualization sprint and will submit work by committing and pushing changes. No prior experience with Git is required. We will cover the basics during the first class, and modern tools such as Claude Code and Positron make version control straightforward. Dropbox⁠ will host large data files and readings that do not belong in a Git repository.

Textbooks

This course will draw on materials from the following books. All are widely used and freely available online.

Additional References

Foundations and Theory

  • Bertin, J. Semiology of Graphics: Diagrams, Networks, Maps. (Esri Press, 2010).
  • Cleveland, W. S. Visualizing Data. (Hobart Press, 1993).
  • Tufte, E. R. Envisioning Information. (Graphics Press, 1990).
  • Tufte, E. R. The Visual Display of Quantitative Information, 2nd Ed. (Graphics Press, 2001).

Perception and Design Frameworks

  • Munzner, T. Visualization Analysis and Design. (A K Peters/CRC Press, 2014).
  • Ware, C. Information Visualization: Perception for Design. (Morgan Kaufmann, 2020).

Practice and Application

  • Cairo, A. The Functional Art: An Introduction to Information Graphics and Visualization. (New Riders, 2012).
  • Cairo, A. How Charts Lie: Getting Smarter about Visual Information. (W. W. Norton, 2019).
  • Knaflic, C. N. Storytelling with Data: A Data Visualization Guide for Business Professionals. (Wiley, 2015).
  • Schwabish, J. Better Data Visualizations: A Guide for Scholars, Researchers, and Wonks. (Columbia University Press, 2021).
  • Yau, N. Visualize This: The FlowingData Guide to Design, Visualization, and Statistics. (Wiley, 2024).

Web Resources

“Good, Ugly, Bad, Wrong” (Gub-Wuh) Assignments

The “Good, Ugly, Bad, Wrong” (Gub-Wuh) assignments will build a critical eye by asking students to evaluate real graphics through the lens of each week’s readings. For each assignment, students will find a graphic from a peer-reviewed article, working paper, or government or agency report related to the week’s topic and classify it into one of four categories:

  • Good: communicates its message effectively and follows best practices.
  • Ugly: functional, but aesthetically unappealing.
  • Bad: misleading or unclear.
  • Wrong: contains factual or numerical errors.

Students will justify their classification in detail. Each analysis must explicitly connect the graphic to a specific concept from that week’s assigned reading—naming the concept and citing where it appears—so that every assessment is grounded in, and demonstrates engagement with, the week’s material. They will then compile the graphic and their written analysis into a short document or slide deck, present it in class, and respond to peer feedback.

Students will complete five Gub-Wuh assignments over the semester and may choose which topic weeks to do them. Each assignment is due by midnight on the Sunday before that Monday’s class.

Research Practicum

The Research Practicum will give students an opportunity to apply what they have learned through two projects.

  • Practicum I: Building a Reusable Visualization Workflow. Students will create a reusable AI-assisted workflow by developing a Claude Code skill (SKILL.md). Each skill will capture expert knowledge about one specific aspect of data visualization and teach an AI assistant how to approach that task consistently and effectively. The skill should document the key principles, best practices, common pitfalls, and workflow for solving a recurring visualization problem. The finished skill should be reusable across future projects. Possible topics include selecting an appropriate chart type, critiquing a visualization, improving accessibility, refining a ggplot2 figure, designing publication-quality graphics, or building interactive visualizations.

  • Practicum II: Building an Interactive Decision Support Tool. Students will develop an interactive visualization in Shiny that addresses the needs of a hypothetical client. The application should translate a real decision-making problem into an effective interactive interface. Students will apply the visualization principles developed throughout the course to create a dashboard that is clear, intuitive, and reproducible, while documenting the rationale behind their design decisions.

Grades

  • Good, Ugly, Bad, Wrong Assignments - 35%
  • Research Practicum - 35%
  • Participation - 30%

Auditing

Students that audit this course are required to read the assigned material, participate in class discussions, complete all assignments, and participate in the research practicum.

University Policies

Mental Health Support Services

Support is available for any student experiencing mental health issues that are impacting their academic success. Students can either been seen at the University Counseling Center (UCC) located on the second floor of Goddard Health Center or receive 24/7/365 crisis support from a licensed mental health provider through TELUS Health. To schedule an appointment or receive more information about mental health resources at OU please call the UCC at 405-325-2911 or visit University Counseling Center. The UCC is located at 620 Elm Ave., Room 201, Norman, OK 73019.

Title IX Resources and Reporting Requirement

The University of Oklahoma faculty are committed to creating a safe learning environment for all members of our community, free from gender and sex-based discrimination, including sexual harassment, domestic and dating violence, sexual assault, and stalking, in accordance with Title IX. There are resources available to those impacted, including: speaking with someone confidentially about your options, medical attention, counseling, reporting, academic support, and safety plans. If you have (or someone you know has) experienced any form of sex or gender-based discrimination or violence and wish to speak with someone confidentially, please contact OU Advocates (available 24/7 at 405-615-0013) or University Counseling Center (M-F 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. at 405-325-2911).

Because the University of Oklahoma is committed to the safety of you and other students, and because of our Title IX obligations, I, as well as other faculty, Graduate Assistants, and Teaching Assistants, are mandatory reporters. This means that we are obligated to report gender-based violence that has been disclosed to us to the Institutional Equity Office. This means that we are obligated to report gender-based violence that has been disclosed to us to the Institutional Equity Office. This includes disclosures that occur in: class discussion, writing assignments, discussion boards, emails and during Student/Office Hours. You may also choose to report directly to the Institutional Equity Office. After a report is filed, the Title IX Coordinator will reach out to provide resources, support, and information and the reported information will remain private. For more information regarding the University’s Title IX Grievance procedures, reporting, or support measures, please visit Institutional Equity Office at 405-325-3546.

Reasonable Accommodation Policy

The University of Oklahoma (OU) is committed to the goal of achieving equal educational opportunity and full educational participation for students with disabilities. If you have already established reasonable accommodations with the Accessibility and Disability Resource Center (ADRC), please submit your semester accommodation request through the ADRC as soon as possible and contact me privately, so that we have adequate time to arrange your approved academic accommodations.

If you have not yet established services through ADRC, but have a documented disability and require accommodations, please complete ADRC’s pre-registration form to begin the registration process. ADRC facilitates the interactive process that establishes reasonable accommodations for students at OU. For more information on ADRC registration procedures, please review their Register with the ADRC web page. You may also contact them at (405)325-3852 or adrc@ou.edu, or visit www.ou.edu/adrc for more information.

Note: disabilities may include, but are not limited to, mental health, chronic health, physical, vision, hearing, learning and attention disabilities, pregnancy-related. ADRC can also support students experiencing temporary medical conditions.

Religious Observance

It is the policy of the University to excuse the absences of students that result from religious observances and to reschedule examinations and additional required classwork that may fall on religious holidays, without penalty.

Emergency Protocol

During an emergency, there are official university procedures that will maximize your safety. Severe Weather: If you receive an OU Alert to seek refuge or hear a tornado siren that signals severe weather.

  1. Look for severe weather refuge location maps located inside most OU buildings near the entrances.
  2. Seek refuge inside a building. Do not leave one building to seek shelter in another building that you deem safer. If outside, get into the nearest building.
  3. Go to the building’s severe weather refuge location. If you do not know where that is, go to the lowest level possible and seek refuge in an innermost room. Avoid outside doors and windows.
  4. Get in, Get Down, Cover Up
  5. Wait for official notice to resume normal activities.

Additional Weather Safety Information is available through the Department of Campus Safety.

The University of Oklahoma Active Threat Guidance

The University of Oklahoma embraces a Run, Hide, Fight strategy for active threats on campus. This strategy is well known, widely accepted, and proven to save lives. To receive emergency campus alerts, be sure to update your contact information and preferences in the account settings section at one.ou.edu.

  • RUN: Running away from the threat is usually the best option. If it is safe to run, run as far away from the threat as possible. Call 911 when you are in a safe location and let them know from which OU campus you’re calling from and location of active threat.
  • HIDE: If running is not practical, the next best option is to hide. Lock and barricade all doors; turn of all lights; turn down your phone’s volume; search for improvised weapons; hide behind solid objects and walls; and hide yourself completely and stay quiet. Remain in place until law enforcement arrives. Be patient and remain hidden.
  • FIGHT: If you are unable to run or hide, the last best option is to fight. Have one or more improvised weapons with you and be prepared to attack. Attack them when they are least expecting it and hit them where it hurts most: the face (specifically eyes, nose, and ears), the throat, the diaphragm (solar plexus), and the groin. Please save OUPD’s contact information in your phone.

NORMAN campus: For non-emergencies call (405) 325-1717. For emergencies call (405) 325-1911 or dial 911. TULSA campus: For non-emergencies call (918) 660-3900. For emergencies call (918) 660-3333 or dial 911.

Fire Alarm/General Emergency

If you receive an OU Alert that there is danger inside or near the building, or the fire alarm inside the building activates:

  1. LEAVE the building. Do not use the elevators.
  2. KNOW at least two building exits
  3. ASSIST those that may need help
  4. PROCEED to the emergency assembly area
  5. ONCE safely outside, NOTIFY first responders of anyone that may still be inside building due to mobility issues.
  6. WAIT for official notice before attempting to re-enter the building.

Tentative Schedule (Subject to Change)

Foundations

Common Plots and Charts

Next steps