Winnifred Wijnker is a postdoctoral researcher at the department of Science Communication & Society (subsection of IBL) of Leiden University. Her research interests include visual media such as film & video, infographics and graphs, science education, science communication, and interest development. She holds a master’s degree in Film and Television Studies from Utrecht University, and one in Philosophy of Film from the University of Amsterdam. In 2021, Winnifred finished her PhD at the Freudenthal Institute of Utrecht University with research on film’s interest raising mechanisms in science education. She has worked for the public broadcasting company NTR as editor/producer in the ‘Wisebits’ project, producing short videos and course material on science and philosophy for secondary education.

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Winnifred Wijnker is postdoctoral researcher in the LUF project ‘Using Factchecks to Combat Misleading Graphs’. The project aims for a better understanding of how misleading graphs can be effectively corrected, specifically for people with low graph literacy. In this project, researchers from the faculty of Science (Science Communication & Society, Statistical Science) and Humanities (Journalism and New Media) investigate how to counter graphs with stretched axes, hidden data or other tricks that give a biased impression of the underlying data: e.g. with a better graph or a clear explanation. The project includes two experimental studies, of which one focusses specifically on people that have difficulty interpreting graphs due to low graph literacy. These are the people most susceptible to misleading graphs. The project was granted a subsidy from the Leiden University Fund.

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