Interdisciplinary Learning in Journalism: A Hong Kong Study of Data Journalism Education

Using data collected in the assessment survey of a series of data journalism (DJ) training activities in Hong Kong, this study compares participants’ learning activities. These participants consist of students, scholars and professionals from diverse academic backgrounds. The findings show that significant differences exist between learners with journalism-related backgrounds and those with science backgrounds. Compared with journalism majors, during the activities, science majors interact with others more and get more practice; they also gain more theoretical and practical outcomes alongside higher levels of learning enjoyment. Interviews with journalism majors indicate that lack of fundamental knowledge, time and support in practice brings difficulties to their DJ learning. Suggestions for an interdisciplinary approach to journalism education were also collected through interviews, which include more information on DJ, a deeper level of interdisciplinary interaction and more interactions with the industry. Survey and in-depth interviews are both used in this research to provide references for DJ students and instructors.