Visualizing Spatial Data Assignment | Buy assignments online

Lab 10 – Due by the Start of Class on Thursday April 11^th

You will create 4 maps and then write a page description mini-paper about each map. You will submit four maps and about 4 pages of writing.

Task 1: Create four maps using social explorer (you learned how to use social explorer in lab 9).

Question: What geographic  area can I pick?

Answer: Here are your choices

1. The national scale at the State level
2. Any state of your choice at the County Level
3. Any city of your choice at the Census Tract Level
4. Any smaller part of the city at the Block Group Level

Question: What data should I map?

Answer: Please choose any four varaibles

Question: What should the vizualization type be?

Answer: Whatever looks best/apporpriate for the data you chose

Question: What should be included on the map?

Answer: Please export the map at an apporpiate scale for the geographic phenomena you are looking at. (For example if you are studying Philadelphia – make sure the map shows all of Philadelphia)

Please pick the number classes/breaks/cutpointsother than default. (Please justify why you chose them)

Change the color from default

Don’t be afraid to play around with the options availiable to you to make your map more interesting.

Task 2: Write About the Maps

Question: What is the structure of the paper?

Answer: 4 -8 pages = the analysis of 4 maps. Each map gets a 1-2 pages. Please include your maps at the end of the paper in an appendix. You should write about a page about each map. Please clearly indicate at the top of each page which map you are analyzing. Don’t go overboard, but make sure to answer all of the prompts I provide for you below.

Question: What should be included in the analysis for each map

Answer: (For each map you should answer the following questions)…

1. What decisions did you make on this map. For example, the color you chose, the classes, the scale (units) you chose – anything else you clicked on the map – explain what you clicked/did and why? Please be as detailed as possible.
2. What is the data variable you chose? What does it measure? How is it measured? Please refer here or somewhere else to answer these questions
3. What geographic pattern does the map show? For example, if you chose unemployment, is it concentrated in one part of the city(state,country etc)? What is the name of the neighborhood (county, state etc) it’s located in? Does it surprise you?
4. Why do you think this pattern is appearing? Please do some research and write a few sentences about it.
5. What is a limitation of the data you used? What could be flaw in let’s say, measuring poverty using the unemployment rate, or using the category ‘Latino’ to measure race. You may have to do some research about how the category is being measured and what it means.

Task 3: Write a One Paragraph Conclusion

Question:  Shouldn’t I say something about all of the maps.

Answer: Yes – you should. Please write a conclusion paragraph comparing all the maps on a final 5^th page.