EXERCISE QUESTIONS:
What do you notice about this data [from the downloaded .csv file]? What questions do you think this dataset might help to answer, if visualized on a map?
At first glance, I see that addresses are alphabetized and that there are some people with no address listed next to their names. There is quantitative data (total number of adults in household, for example) and qualitative data (like which street each person lives on). It looks like the map could show me which streets are most populated, whether there is any clustering of domiciles, whether there is any relationship between where the heads of households came from and where in Grinnell they lived, and the distribution of households around the city according to size.
Let’s reflect: how might different basemaps influence a viewer’s experience of a digital map?
The basemap that you choose brings out different aspects of your data. For example, a basemap that shows streets of navigation will suggest to the viewer that it is important to contextualise elements like traffic, presence and type of buildings and other infrastructure that are in the area of interest; on the other hand, a topographical map will highlight landscape features like elevation, presence of mountains or drainage, and other natural features in the area.
HIGHLIGHTS, FRUSTRATIONS, FINAL (INTERMEDIATE?) THOUGHTS:
Frustration: Realising that the ‘Clustering’ option was not what I was looking for
We just went over two methods to do clustering in my SST225 (Applied GIS) class this week, so I was looking forward to investigating this feature some more. However, I was disappointed when I couldn’t do much with the clustering option in Arc Online. This was frustrating because the clustered data seemed misleading when viewed next to the original points.
Highlight: Creating a Heatmap showing clustering patterns for housing settlement
When I went into the analytical tools to see what was there, I think I found those that were more along the lines of what we spoke about in class. I followed the path Perform Analysis > Analyze Patterns > Find Hotspots to check for any statistically significant spatial clustering, and I ended up with a heat map of clustering patterns. Though it was a bit of a rollercoaster of emotions, I felt very fulfilled once I got to the heat map.
Highlight: Feeling like ArcGIS could teach itself
One thing about ArcGIS that makes me comfortable with helping someone learn how to use it is all the little (i) icons next to each function. They make it much easier to understand what each tool does, especially in conjunction with the ‘How-To’s that Esri has linked. If I or the person I’m helping feels stuck, it’s easy to click on one of those to figure out which direction to go in.
~As I go through SST225 I’m going to keep extending my Arc skills and I’m really looking forward to learning the software more intimately.~