Lab Assignment: Working with Spatial Data
Learning Outcomes for Lab:
1. Identify and distinguish between different types of data
2. Visualize and analyze data points in mapping application
3. Discover the relationship between latitude and longitude coordinates and GIS vector data
4. Interpret data dictionary and metadata in order to analyze data
5. Calculate percentages
6. Create and interpret histograms
Learning Outcomes for Quantitative Literacy:
• Understand quantitative models that describe real world phenomena and recognize limitations of those models;
• Perform simple mathematical computations associated with a quantitative model and make conclusions based on the results;
• Recognize, use, and appreciate mathematical thinking for solving problems that are part of everyday life;
• Understand the various sources of uncertainty and error in empirical data;
• Retrieve, organize, and analyze data associated with a quantitative model; and
• Communicate logical arguments and their conclusions.
Today you will examine spatial data.
Spatial data are defined by locations (latitude and longitude coordinates)
With Spatial Data we can ask several basic questions.
1) Where is are certain types of things (people/stores/natural disasters) Are they located in some areas and not others?
2) Are these types of things close to each other?
3) Are these types of things far apart?
4) How big or small or these things?
5) Are some of these things bigger or smaller than others?
6) Have these things moved locations over time?
Over the course of the next few labs we will take a sample data set and examine these questions and others.
Data analysis is simple - you just need to know how to organize your data, use the analysis tools available to us in applications like Microsoft Excel and then interpret the analysis.
Today is your introduction to this process.
Step 1 Download the Data
Navigate to Canvas where you found this lab. There should be two additional excel files (You should open these with Excel, Google Sheets, or Apple Numbers. The examples are done in Excel - you should all have access to this application through your Temple login information.
Start by opening ‘Digital Mapping Lab #6 Excel Data'
Step 2 Explore the Excel File ‘Digital Mapping Lab Excel Data'
In the past year - a group of students from Temple University walked around Philadelphia conducting street interviews/surveys. They logged the location of where these interviews occurred. These locations are reflected in the latitude and longitude coordinates.
If you look at the bottom of the Excel spreadsheet there is a tab called ‘data' and a tab called ‘dictionary'
Click on the dictionary tab. This tab or sheet contains information about the questions asked in the survey.
1. List the questions asked in this survey.
If you toggle in between the data and dictionary tabs you will see that the column names and values in data correspond to questions in the dictionary.
For example, for the Phillies question, it tells us that we can expect values to range from 1 through 5. This is called an ordinal variable because we can rank values but we can't tell the magnitude of size difference between variables.
2. What is nominal data?
a. How are the answers to the question "Where are you from (did you grow up)?" an example of nominal data?
3. What is ratio data?
a. How are the answers "How many minutes does it typically take you to get to work" an example of ratio data?
4. Create a question to add to the survey. Once you have formulated a question for the survey - please tell us what type of data it is (nominal, ordinal, or ratio) Explain why you chose the data type - what was your decision making process like. What about the answers to this question told that it would be nominal, ordinal, or ratio?
Step 3 Basic Data Analysis (Back to the Excel table)
Back to the data tab in ‘Digital Mapping Lab Excel Data'
5. How many people were interviewed?
Hint: Starting with row 2 (row 1 is just titles), highlight the lon column by left clicking, holding the click, and dragging down to the end of the data on the sheet. In the bottom right hand corner In Excel you should see something like this . This is not the answer of course, but this count tool will tell you how many cases you have highlighted - you will use this tool later in this lab when you calculate a frequency table.
Draw your attention to the commute variable
6. How many survey respondents commute to work by public transportation?
Draw your attention to the minutes variable
7. What percentage of the survey respondents take 10 minutes or less to get to work?
Hint: To calculate a percentage divide the total number of people who take less than 10 minutes to commute to work by the total number of people who were interviewed/surveyed - then multiply by 100.
Locate information based on Lat Lon coordinates
8. According to the survey, where did the person at the location 39.9230, -75.161567 grow up?
9. According to the survey, how big of a Phillies fan is the person interviewed at the location 39.9854, 75.16007
10. Recall how we measured Latitude and Longitude in Lab 5. Covert the lat/lon from question 9 to degrees minutes seconds.
Calculate Frequencies and Create Histograms for a Nominal Variable
Here, you will calculate frequencies for the COMMUTE variable.
11. Sort the COMMUTE column and then count the frequency of each value (below)
How to Sort
Variable Value Code Frequency
COMMUTE Walk/Bike 1
Drive 2
Public Trans 3
Count how many #1's there are under the Commute Variables and enter it next to code 1 under the frequency table.
Do the same thing for 2 and 3.
You can count using a technique I taught you earlier in the lab.
12. Based on your frequency table what is the most common mode of transportation for folks trying to get to work?
13. What is the least common mode of transportation for folks trying to get to work?
Histograms
14. Here, you will create a histogram that graphically displays the frequencies of the COMMUTE values.
Copy and paste your completed frequency table into excel
In Excel, select the three frequency values (ONLY THE FREQUENCY VALUES) for COMMUTE that you calculated on the frequency table above, go to the Insert menu tab, choose "Column," and under "2-D Column," choose "Clustered Column."
Copy and paste the histogram here:
It should look something like this (with different values obviously)
Map the Data!
Navigate to this application
Open the Spreadsheet in Canvas - Map these Data
You can see that this is a simplified version of our data.
Go to the application
Delete these data
Copy and Paste the Data from Map these Data into this box on the application
Paste them into the area where you deleted data (Above)
Click Map!
15. Zoom into Philadelphia and take a snip of your map
16. What part(s) of the city contain the most markers? Please use the map below to pick one or two neighborhoods that answer this question.
The last legend column is the miles category from the first excel document.
17. There is marker right to the West of Broad Street on Cecil B. Moore - How far is it from this location to where the person indiciated by the marker grew up?
18. Finally - I used the sample data from the website to influence the color and marker type. Please take a snip of a map that has the same data but has atleast 5 different markers and colors - for example...
Format your assignment according to the following formatting requirements:
1. The answer should be typed, double spaced, using Times New Roman font (size 12), with one-inch margins on all sides.
2. The response also include a cover page containing the title of the assignment, the student's name, the course title, and the date. The cover page is not included in the required page length.
3. Also Include a reference page. The Citations and references should follow APA format. The reference page is not included in the required page length.
Attachment:- Digital-Mapping-Lab-Excel-Data.rar