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ASSIGNED Friday October 12

DUE Friday November 9 at 9:00 am

Paperless Experiment: Please complete this exercise entirely using Google Docs! Skip using Word or Open Office. Just do this:

• Log into your OWU account and go to Drive then My Drive
• Click on your class folder, then Create then Document.
• Under the File menu select Rename and call your folder something like krygier_exer3 (making sure your last name is on it).
• Take a few minutes to familiarize yourself with the Google Docs word processor
• Type up your exercise, inserting graphics where necessary
• When you are done with the exercise, email me. No need to share the file nor send me the URL as it will be in the folder you shared with me for the previous exercise
• Include a few comments, thoughts, or concerns about using Google Docs (rather than some other word processor) at the end of the exercise.

Introduction:

Recall the delightful discussion of geographic data from the Geographic Data Lectures.

In our discussion of "How do we Acquire Data" we discussed primary and secondary sources of data.

A good example of primary data collection is data collection with GPS.

Most data that we use in mapping and GIS, however, is secondary: someone else collected it (with primary methods). In the past, secondary data would be acquired directly from its creator: from private vendors, or government agencies such as the U.S. Census or the U.S. Geologic Survey. This data came in diverse forms: paper maps, tabular data and, more recently, from digital databases on CDs. Much of the data for mapping projects is now available on the WWW.

Digital geographic data (remote sensing images, digital maps, tabular data) on the WWW can be free or may be purchased. In almost all cases, the data can be viewed or downloaded from the WWW. In some cases, you need to have specialized mapping software (such as the GIS package ArcGIS) to view and use the data; in other cases you can view and use the data on the WWW using interactive WWW mapping sites. In either case, the WWW is making digital geographic data available to a much broader range of users.

Some data lies somewhere between primary and secondary data: For example, using street address data and Geocoding software (available free on the web) to create data that can be mapped out in Google Earth. In this exercise we will Geocode some address data we gather from various sources.

Exercise 3 is intended to familiarize you with the diversity of geographic data available on the WWW, and tools for converting data such as addresses into mappable data.

Please provide the following information for each part of the exercise below, except the last (GPSVisualizer) which has its own requirements:

1. A proper citation of the site and any map you save, capture, or download according to citation methods reviewed and illustrated at the Geography 222 Library Resources Page.

2. Follow instructions in the Digital Submissions Guide to embed all your graphics in your exercise.

3. TIP: Some of the URLs for WWW maps are extremely long. To create a shorter link URL go to TinyURL.

4. A paragraph describing the data available at the site. Describe the data available in general terms and provide a brief description of a few specific types of data. What form is it in? Who could use it and for what? Does it seem easy to access? You may use information found at the Geography 222 Library Resources Page. on evaluating cartographic web sites in this paragraph.

Additional tasks, beyond the title, URL, and description, are noted below.

WARNING! As usual, don't put off doing this exercise until the last minute. This exercise uses sophisticated WWW sites which may not be working all the time. Also, it is possible that my instructions below may not be perfectly clear, or a WWW site may change. Please contact me if a site is not working, or if you cannot figure out how to do what you are supposed to do with the site!

FedWorld is a clearinghouse established by the National Technical Information Service. This is the site for all on-line US Government data and information. There is much more here than geographic data: you might even find this site useful for projects in other courses.

• There is a bad link on the Fedworld site, so to get to the search engine use this link: Search.Usa.Gov. When on the search page, do one search for each of the following keywords (one at a time, use quotes as noted) along with your home (city, county, etc., U.S. or international home):
  • GPS
  • "geographic information systems"
  • "geographic data"
    ...so my searches would look like this:

    GPS Waukesha

    "geographic information systems" Waukesha

    "geographic data" Waukesha

• Review the hits for each of these keywords. Select one for each of the 3 keywords, cite the page properly, and write one paragraph (each) describing the resource you found. HEY! Please do not select the first "hit" that shows up! Look through the hits and pick one that has at least some interest to you.

• To limit the number of hits, you may include your home in the search. Hop up to a county, state, province, or country level if you are not finding any resources related to your specific home.

• What's Due: Three correctly cited information sites, each with a paragraph description and commentary, one each from the three keywords.

The U.S. Census Bureau supplies extensive amounts of data about the US and other countries through its WWW site. When you get to the site...

• On the left side of the page under QuickFacts select your US home state and then the county, to get the most recent US Census data on you home county. Some of you may be able to select your home city. International students use your US home here. Click on More [state name] data sets to see other available data.

• What's Due: Scroll to the bottom of the page. You should see a link: Download these tables - Excel - do that. Save the Excel file somewhere you remember, and figure out how to insert it in your exercise. Please cite this source properly, and write a paragraph about it. We may use the data from your home county in a future exercise, so keep a copy on your computer.

In the recent FAB redesign of the Census site, they managed to not link to their nifty list of international census and statistical data agencies. It is here: International Statistical Agencies.

• International students select your home country and see what kind of census data you can find. US students select one country of interest and see what kind of census data you can find.

• What's Due: Save one page of data. Please cite this source properly, and write a paragraph about it.

NationMaster.com provides easy access to a diversity of international data, organized by country. The data is from sources such as the U.N., CIA, World Health Organization, and World Bank. There is also a StateMaster.com site for US data. Work with NationMaster for this exercise:

At the top of the Nation Master web page is this set of options:

Change the pop-up menus:

• select category: change to lifestyle (note the other options)

• select lifestyle stat: change to one you are interested in (note the other options)

Generate five maps of five different statistics. These can be from any category. Please save each map with its legend, but don't include all the statistical data below the map.

• What's Due: Insert the five world statistical maps in your exercise. Cite the maps properly. Comment on this source of geographic data and the particular maps you find. Might you use this site and the data in other classes?

Additional useful sites: peek a look at any two:

• Social Explorer

• GapMinder

• UC Atlas of Global Inequality

• United Nations Environmental Maps and Data

• What's Due: Explore two of these sites, and find one interesting data set or map from each and save a screen shot. Cite the maps/data properly. Comment on this source of geographic data and the particular maps you find. Might you use this site and the data in other classes?

GPSVisualizer.com contains a collection of free mappy tools that, among other cool stuff, converts street addresses to coordinates so they can be mapped in Google Maps or some other mapping software. GeoCoding is the conversion of street addresses into mappable data (data that has geographic coordinates). This process is also known as address matching.

So get at least fifteen street addresses, and use GPSVisualizer to map them out. These can be addresses anywhere in the world in various formats, but the best format is like this: 231 Crestview Road Columbus Ohio 43202 USA.

There are various ways to get address data. You can simply look up addresses in a phone book, or from your own address book, or gather them out in the environment (for example, the addresses of people who have carved pumpkins on their front porches for halloween).

You can also use tools that generate files of addresses: Delaware County's DALIS GIS web site will generate an excel file of addresses, if you recall, when you create a buffer. You could get all the addresses within 1000 feet of a particular address, for example.

Google search for addresses and see what kind of address generating sites you find. You could, for example, search for all the Buffalo Wild Wings locations in the US, get the addresses, then geocode and map them out for handy reference.

Make sure you are working on a computer which will allow you to download and save a file, and also a computer with Google Earth installed.

Follow these instructions VERY carefully. Please ask me for help if you are having difficulty getting the geocoding to work.

Go to GPSVisualizer.com

• In the top bar, click on Geocode an address.

• Down the page a bit, click on Geocode multiple addresses.

• Type or paste your addresses in the Input box.
  • Type of data: if you just have addresses, leave as raw list. if you copied from a spreadsheet and have column headers, change to tabular.

  • Source: leave as Yahoo (their geocoding provides more flexible output)

  • leave the other stuff as is

• Hit Start geocoding. You should see your address locations mapped out, and a the coordinates for each address in the Results as text box below the map. You can clear results box and map if something is not right. Make sure the addresses are mapped to your satisfaction. If one or more addresses are goofed up, the geocoding is unable to find them. You can delete these addresses from the Input box, clear the map and results box, and geocode again.

• Once all your addresses are mapped, click on the format pop-up menu to the right of the Results as text box, and select KML (G. Earth) and hit Draw a map.

• A new page opens, and under Google Earth Output you should see a file with a long number as its name, and .kml or .kmz file extension. Click once to download this file. Make sure you know where the file downloaded: mine ended up on my computer desktop.

• You need Google Earth to view the file. If you are using a computer that does not have Google Earth installed you can email yourself the .kmz file, then download it in the GIS Lab (Science Center 207) where Google Earth is installed on every computer. Do a screen capture of the mapped addresses, save the screen shot, then place in your exercise.

• Open Google Earth. From the File menu select Open... and navigate to and open your downloaded file. It should open up and show you your addresses. Do a screen save or two of your mapped out addresses to include in the exercise.

• What's Due: Place a screen shot or two of your geocoded addresses in Google Earth. Write about 1.5 pages explaining what the addresses you mapped are and any problems you ran into. Write how GeoCoding might be a valuable tool for other applications you think up, something other than what you did for this exercise.

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