The goal of lab 2 is to gain an understanding on how to download and use data from an outside source in a GIS environment. In this lab I learned how to download, decipher and use data from the U.S. Census Bureau in a GIS system and turn that data into a GIS web map.
Methods
In this lab I learned the skills of downloading data from an outside source, choosing what data could be best represented in a map, how to properly format and transfer a Microsoft Excel table into ArcMap, and how to transfer a map from ArcMap onto ArcGISonline.
The first step was going to the U.S. Census Bureau's website and narrowing down my search for data by choosing my geography and topic. With the search narrowed down to Wisconsin county population demographics I downloaded the proper population data required to make this map. Next I formatted the downloaded data into a Microsoft Excel file that could be properly transferred into ArcMap. After the data was in ArcMap I downloaded the Shapefile that was associated with the data from the Bureau's website. The next step was joining the counties and population tables together to be easily represented in ArcMap. Once all the data was in ArcMap I created a map that represented the Population by counties in Wisconsin. To do this I changed the symbology to a graduated colors map that represents changes in population. I also did this process with data for the average age of Wisconsin population and made side by side maps to compare average age distributions in Wisconsin.
To create the online map of Wisconsin's population by county I logged into ArcGISonline in ArcMap and created a feature service to connect my map online. Once this was done I went onto ArcGISonline and created an interactive map of Wisconsin by editing capabilities, description, tags, and sharing services. I formatted the pop-up to display the county name and population information. Once this was complete I published my map to be shared with the Geography and Anthropology department at my university.
Results
When the maps of population numbers and average age of population are side by side, there is a pattern that in areas with higher populations there is a lower average age. In areas that have low populations, the average age is much higher. This can be seen in the northern part of the state as well as areas in the south towards bigger metropolitan areas.
Sources
American Fact Finder. (2010). Retrieved from United States Census Bureau:
http://factfinder2.census.gov/faces/nav/jsf/pages/searchresults.xhtml?refrest=t
Hupy, C. (2016). Lab 2: Downloading GIS Data. Eau Claire, Wisconsin
