Mapping Your Survey Results with ArcGIS Online
Now that you've collected data about water use habits in the field, let's make an online map of those data. We will use a cloud mapping program called ArcGIS Online to view your survey points on a map, examine the survey results for each data point, and explore some different ways of visualizing the data.
ArcGIS Online is a program you can access through any browser.
When you log in, you will be taken to the Organizations page. Notice across the top are various destinations (Home, Map, Groups, My Content, etc.). To begin, we will want to create a new map from scratch.
Creating a new map
To create a new map, click on the Map option at the top of the page.
Logging in to ArcGIS Online
Go to www.arcgis.com and click the Sign In button in the upper right. Enter the username and password provided to you.
You will then see a map of the U.S. open in the main window. You can search for specific locations and zoom right to them, so let's do that.
In the Find address or place box in the upper right of the page, type in Clemson University and hit enter. You will zoom in to the university.
Experiment with clicking on the map and moving the map around as well as using the mouse wheel to zoom in and out.
Changing the basemap
A basemap is the foundation of any map you make. Any data we add to the map will display on top of the basemap. The default is topographic, which shows a mix of terrain, roads, cities, and natural features. ArcGIS Online offers many options, such as aerial imagery (like in Google Earth), streets map, thematic maps, and maps from special sources like the USGS or National Geographic.
Click the Basemap button on the top-left of the window. Try some different basemaps and choose one you like.
Adding the Survey Data
Now that we have a basemap, let's find our survey data on the cloud and add it to the map.
In the upper left, click on the Add button and in the dropdown select Search for layers. In the Find box, type water use survey and hit Go. In my window, the WaterUseSurvey dataset shows up at the bottom of the list.
Click the Add button next to this dataset to add it to the map.
You should now see a bunch of points on the map in the places where you interviewed people.
Click Done Adding Layers to close the window and see a pane with all the features currently in the map called Content.
Viewing the Survey Results
The survey responses for each data point are stored with each data point as attributes. You can think of the attributes like a spreadsheet or table of information associated with each data point. We can access the attributes of each point by clicking on them in the map. We can also open the attribute table for the entire data set and see all the survey question responses (the attributes).
Click on the various points in the map and examine their pop-up window.
In the Contents pane, hover over the WaterUseSurvey layer and some icons should display. Click on the icon to Show Table. The attribute table will open and you will see the survey responses from each survey participant.
Q: Do most people who took the survey have a swimming pool?
Q: Do most people who took the survey water their lawn?
Q: Do most people who took the survey turn off the faucet while brushing their teeth?
Q: How long does the average shower last?
With numerical data, we can do some additional analysis and better answer the last question.
Hover your mouse over the question How long is your typical shower? (minutes) and click the gear to open a pop up and then click Statistics.
Q: According to the statistics, how long does the average shower last?
Close the Statistics pop up and the attribute table.
Symbolizing the Survey Results
You can use maps to convey a message and tell a story by changing the symbology of your data. When you loaded the survey data, they were all symbolized with the same symbol. By changing the symbol based on some attribute, the map begins to communicate information to the viewer. Let's try changing the symbols to view different attributes.
In the Contents pane, hover over the WaterUseSurvey layer to display the icons (if needed).
Click the Change Style button (some geometric shapes).
The default is to show each point using a single symbol. Notice that next to the 1, you can Choose an attribute to show. Let's start by making a map of the household size.
In the Choose an attribute to show dropdown, select How many people are in your household?
Now we have some choices!
On the Counts and Amounts (Size) box, click on Options.
You can change the minimum and maximum size of the symbols, or click the Symbols button to open a dialog where you can select a different color. Experiment with the different options.
Click the box next to Classify Data.
Q: What does this do to the display?
Click OK when you are finished.
On the Counts and Amounts (Color) box, click on Options. Experiment with the different colors, symbols, classified/unclassified, etc., and click OK when you are finished.
Now click on Options on the Heat Map box. Experiment with the different options and click OK when you are finished.
Select the attribute Do you turn off the faucet while brushing your teeth?
Notice that you now have the option Types (Unique Symbols), Heat Map, and Location (Single Symbol).
Q: Why are there different drawing styles for this attribute than for household size?
Experiment with the options under Types (Unique Symbols) and click OK when you are finished.
Click Done to apply your changes to the map. Zoom in and out and explore the map you just created.
To see the legend, click the Legend option on the pane.
Now, spend a few minutes creating your own map! Choose one of the survey questions and change the symbology, experiment with different basemaps, and have fun!
Saving the map
When you are satisfied with your map, you can save it to your ArcGIS Online account.
On the top panel, click the Save dropdown and select Save.
In the window, give your map a descriptive title.
Add some tags to the map. For instance: Clemson, Career, water use
Enter a description of the map to help others understand what the map is showing.
Click on Save Map.
Congratulations! You are now an experienced geospatial field technician and GIS analyst!