Using Geographic Information
Locus GIS provides a range of services to help you:
- Communicate using interactive, map-based reports
- Clarify complexity using geographic data analysis
- Reveal information using thematic mapping
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Interactive, map-based reports
Interactive Maps deliver engaging online reporting solutions that combine statistics and map data to improve data visualization, enhance communication, and involve people in more informed decision making.
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Geographic or Spatial Analysis is the process of clarifying complex data about a place or region to provide useful information. Once an appropriate database is compiled there are a number of processes thatcan be performed using GIS to quickly produce the information you need. The processes of buffering and redistricting are particularly useful tools in spatial analysis.
Buffering
A type of proximity analysis where areas or zones of a given distance are generated around selected map objects. Buffers are user-defined or can be generated for a set of objects based on those objects’ attribute values. For example you may want to estimate the population within a given distance of a road, the number of children within a given radius of a school, the proportion of landcover types within a given distance of a point. The buffering process will provide the answers.
Redistricting
If you are dealing with operational areas that do not conform with official statistical regions (for example sales territories) you will need to reassign map objects or regions to new territories. This can be an extremely complex operation without the use of a geographic information system. With a properly constructed geographic information system you can quickly create customized territories and recalculate critical data (e.g. population segments) for these new districts.
Thematic Mapping
A thematic map is a simple map made to reflect a particular theme about a geographic area. Thematic maps can portray the economic, social and environmental aspects of an area that are important to you. Thematic maps greatly aid the visualization of complex data, transforming mind boggling spreadsheets into clear graphics - revealing distribution patterns and highlighting areas of concern. While general reference maps show where something is in space, thematic maps tell a story about that place.
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Choropleth Map
This is a type of thematic map in which areas are shaded or patterned in proportion to the measurement of the statistical variable being displayed on the map, such as population density, per-capita income etc. Choropleth maps provide an effective way to visualize how a measurement varies across a geographic area or it shows the level of variability within a region.
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Grid Surface Map
This type of thematic map displays data as continuous color gradations across the map. They are also referred to as ‘heatmaps’. Grid surface maps are produced by interpolating the likely value of a parameter at locations between two or more points for which accurate values are known. They are not sharp analytical tools. They are useful in visualising the shape and extent of ‘functional territories’ in relation to social and economic data or zones in environmental analysis.
While choropleth maps represent data by enumeration units (countries, regions, counties) the heat map technique is continuous and not aggregated to enumeration units.
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Dot Density Map
A type of thematic map that conveys information by showing a large number of tiny dots, with each dot representing some specific unit quantity. For example, for a population density map each dot might represent 1,000 people, or cattle or cars.
Graduated Symbols Map
A type of thematic map that shows symbols (point objects) in a variety of sizes to indicate which objects have higher or lower numerical values. Useful if, for example, you wanted to graphically compare the population size of towns, student numbers in schools, floor space of facilities etc.