GEOG 3523, Computer Cartography, NSU, Spring 2003

Computer Mapping Exercise #3:  Proportional Symbol Maps

Assigned:    March 7, 2003            Due:   Tuesday, April 1, 2003 by 12:30 p.m 
(Please note that I have not counted Spring Break in the two-week minimum allowed for this exercise.)

This exercise will focus on class discussions, textbook readings, and the tutorial regarding proportional symbol mapping; you will also continue to enhance your skills at choropleth mapping.   Students should strive for cartographic excellence in each assignment; as new concepts are covered and new skills acquired in the course, the level of cartographic excellence will be expected to increase.  The exercise is worth fifty (50) points.  There will be a five-point penalty for each day that the exercise is late.  This exercise will design a series of four maps to display county-level data for the state of Oklahoma.

Datasets:

  • Use the counties.shp shapefile in this exercise; this shapefile (and its associated database and index files) come with ArcView GIS; however, collectively, they are too large to store on a floppy disk.  The data in the counties attribute file (.dbf) are from the 1990 census unless otherwise indicated in the field name.  These files can be found in the following directory:  c:\esri\esridata\usa\.  Use the counties.shp file to create  a shapefile containing only Oklahoma counties.  Review the Convert to Shapefile function in ArcView for this task.  Store these Oklahoma-only files on a floppy disk.

    •  
  • Also use the database file named: OK-counties2000.dbf.  The data in the OK-counties2000.dbf file are from the 2000 census.  This file can be found in the following directory:  transfer on 'student' i:\ziehr\Geog3523\Exercise3\.  Copy it to your floppy drive.  The field names should be fairly self-explanatory, but here is clarification for a few (if you're not sure about others, please consult the instructor):

    •  
    Field Name Explanation of Variable
    White_alon White alone (one race)
    Black_alon Black or African American alone (one race)
    Amer-ind_a American Indian alone (one race)
    Asian_alon Asian alone (one race)
    Males<5 Males under 5 years of age
    Males>84 Males age 85 or older
    Females<5 Females under 5 years of age
    Females>84 Females age 85 or older
    Med_age-ma Median age of males
    Med-age-fe Median age of females
    Hsehold_si Average household size
    Households Total number of households
    Hseholds_w Households w/one or more age 65 or older
    Av_family_ Average family size
    Housing_un Total housing units
    Owner_occ Owner-occupied housing units
    Renter_occ Renter-occupied housing units
  • As the first step create and/or copy all of the above mentioned datasets to a floppy disk for use in the a: drive so that all data for the exercise will be self-contained on one floppy disk.

    • Design a Proportional Symbols Map Series:    Oklahoma Demographic Data

    Design map layouts for a series of three proportional symbol maps showing demographic data about the counties of Oklahoma; plus construct a choropleth map for comparison with variable #1.  So, you will have a total of four maps.
    1. Assume the purpose is for presentation in a digital atlas of Oklahoma aimed at an adult audience.
    2. You will need to join the OK-counties2000.dbf file to your newly-created Oklahoma counties theme table.
    3. Create a point layer (centroids of the counties) from your newly-created Oklahoma counties shapefile (polygon theme).  See the end of Proportional Symbol Mapping tutorial for instructions.  You'll be saving this newly-created point file on your floppy disk.
    4. The final Layout for each map must include a title, legend, and map of the 77 Oklahoma counties.  You may include any other items that you think are important for achieving your map design objectives.  Write an explanation/justification for how you designed each layout.
    5. Put all files necessary to run the project on a 3.5-inch disk.
    6. Save your maps (View, Table, and Layout) all in one Project file.  Name your Project file: yourlastname-Exercise3.apr (for example, mine would be Ziehr-Exercise3.apr).  Be sure the project will run entirely from the a: drive (try opening the project when someone other than yourself is logged on).
    7. Name each View and each Layout so that it is clear what variable is being mapped in each one.  Delete any Views and Layouts that you do not want to be graded.
    8. Create proportional symbol maps of the following variables:

      9.     Variable #1:  Percentage population change between 1990 and 2000 (consider carefully the formula needed to calculate this new variable).  Everyone will create a proportional symbol map of this variable and a choropleth map for comparison.
          Variable #2:  Each student is assigned a variable in the following table:
    Revised March 6, 2003.