Chapter 3

Presenting GIS Data

 Types of Maps
„ Choropleth Maps
• Map that uses different colors or
symbols depending on the value of an
attribute
 Types of Data
„ Categorical Data
• Also called Nominal data
• Names or Describes Objects
• Can have values that fall into a few
groups or many groups
• Can become confusing with too many
groups
 Types of Data
„ Numeric Data
• Also called Quantities data
• Consists of numeric data
• Falls into 3 main types:
„ Ordinal
„ Interval

„ Ratio
 Ordinal Data
„ Ordinal data are rankings
„ Differences between the rankings are
arbitrary; may be large or small
„ Example:
• Top 10 counties in North Carolina by
Population
 Interval Data
„ Interval Data is spread along a
regularly spaced measurement scale
„ Differences between the data are
very important.
„ The change in interval equals the
change in measurement
„ Example:
• Temperature or acidity (pH scale)
Temperature

Acidity
 Ratio Data
„ Is a specialized type of interval data
„ Ratio data is interval data that
relates to a meaningful zero point.
„ Example:
• Precipitation
„ Key point: if a set of data can have
negative values, then it cannot be
ratio data
Types of Maps Used to Display Data
„ Single Symbol
„ Categories: Unique Values
„ Quantities
• Graduated Colors
• Graduated Symbols
• Proportional Symbols
• Dot Density
„ Chart Maps
 Normalization
„ Normalizing data means dividing the
data in order to compare it to
another value.
„ Can be done two ways:
• Normalize in relation to the total of the
data
„ Ex: Population of each county as a
percentage of the total state population
• Normalize In relation to another
attribute
„ Ex: Population Density (The population of
each state divided by its area)
 Classifying Numeric Data
„ Natural Breaks (Jenks method)
„ Equal Interval
„ Defined Interval
„ Quantile
„ Standard Deviation
„ Manual breaks
 Rasters
„ Two main types
• Image Rasters
„ Come mostly from aerial photography or
satellite imagery
„ Pixels represent different degrees of brightness

from 0 (dark) – 255 (light) DN’s (Digital

numbers)
• Thematic Rasters
„ Each pixel represents a specific quantity
„ 2 Types: Continuous Rasters or Discrete Rasters