Alternate ArcView instructions (end products should be the same).
The objective of this exercise is to learn how to plot, manipulate and classify data in a GIS environment. The basic steps areas follows. 1) Obtain x, y position and attribute information for some point data in tabular form. The below uses the example of USGS earthquake data. The three major attributes the database provides for each earthquake location is time, size, and hypocentral depth. However, you are encouraged to try other possibilities. They key is to get data with multiple attributes. 2) Get the data in a specific format that ArcGIS can use. 3) Bring up a background or base map of the U.S. in ArcGIS. 4) Import the xy data into ArcGIS and display it. 5) Classify the earthquake data on the basis of size, year and/or depth. If you are working with some other data, classify on basis of some other pertinent attribute. 6) Print out the results. 7) Describe what information is in the resulting map. I was able to complete this exercise in about half an hour. If it takes you more than two hours please let me know.
Detailed instructions.
Create a folder to keep all your files in. ArcGIS generates a lot of different files, and if doesn't keep the best track of them if they get moved around. It is easiest if all your files are kept in one, well labeled project folder. As usual in the PC environment, different file types have different suffixes.
First, obtain your data. If you are going to use the earthquake data go to the USGS site and obtain earthquake data for some significant portion of the U.S.. If you use the circular search mode, a radius of about 500 km or more works well. Copy that information into an Excel sheet. Clean it up (e.g. remove spurious columns). Make sure you have appropriate heading descriptions for each column of data, since within ArcGIS you will select data on the basis of column headings. In Excel you can create a database file using Save As. You need to select the portion of the sheet you want to save as a dbf and not do the entire sheet (this limits the number of rows, otherwise Excel creates a dbf with an unmanageably long number of rows). Save the file in a dbf(4) format. It is also important to format your number cells so that there are enough decimal points, as the default format is two decimal points, which is not precise enough for locating your points.
Second, open up ArcGIS. Within ArcGIS are three major components that work as three different windows environments. ArcCatalog opens first. This is where you keep track of and manage the myriad of files you might be dealing with. In the box to the right is a listing of files ArcGIS will be able to work with. You can add new folders under File/Connect. Navigate to sample. You should find some 'base map' files for the USA in the ArcGIS program folder. Select those which may seem appropriate to provide background location information. If you then select one of these and then select the preview tab on top of the window to the right you will see what the data looks like.
Third, go up to the little globe with magnifying glass icon on the top bar and select this. This gets you into ArcMap. Select the new empty map option, and then in the subsequent window that opens up navigate to the ESRI shape files for the USA and select some shape files to provide a background reference map for your data.. Note the window to the left where you have a working table of contents for the various shape file layers you selected. You can turn off or on layers by checking on the appropriate box. I'd suggest using the shaded relief map of the U.S. with state boundaries and cities superimposed. Use the zoom tools to fix the area you are interested in viewing.
Fourth, under Tools select the Add xy data option. Select the small folder icon to the right, and then navigate to find your database file. Select that. Then in the two windows below select the column with your x and y position values in latitude and longitude. You should now see the position of your point data displayed in the window.
Fifth, now comes the fun part. You get to play with data. One way to do this is to classify the data. Classification is a way of exploring the mathematical and map distribution of the data. For example you can plot the different earthquake sizes. Right click in the left box on your point data set and select Properties. Under the Symbology tab at top is a Show window, in which you should select Quantities. Then in the Values box choose the attribute you wish to classify by (e.g. earthquake size or depth). This will plot different size or color symbols on the basis of that attribute. Play around a bit to see what different possibilities are. You can also see what type of attribute data you have associated with the base map shape files. For example, you could plot cities on basis of population, and then get some idea of proximity of city to past earthquake locations.
Finally, it is time to get output. Under view choose Layout View. Then under Insert choose Legend. Follow the instructions. You can play around with various layout options. Once you get the map looking like you want it, print it out. You can also export as an image file. Once you have done this take a look at the map you have generated and describe what information it conveys.
You should hand in:
This is just an introduction, but it is enough to start you on the way to actually using GIS software in your work. If need be you can learn much more by exploring the software further, using the help option, and asking questions.