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Mapping for Journalism

Analyzing and displaying spatial data is one of the most useful skills in your journalism toolkit. In this course you'll learn how to obtain geographic data, how to run common types of analysis, and how to publish that analysis online in a clear and appropriate way.

By the end of the course the student will have done at least 2 forms of analysis with resulting data nuts for stories. They will also have created at least 2 online maps using that data, plus one simple point map using geocoded data.

I. The basics

1. Obtaining and understanding geo data

  • What is it?
    • Lat / Lon
    • Lines and linestrings
    • Polygons
  • Projections
    • The world is not flat
    • What is a projection?
    • Common projections and when to use them
  • Quick intro of QGIS to open data files.
  • Formats
    • CSV
    • SHP
    • GeoJSON
    • WKT/WKB
  • Where do you find it?
    • Seriously, where don't you?
  • Example: Open several files in QGIS and explore the options

2. Creating your own

  • Geocoding
    • What is geocoding?
    • Some geocoding services
      • Google, Yahoo!, Bing, geocoder.ca, geocoder.us....
    • Example: Batch geocode a list of restaurant addresses.
  • Merging data
    • Example: Merging restaurant inspection grades to that list of restaurant addresses.

II. Simple spatial analysis

3. Tools

  • QGIS
    • The open-source GIS software of choice.
  • ArcGIS
    • The commercial standard, if you have the cash. We will not use it.
  • PostGIS
    • Do analysis quickly, though perhaps painfully. If you already know SQL, you might find this appealing.

4. Analysis: Buffers

  • Nuclear plants?
  • Pedophiles and parks?

5. Analysis: Point-in-polygon

  • Hex bin?
  • Neighborhood analysis?

III. Publishing

6. A little map theory

  • Types of maps
  • Clarity
  • Accuracy

7 Your options, and when to use what:

  • JS points on a map
  • Shape layers
  • SVG
  • Tiles

8. Example: Points on a map

9. Example: Displaying shapes

  • Choropleth

10. Example: Tilemill