5. Map and map-based studies

Question 1

choropleth map - pos/negatives of it

Answer 1

pos: shows large amount of data and patterns, colour and shading shows a range of values - easy distinction between areas, clear grouping of data is shown, easy to interpret data spread as its visual

neg: intervals and class sizes need to be chosen carefully to avoid confusion, can be difficult to distinguish between colours and patters, could have variations of data that is not displayed

Question 2

dot map - pos/negatives of it

Answer 2

pos: visual so easy to understand, easy to compare distribution - easy to interpit data

neg: no value - false sense of emptiness, dots can overlap and becomes hard to read - can mess up data if viewer becomes confused

Question 3

proportional symbol map - pos/negatives of it

Answer 3

pos: proportional symbols can summarise a large data set in a visual form. the symbols are easy to interpret because each symbol is proportional to its value.

neg: difficult to calc actual value if its not shown, time consuming to construct. the size of the symbol may obscure the location of the traffic survey. the size of a symbol may lead to less accurate positioning of the symbol on the map

Question 4

sphere of influence map - pos/negatives of it

Answer 4

pos: shows differences of data between many places - good for comparisons, summarises lots of data in visual form - aids comprehension, easy top read

neg: time consuming to construct, size of symbol can cover location on the map, doesn’t show consistencies or reveal patterns

Question 5

islonine map- - pos/negatives of it

Answer 5

pos: shows gradual change over a large area - uses fixed intervals so change is easily identified, can add colour,

neg: shading implies equal values between isolines, small lines and numbers can be difficult to read, requires data from large numbers of locations - time consuming

Question 6

flow line map - pos/negatives of it

Answer 6

pos:
scale/width of lines are proportional to value - immediate accurate visual impression
clear location component which shows movement of people
shows volume and direction of movement

neg:
hard to draw - time consuming
flows that are in same direction could overlap - makes data hard to read and could be viewed incorrectly
distance and direction of lines could be distorted to achieve clearer image - makes data incorrect

Question 7

cross sections map - pos/negatives of it

Answer 7

used to show a change in relief along a line drawn between two points

Neg:
hand-drawn cross-sections have a limited scale - limit their ability to capture the complexity and variability of the geology

pos:
show features such as hills and valleys, or depths, such as the depth of a river - clear way of to showing the landscape profile.

Question 8

transects map - pos/negatives of it

Answer 8

pos: can be compared to other cross sections, several transects from same starting point can still be compared

neg: a single one is useless - needs multiple to compare , exaggerated vertical scales can be misleading, only a small snapshot in time as data is constantly changing, time consuming to collect/accurately