Maps Frequently Asked Questions
Question: What kinds of topics or themes can I map?
Answer: There are numerous variables or attributes that can be mapped for a document supporting health and human services including rural and frontier counties or other political divisions, and their medically underserved areas, health professional shortage areas, hospitals, emergency medical services, or health clinics. Also, population densities, population demographics, and income/poverty status are common variables used in thematic maps.
Question: What is a thematic map?
Answer: A thematic map is one that uses a small number of variables or attributes to portray a particular theme. For example, a map that identifies medically underserved areas within a geographical boundary such as a state or county would be a thematic map.
Question: Where can I find mapping data?
Answer: U.S. Census 2000 data can be accessed from Internet sites that include: American Factfinder, Fedstats, and the U.S. Census Bureau. Data can also be found in book format at government depository libraries and from state data centers (see Statistics and Data Information Guide).
Question: What types of information or data are found in the U.S. Census 2000?
Answer: U.S. 2000 Census data includes Age, Population, Race, Gender, Hispanic or Latino, Relation of Persons in Household, Household by Type, Group Quarters, Housing Occupancy and Tenure, Urban and Rural Population, Education, Labor Force, Employment by Industry.
Question: What is meant by scale and particularly the terms "large scale" and "small scale?"
Answer: Scale is the statement of how the distance on the map relates to the actual distance on the ground. The usage of large scale and small scale do have specific meanings. Large scale maps have larger features and provide more detail but less geographic area, whereas small scale maps provide more geographic area but less detail. Therefore, if you want more detail to be displayed you will want a larger scale map and if you want to show more geographic area you will want a smaller scale map.
Question: What is a feature, a term used in many Internet mapping tools?
Answer: A feature is one of the items that make up a data layer such as the names and locations of cities and counties. A map may have one or more features.
Question: What is a data layer?
Answer: A data layer is a collection of one or more features that share a common set of characteristics. Visualize data layers as transparencies used in the layering of information over a base map.
Question: What is meant by a map projection?
Answer: A projection is a way to transform all or parts of the earth's curved surface to a flat surface such as a computer screen or paper. There are a number of different projections used when mapping, however their differences are more significant when mapping a larger area such as that of an entire country rather than a county.
Question: What are the FIPs Codes used by federal agencies in mapping?
Answer: Federal Information Processing Standards codes (FIPS codes) are a standardized set of numeric or alphabetic codes issued by the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) to ensure uniform identification of geographic entities through all federal government agencies. The entities covered include: states and statistically equivalent entities, counties and statistically equivalent entities, named populated and related location entities (such as, places and county subdivisions), and American Indian and Alaska Native areas.
Question: When determining rurality what is meant by a commuting zone?
Answer:
A commuting zone is a geographic unit based on commuting-to-work data from the U.S. Census Bureau and encompasses all county and county-equivalents, without minimum population thresholds.
Question: Are there tools available to create customized or thematic maps?
Answer: Yes, there are a variety of tools available on the Internet to facilitate the creation of maps. Map tools found on this information guide include: CIRC Interactive Mapping System, Rural Indicators Map Machine, Food Stamp Program Map Machine, and HRSA Geospatial Data Warehouse.
Question: Is technical support available on the mapping web sites listed on this Map Information Guide?
Answer: Each mapping tool listed on the Map Information Guide has a component on their site that permits the user to request technical support. Often this function is identified as a Feedback or a Contact link but also look for a Help, Tutorial, and/or FAQs link for additional technical support.
Credits
Last revised 09/20/2007
