2012 PROCEEDINGS - Public Relations Society of America
2012 PROCEEDINGS - Public Relations Society of America
2012 PROCEEDINGS - Public Relations Society of America
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going out to eat. But what does that mean? What other data do they need to collect? Are people<br />
there younger? Do they rent? What other characteristics help explain the data or is it something<br />
that is irrelevant to the overall question?<br />
3. Choose a method <strong>of</strong> analysis.<br />
Students must then decide how they are going to analyze the data. Are they looking at<br />
where certain populations live (distribution analysis)? Is it more important to create a buffer<br />
zone around an organization or a proposed route to show what lies in its path (proximity<br />
analysis)? For example, when analyzing a proposed pipeline route, is it important to look at<br />
where people are relative to the pipeline, within a certain driving distance, within a certain<br />
county?<br />
4. Process the data.<br />
Students must then follow the steps to process the data. This may mean linking the<br />
census data to a map <strong>of</strong> a location and laying in the chosen buffer zone. Once finished, they can<br />
visually see whether there are any patterns. One reason GiS is so helpful is that students may not<br />
recognize patterns simply by reading data. If they look at a chart <strong>of</strong> county numbers and a list <strong>of</strong><br />
numbers and percents representing various ethnic groups, it might not say anything. However, if<br />
they lay those on a map and see that the counties with a high Native <strong>America</strong>n population lie<br />
predominately along the rail route, then that might tell them something else.<br />
5. Analyze results.<br />
Once the results are finished, they need to decide the best way to show and explain them.<br />
Some <strong>of</strong> their explanation will be as part <strong>of</strong> the overall written backgrounder. They also need to<br />
determine where maps will help tell the story or other charts and tables. This forces them to<br />
think not only about what they are saying but how they are saying it.<br />
In addition, this <strong>of</strong>ten leads to critical thinking about what the data means and what is<br />
important. For example, a student working on the proposed pipeline project analyzed data from<br />
previous spills. How far did the spills travel? How fast could it be stopped at a pump station?<br />
Based on this, she felt the best way to tell the story was to create a map showing the worst case<br />
scenario if there was a spill at a central pump station. Her map showed where the oil would<br />
travel within a given amount <strong>of</strong> time and what it could contaminate in terms <strong>of</strong> other water<br />
sources.<br />
Course Evaluation<br />
Inevitably, students initially have a hard time understanding both GIS and simply<br />
research for a backgrounder in general. It takes a while and their rough drafts <strong>of</strong>ten are returned<br />
to them with multiple questions and suggestions for more research. However, after the rough<br />
draft review and the map review, the final results show much deeper analysis <strong>of</strong> the issue and<br />
better visuals to explain it.<br />
Students also find that GIS mapping helps them in future courses and in their career. Those<br />
students who complete the course and assignment, and include GIS on their resumes, are finding<br />
that organizations – from non-pr<strong>of</strong>its to businesses – are excited that they have GIS knowledge.<br />
In the past few months, we‘ve heard from students using it at their internship or<br />
impressing someone during an interview. Even for those students who don‘t use GIS in the<br />
future, they have learned the importance <strong>of</strong> analyzing and understanding data, and determining<br />
the best way to tell the story. They may use another type <strong>of</strong> visual – but they are using the same<br />
core concepts.<br />
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