2012 PROCEEDINGS - Public Relations Society of America

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