A New World for Mapping John Spencer Spatial Analysis Unit October 5, 2009

Everything happens somewhere Wish you were here!!!

Data

Where?

Why?

ESRI is the market leader

Three shelves of ESRI manuals and third party materials

Two types of software: Geo-display Geographic Information System

Geo-display Displays data geographically Suitable for basic maps

E2G MEASURE Evaluation’s program for mapping Excel data

E2G Displays excel data Free Easy to use Maps can be easily shared Not every country is available Requires internet connection Data structure requirements

Dev-Info UN Millenium Development Goals based software

Dev-Info Advantages Free Own web site, documentation, and online support group. Ability to map and graph data and save files to several common formats. Ability to adapt to use with other databases and shapefiles (map boundary files) with many input and output formats allowed. Available in 6 different languages.

Dev-Info Disadvantages Developed specifically to work with UNICEF’s data formats and conform to their “Millenium Development Goals”. Difficult learning curve when it comes to customizing with own data. Limited capablilty to import from other formats.

GIS Analyzes data in layers Suitable for basic or advanced maps, spatial analysis

Healthmapper Free mapping program from World Health Organization

Healthmapper Advantages Can perform some GIS functions simple geographic data analysis and display. Free Wide user base Good documentation

Healthmapper Disadvantages Limited control of types of data classification and editing of shapefiles Moderate learning curve. Limited output formats for both maps and graphs

DIVA GIS Open source GIS program

Diva GIS Advantages Free Common input types (shapefile, text file, dBase, MS Access) allowed. Some flexibility as to color selection and number of classes for data.

Diva GIS Disadvantages Clunky interface Moderate learning curve. Output is a bitmapped image. Label placement and other map element placement extremely limited. Must have own map files or coordinate files already linked to data. Only one method of data classification (quartiles) available.

Arc-GISDiva-GISE2GDev-Info Healthmapper Ease of Use GIS Capacity ½ Easy to Import Data Cost$$$FreeFreeFreeFree Publication Quality Maps ½ Comparison Chart

Summary Many new options Best option is dependent on goals Possible to experiment and use multiple programs, if needed

ArcGIS DIVA-GIS E2G Dev-Info Health mapper