Category: Week 5

Write about 2-3 of the tools or methods you will be using in your project, and why you chose those. How can they help you answer your research question(s)? This description will help you write the methods section of your project site.

ArcGIS

When I first seen what I could do with ArcGIS, I was fascinated. Through ArcGIS, you can digitize data in ways I have never seen. You are presented a live globe and are able to shift your focus on certain countries, counties, or states that is relevant to research, and you are able to import your own data! ArcGIS helps me perfectly, as I am able to accurately display my data on the demographics of Cape Verdeans throughout the country and the diaspora and make comparisons! As of now, I was able to display ship routes from Cape Verde to New England in the early 19th century. ArcGIS is also amazing as we are able to interact with these maps and fully understand them.

Upon discovering Timeline JS, I felt the same as I did with ArcGIS. I am once again able to create a timeline of the history of Cape Verde and interact with the timeline. I am able to add this to my StoryMap, and align it with the other tools I have incorporated.

Overall, all of these tools have been great and made my project easier, and more interesting to do. I believe it is important to present your audience with interactive projects as it gains more audience attention and pleasure. None of this would have been possible without these tools.

ArcGIS

It allows me to make sophisticated spatial analyses, allowing me to overlay different data layers, calculate distances, create buffers, and (potentially) perform statistical analysis based on geographic data. This capability is invaluable for urban planning and environmental assessment, 

ArcGIS facilitates the integration of various types of data, including spatial data (such as maps and satellite imagery) and tabular data (such as databases and spreadsheets). This integration allows for comprehensive analysis and visualisation, providing a holistic view of the data. One of the standout features of ArcGIS is its ability to create compelling visualizations of geographic data. By generating maps I hope to effectively communicate spatial patterns and relationships across disparities in Zimbabwe. This is crucial for understanding what underpins equitable development in Zimbabwe

Tableau

Similar to the visualisations in ArcGIS, Tableau accomplishes statistical visualisations to understand the background of Zimbabwe in terms of demographics, economy, and inflation. Tableau excels in creating highly interactive and visually appealing dashboards. This interactivity enhances data exploration and understanding, enabling me to have a deeper insight into the limitations and opportunities of Zimbabwe. Beyond basic visualisation, Tableau offers advanced analytics features such as statistical analysis, and forecasting, which if used correctly could uncover trends, patterns, and relationships in my data; but in my project, this largely depends on the quality of the data I have access to