Spatial Data Visualizations
The spatial data visualizations that students will typically see in social studies, or that they can use for inquiry in social studies, serve six basic functions: They show us locations, allow us to see patterns, distribution, movements, or relationships, or help us make comparisons. Most of the spatial data visualizations students will encounter in social studies are maps, but it's important to recognize that not all maps are the same, and not every map fulfills the same function. In addition, some of the spatial data visualizations students might encounter in social studies are not traditional geographic maps at all -- they represent humans' efforts to map out stars and planets, caverns and tunnels, or parts of the human body. Regardless, all of them use "data" to visualize a space that humans have found worthy of exploration or conquest, or that they know is important to our survival or growth.
LocationThe one function that all spatial data visualizations share is showing location. This is as true of maps as it is of visualizations depicting the stars or the human body. Regardless, it's important to remember that they are all human creations. When making maps, for example, cartographers can choose to include different structural features, and they make choices about scale, projection, symbol systems, and color schemes, and what to include and what to leave out. Regardless of the form, it's important to pay attention to all of its features and to remember that visualizations have authors with their own intentions and biases, as well as a knowledge base and perspective limited by the time and place in which they lived.
Patterns
Choropleth maps, connection maps, and dot distribution maps show us patterns.
