Module 6: Data Classification

The purpose of this week's assignment was to explore the various data classification schemes that are often encountered in ArcMap and to generate maps using this new knowledge.  The top map (above) compares four classifications (Equal Interval, Natural Breaks, Standard Deviation, and Quantile) in terms of  accuracy of representation of the data provided.  Escambia County, FL census district (year 2000) data was used for these cholorpleth maps.  After comparing these maps, I decided that the Natural Breaks classification was the most accurate in representing the data distribution and thus generated the second map, which is simply an expanded version of that above.  The categorical 'breaks' display detail at points in the statistical distribution of the data.  The most important lesson from this assignment is that the same data (in this case demographic data) can be misrepresentative of the true spatial distribution of a phenomenon.