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DRAFT OF ASSIGNMENT 1

Overview

Assignment 1 invites you to download some data about a country you know something about and to filter that dataset such that you show some of its features of interest to you. This assignment builds on concepts and tools we’ve discussed in class and a “computational notebook” in posit.cloud. Not only will you create a map of the features, but you will be also asked to comment on the visualization you create using the readings from the course.

  • Type: Individual
  • Length: Approximately 1500 words (about an 8-minute read), plus maps
  • Format: This assignment will be completed in Markdown and posted on your individual Github pages site.
  • Due Date: 28 September 2026, 11:59pm

Three Main Elements

This assignment has five core components:

  1. Downloading or querying data: You will acquire data from open datasets on the web about a place of interest to you in the world. I would recommend that you choose a region of a country, rather than a city or a very large country. This suggestion is to limit the amount of data you have to work with.
  2. Choosing the features of interest to you: I would recommend that you use the country download from GeoNames to begin this assignment. Know that datasets for the same place will be very different!
  3. Filtering for these Features: Use a combination of Rmd Notebooks to conduct exploratory data analysis (EDA) with your part of the world
  4. Using Pre-written Code to Generate Maps in Layers
  5. Written Synthesis: Assemble your evidence, analysis, and visuals in a web-published essay in the form of a post that tells a coherent story about your findings. Make sure to relate what you have found to the Do Maps Lie video and the reading by Kitchin & Lauriault.

Step 1: Downloading or querying data:

Step 2: Choosing the features of interest to you:

Step 3: Filtering for these Features:

Step 4: Using Pre-written Code to Generate Maps in Layers

Step 5: Written Synthesis:

Guiding Questions

As you write, consider (but don’t feel obligated to answer) all of these questions:

  • Background & Expectations: What did you know about your location before beginning analysis? What hypotheses did you have about the kinds of geographies contained in the dataset?

  • Computational Insights: What interesting patterns emerged?

  • Trends & Surprises: Were there unexpected findings? How do your results compare to your initial hypotheses?

  • Methodological Questions:

  • Scope & Scale:

  • Transferability: How might you use this workflow in other courses, disciplines, or projects like a capstone?

Assessment

Your work will be assessed according to the following criteria located here:

Tips for Success

Writing: Use tools like Markdown Live Preview and Hemingway App to refine your prose for clarity and legibility. Alternatively you can use the preview function in Visual Studio Code itself. Keep the F-shape principle for web writing in mind—readers scan top-to-bottom and left-to-right, so structure your argument visibly.

Visualization: Make your screenshots speak. Use clear captions that explain what readers are seeing and why it matters to your argument. Your visualizations should support and enhance your analysis, not merely decorate it or fill space. Feel free to annotate on top of the visuals (like putting arrows or circles).

Publishing: Post your assignment to your course site as a post so instructors and classmates can read and engage with your work.

It is fine to publish your assignment iteratively, but when you finish the final version of your assignment, write at the bottom of it “READY FOR GRADING”.

Good luck with your analysis!

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