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Lab 2: Health GIS Database Creation and Integration

The goal of this exercise is to become proficient in ArcGIS Database Creation, Integration, and Geocoding. You will mainly use ArcGIS in this exercise. 

Part 1: Accessing GIS Data at UNC

Locate GIS data available at UNC by going to the following website: library.unc.edu/services/data/ and search for the types of layers you need.  For instance, you could search for “rivers” or something more specific such as “Europe rivers”.

Explore different datasets and download at least 10 layers that you could use for your class project, or if you will use other data for your project, some hypothetical project.  Produce at least 3 maps in ArcGIS that display the data you found.

Part 2a: Geocoding Lat Long Coordinates (one at a time)

Use the Internet to collect the addresses of at least 10 health clinics/hospitals in the Chapel Hill area. Enter them into an Excel spreadsheet with separate columns for the name of the clinic, the address, the city, and state. Then use one of the following websites to find out the latitude longitude coordinates for those 10 clinics:

http://www.latlong.net/convert-address-to-lat-long.html http://itouchmap.com/latlong.html

Enter the latitude and longitude for each address into your Excel spreadsheet (keep the two columns separate).  Then read www-dev.lib.unc.edu/services/data/create-shapefile/ and create a shapefile out of the 10 clinics and then create a map that includes labels for the 10 clinics and print it. Also print your table of addresses with the coordinates included.

Part 2a: Geocoding Lat Long Coordinates (batch)

You can also do Batch Geocoding.  There are several out there but we will use the online geocoder from Texas A&M which is online at geoservices.tamu.edu/Services/Geocode/BatchProcess/.

It requires free registration at geoservices.tamu.edu/Signup/

Batch geocode another set of 10 addresses using the steps shown on the website and then create a map that includes labels for the 10 clinics and print it. 

Part 3: Address Matching

Log onto the UNC Geographic Information Systems (GIS) Services page again at http://www.lib.unc.edu/reference/gis/index.html. Click on the Census Data Resources link under Spatial Data Resources-http://guides.lib.unc.edu/census/.  Go through the entire page including the four different tabs to learn about census geography. Then do the ESRI Virtual Campus tutorial called “Address Geocoding with ArcGIS 10.1”. training.esri.com/gateway/index.cfm?fa=catalog.webCourseDetail&courseid=2514. Print out at least two maps of outputs in the exercise.

Create an Excel address file of some real/hypothetical health related event/service with at least 20 addresses. Then, go to the following website and work through the tutorial on geocoding: http://guides.library.upenn.edu/geocoding. You only need to do Part I, “From Addresses to Maps.” (Part II teaches you about spatial joining, which is a useful tool if you want to try it).

Based on what you learned in the tutorial, use ArcMap to geocode your table of 20 addresses. For more guidance, in ArcMap, go to “Help” and then “ArcGIS Desktop Help.” Under the Search option, type “geocoding.” The following topic will be especially helpful: Geocoding a Table of Addresses in ArcMap. Explore the other topics as you need. Note that ArcGIS 10 provides address locators to use for geocoding if you are connected to the internet.

Once you've completed the address matching (geocoding) procedure explain in a paragraph what happened.  Did they all match?  Why or why not?

Part 4: Data Integration

Use the UNC library site to download a couple of map layers for Chapel Hill. Overlay the 10+ health clinics shapefile with the map layers that you created in Part 2 and then create a map using the two layers.  When you download the map layers make sure you know the georeferencing information (i.e., the projection, datum, map units) for the layers of Chapel Hill. The other thing you'll need to know is that you geocoded the clinics in WGS84. You'll need to know this so they all match up. If you have trouble then go back to the ESRI Virtual Campus course entitled "Understanding Map Projections and Coordinate Systems."  Make a map.

Lab Deliverable Summary: Print out all of the outputs, put your name on them, and give them to the instructor. They include: Part 1: three maps; Part 2: input address printout, output printout, 2 maps; Part 3: Two maps from the Esri Virtual Campus exercise, Excel address file and paragraph that describes what you did; Part 4: Map