Exercise Two

Introduction

Provide background to the problem at hand. What are the problems and challenges facing Hadlyville cemetery?

     - The problem at hand for exercise two is to go through with out plan on mapping out Hadlyville cemetery and gathering the necessary data to rebuild their database. 

Why is building a GIS of this project better than a simple map and/or spreadsheet?

     - Building a GIS of this project is much better than a map or spreadsheet because it will provide the best of both worlds. We will create a spatial reference for people so they are able to easily find certain grave sites. Data that has been collected will be tagged to each grave in order to keep data organized and useful to the public. 

What equipment are you going to use to gather the data needed to construct the GIS?

     - In order to construct the GIS, a drone was used to create a high resolution areal photograph of the cemetery. A survey grade GPS was used to map out some of the graves, although, because of time constraints, many of the graves will be manually added in through ArcMap. A camera was used to photograph the graves in order to get a close up view of each grave. A notebook was used to take down all of the data.

What are the overall objectives of the method being employed to gather the data?

     - The overall objectives were to work as a class to record the specific data for each grave site as best as possible. Eventually the data will be compiled into a GIS that will be useable for the Hadlyville cemetery.

Methods

What combination of geospatial tools did the class use in order to conduct the survey? Why?

     - The class used both a survey grade GPS and a drone in order to create accurate data points and to create a base map for our GIS project. 

What is the accuracy of the equipment we used?

     - The survey grade GPS should be accurate within a meter easily. It could potentially be centimeters off but for the most part, it will be very accurate. The drone produces a high resolution image that will allow graves to be easily identifiable from 50 meters. 

How was data recorded?

     - Our data was recorded through pen and paper. As a class we split up and recorded graves in individual rows. Our group made sure that the name and date of death were recorded for every grave. If other important information was provided it too was recorded. Our group also recorded the condition of the headstone itself. Pen and paper approach is generally more reliable for the kind of work that was done in this exercise. The potential for losing data or having data mixed up with digital collection is too high. A phone was used to take the close up pictures of each headstone. 

How will we transfer the data we gather into a GIS?

     - The transfer of data into a GIS will be done using ArcMap. The drone imagery will be used as a base map. The GPS points will be added in in the form of a shapefile. The individual data will be added through the attribute table of the points. 

What equipment failures occurred if any?

     - At this point in the project, it is difficult to say if there were any equipment failures. Any equipment failures that may have occurred will be discovered once the data has been transferred to a GIS. 

What might have been done to facilitate data collection in terms of equipment and refining the method?

     - Using a GPS system that works faster but is a little less accurate could have refined the method a little bit. The survey grade GPS system took a very long time and didn't get all of the data. Now manually adding points for graves is necessary. 

Conclusion

How did the methods transfer to the overall objectives of the project?

     -The methods used are a little different from what was originally planned. That being said, the overall objective should still be completed the way that we want. 

How did the mixed formats of data collection relate to the accuracy and expediency of the survey?

     - For the most part, all of the data that was collected had the most important information like the name and the date of death. For the most part, the data on the graves that was readable was collected. 

Describe the overall success of the survey, and speculate on the outcome of the data. 

     - At this point in the project, it seems like the survey was successful. We will have to see how the overall data compilation process goes. 

Activity One

Introduction

For activity one, the Hadleyville cemetery has lost all of the data and mapping of their cemetery layout. In order to fix this issue, field work needs to be done. The first step is to plan out the steps that will be taken in order to collect the missing data and map out the data. What are the problems and challenges facing the Hadleyville cemetery? All of the data was lost, so this means the project will be started from scratch. There is the possibility that headstones may be damaged or unreadable making it difficult to collect data. Why is the loss of the original maps and records a particular challenge for this project? Without any of the original data, there isn't anything to help guide the project. Some headstones that may be unreadable will be difficult to collect data for. How will GIS help to solve this problem? GIS will allow for the data that is collected to be added to a map in order to tag the data to a location. What makes this a GIS project, and not a simple map? This will be a GIS project because in addition to the map that we create, there will be attributes and data that we collect and attach to the map. What equipment will be used to gather the data needed? The equipment that will be used will be a GPS to tag locations of headstones, and a notebook to record data from each headstone. What are the overall objectives of this project? The overall objective is to obtain the geological location of each  headstone along with important data given on the headstone and connect the data together to form an easily usable GIS map.

Methods

What is the sampling method that will be used? There will be a grid system set up with rows indicated by letters and columns indicated by numbers. This way it will be easy to refer to specific graves sites. The data will be collected one headstone at a time going in order from the corner of the cemetery and snaking to the other side. This way it will ensure that the data will line up with the correct headstone on the map. What will the accuracy of the equipment that will be used be? The GPS should be survey grade. This means the points that we collect should be very accurate. This is necessary because the cemetery itself is rather small. How was the data entered? The data will be entered in a notebook first by both teammates to ensure accuracy. As stated before, a grid system will be used in order to keep everything organized. How will the data that is collected be entered into GIS? The data will be entered through ArcGIS. The GPS unit will be able to transfer point data that is collected and then the descriptive data that is taken from the cemetery will be entered manually. What drawbacks are there to this method? The main issue that could come up when collecting data, is the potential for headstones to be unreadable or out of place. This is something that will be hard to fix because the original data has been lost. Critical thinking is going to be the main way that these issues will be resolved. 

Conclusion

How do our methods transfer to the overall objectives of this proposal? I think that our methods will allow us to accomplish the goals that we need to. We will be able to create a working, organized GIS system to link the data from each gravesite to its geographical location.