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.