UX * Blog
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Data visualization at IDV Solutions
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Tuesday 9 June 2015
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Graphs, maps of the following at the link.
SIGHTINGS
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Sightings Per Capita map of the USA
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Shape Trending:
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--Light, fireball, flash
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--Circle, Sphere
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--Triangle, Cone
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--unknown, changing
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--Disk
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--Oval, Egg
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Sighting time, seasonally
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This data comes from the National UFO Reporting Center, which is "dedicated to the collection and dissemination of objective UFO data." That, and some census data, and we are off to the races.
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Ratios!
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Of course, as is the case for any observation data, there is a strong tendency towards echoing a population map. This is certainly the case with this sighting data, as well. In order to visualize the actual sighting phenomenon, I needed to normalize by the underlying population. The first, more prominent map shows a simple ratio of the sightings by population. A per-capita approach. The second, smaller and slightly more complex map, shows a bi-variate mapping of sightings in the color dimension (dark slate for low-sightings and bright green for high-sightings) and population density in the opacity dimension (denser populations are more transparent). The result is a map that is more nuanced regarding the problem of variable populations and area sizes. Double normalized? Sort of. If you would like to traverse the rich and complex world of bi-variate mapping, check out this tour-de-force how-to by Joshua Stevens.
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