Caroline Wall's Work Report - spatial-data-discovery/sdd-2021 GitHub Wiki

11/1/21 - Week 9

Summary

  • Sandbox 6 (~45 mins)
  • Discussion 9 (~30 mins)
  • Quiz 9 (~1 hr)

Overview

This week I focused on Quiz 9 and Sandbox 5. As the quizzes are getting longer, itโ€™s getting a bit harder to keep up with them, so I spent more time trying to go through it, especially working on the questions related to the HDF5 format. For Sandbox 5, I used the hdf_read.py file and what we discussed in class to get started and then I spent my time figuring out how to write the raster data in a new .asc file. I also worked on Discussion 9, thinking about the positives and negatives of the HDF5 file format.

Question of the Week: What attributes?

The raster data within sandbox5.hdf included attributes that corresponded with the heading of the typical ASCII raster format, including ncols, nrows, cellsize, etc. as well as an attribute labelled "crs," which means coordinate reference system, so it includes information like the geographic coordinate system and the units used. These attributes made it easier to understand what exactly the data was meant to look like and what it signifies, and it was vital information in creating the ASCII raster file.

Up Next

  • Sandbox 6
  • Discussion 10
  • Quiz 10

10/25/21 - Week 8

Summary

  • Quiz 8 (~30 mins)

Overview

Due to fall break, there was less to do this week, leaving simply our in-class discussion on the big data problem and Quiz 8. Therefore, I spent less time working outside of class but was able to go through Quiz 8 and apply what we discussed about the four v's of the big data problem to the questions added for this week.

Question of the Week: What's the challenge?

The current challenge in big data is made up of four or five v's, including volume, variety, velocity, variability, and veracity. Essentially, there is so much data and it is often stored in different formats and coming in at different speeds and different times. These elements make it hard to store and go through data in an efficient and unified manner, which can distract from the science or whatever work the data is contributing to.

Up Next

  • Sandbox 5
  • Discussion 9
  • Quiz 9

10/20/21 - Week 7

Summary

  • Sparse Data Challenge (~4 hrs)
  • Discussion 7 (~30 mins)
  • Quiz 7 (~45 mins)
  • de La Beaujardiere Reading (~30 mins)

Overview

This week was mostly spent working on the Sparse Data Challenge, which I worked on with Shane. We approached the challenge by working together in the library for several hours. This allowed us to conceptualize our method together and then work through any coding errors together in real time. We were able to produce an image and find the actual location of the image by using a reverse image search. This really made the whole thing come together and gave me a sense of accomplishment, as we were ultimately able to solve the problem. I also felt like it showed the benefits of working together, as we were each able to contribute different things and to come up with solutions for any coding errors.

Question of the Week: What's the process?

For the Sparse Data Challenge, our process was to go through our different ideas for tackling the problem and write down key aspects and draw out diagrams to help us conceptualize those ideas. We were then able to determine which one we thought would be the most successful. By doing this, we finally settled on an idea after realizing that our initial concept was not going to be the most effective. We then wrote out the code for our first task, and as we tested and refined that, we realized that we could generalize it and repeat aspects of it, so we worked on doing that to make it more efficient. We continued this until we had working code that filled all the gaps and then moved on to creating the image. It might not have been the quickest approach, but we were able to refine our technique and adjust for errors as we went through each step.

Up Next

  • Discussion 8
  • Quiz 8

10/11/21 - Week 6

Summary

  • Sandbox 4 (~1 hr)
  • Discussion 6 (~30 mins)
  • Quiz 6 (~45 mins)

Overview

This week I continued my work on Sandbox 4, attempting to make it more accurate, but I still struggled with certain aspects, specifically how to check whether or not all values are numeric. However, we were able to go over my first attempt in class, so I have things I can adjust and work on after that conversation. Other than Sandbox 4, I spent my time going through the usual assignments of the week: the discussion and the quiz, both of which felt a bit easier this week. I was able to play around with QGIS and produce a visualization without too many challenges, and the quiz, though long, was fairly straight-forward, as I've gotten accustomed to many of the repeated questions.

Question of the Week: How does it look?

My ASCII raster data has some initial problems when I visualized it, as I had failed to calculate an appropriate cell size, so it was falling off the map. However, after I fixed that, the visualization looked as I expected it to, and I was able to manipulate the symbology, so it displayed discrete ranges for the values, although the values didn't actually hold any meaning. I also fixed the color of the map itself, so the raster data would stand out on top of it.

Up Next

  • Sparse Data Challenge
  • Discussion 7
  • Quiz 7

10/4/21 - Week 5

Summary

  • Koops & Galic reading (1 hr)
  • Sandbox 3 (~5 mins)
  • Quiz 5 (~45 mins)

Overview

This week I spent most of my time on Quiz 5 and the Koops & Galic reading. This week's quiz was more involved and longer than previous ones, so it spent me quite a bit more time to reach a 100, as I had to write some specific code for a few of the questions. Additionally, the reading was longer and denser than usual, so it was fairly time consuming to read through and take notes on that, although I felt that I had a better understanding of space vs. place after reading it and was well prepared for the in-class discussion. Lastly, I began working on Sandbox 4, but I am continuing to work out the kinks with that and to satisfy all the different tests for the raster data.

Question of the Week: What are spaces/places?

Spaces are the containers which everything else is within, whereas places are spaces with some sort of special meaning. It seems as though space is the larger area around us, while place is a location that is known to us or has at least been given some sort of significance.

Up Next

  • Sandbox 4
  • Discussion 6
  • Quiz 6

9/27/21 - Week 4

Summary

  • Discussion 4 post (~45 mins)
  • Raster data reading (~10 mins)
  • Sandbox 2 (~1.5 hrs)
  • Quiz 4 (~45 mins)

Overview

My main tasks for this week were contributing to Discussion 4 and completing Sandbox 2. Class last week left me considering the positives and negatives of having so much spatial data openly available, so I had a lot of thoughts to work through, as I had not previously considered just how much can be learned about the layout of cities and locations of important sites and both the dangers and benefits of that information. Sandbox presented a challenge, as I have not worked with EXIF tags before but I was able to find sources that helped me work through the process. I had also never created a GeoJSON file before, so creating that presented a challenge, and I am still working through some of those issues. I do some experience plotting points on maps in Python, so that aspect of the assignment was the easiest for me.

Question of the Week: What is spatial data?

Spatial data is any data that pertains to a specific space or location. It presents information about where certain locations exist on a map or in terms of longitude and latitude and combines this with other attributes in order to better understand what makes up these different locations. Spatial data allows us to place data in accordance with the geography of the earth.

Up Next

  • Koops & Galic reading
  • Sandbox 3
  • Discussion 5
  • Quiz 5

9/18/21 - Week 3

Summary

  • Created utility script (~1.5 hrs)
  • Recorded podcast (~20 mins)
  • Quiz 3 (~15 mins)
  • Discussion 3 post (~15 mins)
  • Updated About page (~5 mins)
  • Schwarze reading (~15 mins)

Overview

This week, I spent the majority of my time working on my utility script. I focused on making sure it worked as intended as well as having clear and proper documentation. I also got more practice with Git, as I created an issue for my utility script and addressed the issue in my commit. I also spent time writing out and recording my podcast in order to properly explain the purpose of my script. I updated my About page to include my utility script and a link to download it. Finally, I completed the usual tasks of the week, including completing Quiz 3 and Discussion 3 and the reading for Tuesday.

Question of the Week: What is utility?

Utility is a focus on function. It is about completing one specific job in the best way possible or available, putting usefulness before everything else.

Up Next

  • Discussion 4
  • Quiz 4
  • Sandbox 2

9/12/21 - Week 2

Summary

  • Lowndes et al. reading (~40 mins)
  • Sandbox 1 (~15 mins)
  • Quiz 2 (~25 mins)
  • Discussion 2 post (~40 mins)
  • Created "About the Coder" file (~15 mins)

Overview

This week, I spent the majority of my time going through and taking notes on the Lowndes reading and contributing to Discussion 2. Therefore, my main focus was on sustainable authorship and the practices of documentation, version control, and more. I also learned about plain text and became more comfortable with both Markdown and Git through Sandbox 1 and the creation of my "About the Coder" page. I was able to go over some of these concepts by repeating Quiz 2 until I received a score of 100.

Question of the Week: What is spatial?

Spatial is anything pertaining to space. As everything exists in space, everything is spatial, as it is a particular way of understanding or visualizing the objects and phenomena around us. As explored in Discussion 1, we can connect a spatial aspect to much of the data of which we are interested.

Up Next

  • Utility script
  • Podcast
  • Update "About" page
  • Discussion 3
  • Quiz 3

9/6/21 - Week 1

Summary

  • Reviewed syllabus and schedule (~20 mins)
  • Completed FWOC survey (~10 mins)
  • Goldsberry reading (~10 mins)
  • Took Quiz 1 until receiving a 100 (~10 mins)
  • Wrote Discussion 1 post (~30 mins)
  • Tenen & Wythoff reading (~45 mins)

Overview

This week mostly consisted of familiarizing myself with the expectations of this class and completing any setup, such as the FWOC survey. I then began work on the assignments for this week, including the first two readings and the first quiz and discussion.

Up Next

  • Sandbox 1
  • Lowndes reading
  • Discussion 2
  • Quiz 2