It was my hope that doing this would allow the user to explore the significance of any patterns they may have noticed by analyzing the maps. These maps, while not designed for explicit spatial analysis, were created to help the user switch quickly between maps, thus facilitating the process of cartographic visualization. The legend was made to allow users the ability to quickly view classed versions for each cause of death, unclassed versions of the same data, and the ability to move quickly between classed and unclassed versions for the same cause of death. Seeing classed and unclassed versions of the same material is very important due to the different perceptions they create. Classed data is a must if one is going to analyze the map statiscally.
Unclassed maps allow the user to see the relative distribution of the data more effectively.
The intended result of this exercise is to allow users to develop possible explanations for geographic distributions by facilitating the process of cartographic visualization . Any analysis of this data is will be incomplete without conducting corresponding statistical analyses of the data as well. In Nebraska, such studies are of limited use due to the small number of deaths and population sizes in most counties. Some of the simple relationships I saw upon completing this exercise are as follows. Upon switching between the classed versions of the cancer and heart disease maps, I noticed an inverse relationship.