Field Data Collection Challenge: Hadleyvile Cemetery

Introduction

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

The Hadleyville Cemetery, which is located in the town of Pleasant Valley, contacted the university to set up a possible research project for a student doing an independent study, but it was turned into a whole class operation to create an interactive map of the Hadleyville Cemetery.  The cemetery is located off of County Road HH (Section 04, Town 25N, Range 9W).  There currently is not a record of the location of the plots, information about each plot, or the condition of each plot.

• Why is the loss of original maps and records a particular challenge for this project.

With the loss of the original map and records it is going to be more challenging because there are burial plots that have missing, broken, or illegible headstones.  Therefore,  it will make it more difficult to create an interactive map with all of the data.  Hopefully we can figure out which ones may be over looked and create as detailed of a map as possible.  This information is crucial because the Hadleyville Cemetery would like to figure out which plots are available for the public to purchase.

• How will GIS provide a solution to this problem?

The use of GIS tools will make an interactive map of the Hadleyville Cemetery giving a location of each of the plots, what the information is about each plot, and a picture that will show what that exact plot will look like.  These maps will be available for public use and will be able to show exactly which plots are available. The Cemetery will also be able to upload their own data to keep the map up to date for the public's use.

• What makes this a GIS project, and not a simple map?

This will not be a simple map because it is going to be interactive.  Each plot will contain information about name, dates, sex, quality of the headstones, and a photo of the plot.

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

The Equipment use will be a digital camera to take pictures of each plot, and a drone that will be used to create a base map of the entire cemetery.  We are also planning on using a GPS to mark all of the points accurately on the basemap.

•  What are the overall objectives of your proposal?

The overall objectives for this proposal is to create an interactive map that allows the user to pull up exact information on each plot to give as much information as possible.

Methods

•  What is the sampling technique you chose to use? Why?

A GPS point will be taken for each headstone.  This will also include a picture taken of it to show the conditions.  The attributes of each plot will be taken via notes which will then be put into an excel spreadsheet. This spreadsheet will be linked with the GPS coordinates to create a very accurate and detailed map.  There will also be a UAV that uses a very high resolution camera to take pictures of the entire cemetery.  I choose to do it this way because I believe it will create the most user friendly and detailed map.  

•  What is the accuracy of the equipment you are intending to use? (Be sure to cover each piece of equipment)

The GPS I will be using is very high grade therefore it will be within accuracy of a centimeter.  The UAV will be as accurate as the photos it takes are.  The notes used will be as accurate as the GPS due to taking notes on the LAT/LONG for each station. The photos taken with a digital camera will need to be taken in a specific order to determine which photo goes to which plot.

•  How was the data entered/recorded? Why did you choose this data entry method?

The data is recorded as points using GPS.  There will also be data recorded with a notebook for in the field. I choose this data entry method because it seemed most logical and easiest to maintain throughout the project.

•  How will you transfer the data you gather into a GIS

I will transfer the data into a GIS by using an Excel spread sheet to combine the data together with the attributes then use a join to match the points to the attributes it goes with.

•  What drawbacks are there to the method you propose? How to the pros outweigh the cons of this method?

There are a few drawbacks to the methods I came up with.  The first one is human error.  I could easily make a mistake at any of these steps, but to prevent this I will double and triple check to make sure everything is correct and makes sense.  Also having already created a plan helps to reduce the human error percentage.  Another Draw back is how am I going to exactly sort out the pictures I take to be put into the interactive map.  This may end up being more difficult if the plots are not all uniform.  Any error should be easy to fix using a computer, therefore if one arises it will be able to be fixed.

Conclusion

• How do your methods transfer to the overall objectives of your proposal?

Creating an interactive map that is user friendly and has the ability to display information and clearly in a organized manner, and even to someone with zero GIS training, they should be able to use this interactive map to get the information they are searching for.   With my methods being used everything should come together to create a great map.