Lying

with
Maps
GEOG 213
Leahy, Mackenzie

Interpreting Monmonier: Lying with Maps (2005)

1. Lying with maps has become far more common with unintentional deceit
a. GIS often has default settings that make mapmakers who dont fully understand
cartographic principles believe they have been successful in creating a
knowledgeable map
i. This tip is important because it recognizes personal limitationby
recognizing personal understanding, we can acknowledge that a map may
not be accurate
2. Some lies are unavoidable
a. A graphic map scale can be used in large-scale maps because the area is small
enough where a straight line as a distance is not completely inaccurate, but on a
small-scale map, the straight line of a graphic map scale ignores the curve or
projection of the earth
b. Symbol sizes must be changed based on map scale, but that alters the truth
this is an unavoidable form of deceit as a 1 point-line on a small scale map could
look like a 5 point line in a large-scale map, they must be changed for clarity
reasons
i. Acknowledging the art part of mapping is importantby understanding
that some choices are selective we learn to assume that for clarity some
things are presented differently
1. A map at 1:24,000 vs 1:250,000 will make the line sizes and land
features look much different
3. Grouping can distort how an audience interprets data greatly
a. Keep data with the same values in the same groupingdont rely on equal
interval because it may split data
b. Chose a middle ground when it comes to categories and classes to few may group
large differences in values while too many may make it hard to distinguish
different colors/sizes on the map

c. Rate (intensity-measurable amount of a property) data work well with choropleth

darker means more, while count (magnitude-size) data requires more
meaningful coding
d. Stick to as simple colored choropleth map, dont use widely varying hues
i. Dont assume that the GIS is accurate or creates the best class groupings
decide for yourself what will provide the audience with the most
meaningful data
1. Class groupings can make data (ie: crude birth rates/state) appear
exceptionally high if the lower classes have little states within
them or appear exceptionally spread out if there are too many
classes
4. Cut points and color schemes can manipulate two independent sets of data to make them
seem as though they relate
i. Different data sets that do not relate to one another can easily be
manipulated into looking like they do
1. By making the color hues the same and putting a similar amount of
attributes in the same classes, two mapsone about Rate of
Population Change and one about Net-Migration Ratecan appear
to relate to one another
5. Map creators and users must understand the limitations and simplifications and the power
that the two have to manipulate data
I find that this relates greatly to what I am learning in GIS. There are many times where I
believe that data in maps could relate to one another or the information being provided by maps
are accurate, but with my limited knowledge it is hard to determine how accurate a map is,
especially one that I have created. I now understand how easy it is to confuse/manipulate
someone who knows nothing about the cartographic process.

One example of a lying map that really stuck out for me was two choropleth maps of
the United States. One map showed Teen Pregnancy Rates while the other showed the Most
Religious States. Not only was the data taken from different sources, but the age groupings were
different. The legend sizes were unequal, but the classes were sorted so that a similar number of
attributes were used and the colors of the classes were the same so that it appeared as though the
most religious states also had the most teen pregnancies.
Another example of a lying map is simply different map projections, especially when
they are used to display world population as a choropleth. A Mercator Projection used to
compare population as a choropleth map make it appear as though small countries in Africa have
a large population in a small area compared to the United States, although the United states is
much small than many countries combined in Africa, and the difference in population would not
seem as drastic if the countries were scaled properly.

Interpreting Jerrys Crime Mapping Tips

I would sort Jerrys ten tips as follows:
Tip 5 Really understand your data This tip is essential to starting any project. It is
impossible to convey a proper message to the audience without understanding the data
completely. Trying to explain information you dont fully understand is like trying to
take a test without studying, usually you end up with a poor result.
Tip 8 Caveats mean you are not lying Understanding the limitations of data as well as
personal limitations help to make the audience understand that collected data and people

have limits and flaws and that maps cannot be perfect, but they can be explained as to
why they cant be.
Tip 9 Limit the information you show It is not only important to recognize data and personal
limitation, but it is also important to limit the data used in the map. Too much
information can make a map more unclear rather than adding to its understanding.
Tip 3 Simple and clear titles Titles are essential and there is no reason that the titles cannot
be simplified so that the majority of the audience can understand. Map titles should
eliminate unnecessary wording when possible.
Tip 7 Legends are generally essential Legends are the foundation of telling a story properly.
Without a legend or some sort of description of what the map does, the map is merely a
picture with colored symbols. Data cannot be understood as relative or real and even
though it is possible to interpret the map, the interpretations will never be accurate.
Tip 6 Use thematic mapping cautiously GIS programs do not always create the most logical
ways of organizing or sorting data that we use and therefore it is important to consider
making adjustments. Mapping is all about trial and error, creating something informative
and aesthetically pleasing.
Tip 4 Use color carefully Apart from the absolute basics I feel that this is one of the more
important aspects of creating a map. Using the wrong colors can imply different
messages (ie: using red to represent low values instead of high values) but they can also
turn away an audience completely. Color influences people and holds a lot of value (ie:
stores and advertisers use color to manipulate the buyer: restaurants often use red because

it is seen as an appetite stimulator and eye catching color) and therefore it is important to
use color combinations carefully.
Tip 10 Check the map appearance in grayscale I find this tip less important for replicating a
map, because it is becoming increasingly easier to share data and maps now, but rather I
find this element important for color blind readers. If a map appears to be all one color,
this is very limiting to the user. Trail maps could lead to people lost in the woods if they
are not clear, research projects could use inaccurate data, and so forth.
Tip 1 Include a scale bar Scale bars are important for understanding how things relate to one
another geographically. I find this element to also be slightly less important than other
elements; scale bars can imply that the size of a place hold value relative to the symbols
presented on a map (ie: scale bars do not hold importance to graduated symbols but may
be confused).
Tip 2 Include a North arrow North arrows are important, but not always accurate. It is better
to leave out a North arrow if uncertain about the relative location. North arrows give the
audience a sense of direction, even if it is not completely necessary for the map being
interpreted, (ie: it may be less important with a choropleth map than with a hiking trails
map.)
Four additional tips I would include are:
Tip 11 Make sure that the map has geographic logic Although most maps use relatively
accurate shapefiles, it is important to make sure that geographically, all data that is
included makes sense, or refer to tip 8 if you cannot do so. Most of the files we are using
make sense, but if one was to be created from scratch, it would be important to have it

follow basic/natural geographic processes and locations. A streets map for a town should
not be viewed without a basic outline of the town.
Tip 12 Ask for peer review Having peers review your map making process can not only
eliminate simple errors or issues, but they can help to add new ideas to the table and
provide overall feedback to improve the map.
Tip 13 Be careful with Labeling Labeling can be over used or under appreciated. It is
important to make sure that if a legend is not used for an item and it is essential to the
map that it is correctly labeled. Similar to symbols, they should offer enough clarity as to
not take up too much room or too little where they are impossible to read.
Tip 14 For large scale map scales, consider using a locator map A locator map can help to put
a focused map into perspective and help the audience to understand where the map is
focused on if they are not familiar with the area.
Interpreting the ESRI Map Checklist
In my opinion, tip number one, number five, and number eight are the most important tips to
making a successful map.
Tip number one represents understanding. Without a meaning and a story, a map by itself is for
the most part useless. Having corresponding data and understanding what the data is telling the
map-maker along with what the map-maker is trying to express using the data is essential.
Without a story, a map has little to offer for both the map-maker and the target audience. By
focusing on important attributes of data, we can express essential information; we can also make
information more clear, we can make information more confusing, or we can manipulate

information to express only certain aspects of the data that we want the audience to focus/center
their attention on.
Tip number five represents clarity. Symbols are essential to map makingsize, shape, and color
choices are very important to me. Size of symbols is similar to white spaceextremes are not
good in either case. The size of symbols can greatly distract or confuse the audience. Because
symbols are used for almost every aspect of mapping, it is important to learn how to balance
sizes. Color of symbols is also extremely important to me. A map should not only have clear
symbols and should utilize intuitive color schemes, but otherwise should be visually appealing in
terms of color throughout. Colors of symbols set a tone for the rest of the map.
Tip number represents appeal. Along the lines of colors and size for symbols, visual hierarchy is
important for drawing the attention of the audience. By focusing on a color scheme throughout a
map, the map-maker can draw or distract from the attention of the audience. By making the
important attributes of data stand out and making the base maps have enough information/visuals
to create relative or exact spatial recognition for the audience, we can make sure that we are
drawing the attention of the audience.

Mapping Procedure:

1. Opened ArcGIS and accessed the catalog via the toolbar on the right of the screen.
2. Opened the following folders as followed:
S: (drive)
\GEOG213
\M2Leahy
\GIST1
\Data
\UnitedStates.gdb

\USStates
3. Inserted the USStates data layer into ArcGIS by dragging the layer onto the main
screen
Under View select Layout View
Copy and paste the layer
Double click United States layer and click the symbology tab
Under Show select graduated colors
Under Fields select BLACK
a. For Map 2, select POP2007 or Normalization
9. Under Classification select 6 classes then select Classify
10. (For Map 2 Change Classification to Geometric Interval then change to Manual and)
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.

set the break values to:

a. For Map 1a: 99,999 199,999 499,999 999,999 1,999,999 leave the last as is
b. For Map 1b: chose SymbologyMultiple attributesValue FieldBlack
i. select Add All Values and change the Color Scheme to a random
greyscale
ii. Select Variation bySymbol SizeFieldsBlack
iii. Select Template and change the color and outline to No Color, click
okay
c. For Map 2a: .01 .03 .05 .1 .2 leave the last as is
d. For Map 3b: .01 .03 .07 .15 .3 leave the last as is
11. Under Insert select Text and type in
a. Map 1: Black Population of the United States in 2000
b. Map 2: Percentage of Black Population of the United States in 2007
12. Under Insert select Text and type in Created Using ArcMap, Mackenzie Leahy,
Bridgewater State University, October 2014
13. Under Insert select Text and type in
a. Map 1: The data expressed in this table represents the black population of each
state as expressed by the 2000 Census.
b. Map 2: The data expressed in this table represents the black population in
percentages from 2007 of each state as expressed by the 2000 Census.
14. Under Insert select North Arrow and double one of the arrows, move to appropriate
spot on map
15. Under Insert select Scale Bar, click on a scale and select Properties to change the
number of divisions
16. Click Okay twice

17. Under Insert select Neat Line

18. Click Okay and adjust size and placement
19. Under Drawing select a rectangle and insert rectangle for background of legend
20. Copy the rectangle and move as background for previously made text Created Using
ArcMap, Mackenzie Leahy, Bridgewater State University, October 2014
21. Copy the rectangle and move as background for previously made text explaining Map 1
and Map 2
22. Click Okay and adjust size and placement for the legend background
23. Under Insert select Legend, change the number of columns to 3 and click Next until
you are able to Finish
24. Save Document

Lying with My Own Maps

About the Maps:
1:
I decided to use 6 classes for both of the objective maps created. The classes from left frame of
Black Population of the United States in 2000 were created manually and created so that not
too many states had a similar color, however, there is no specific equality between the classes.
The manual breaks were created as to create numbers that would be easy to read in the legend
but also so that one color was not overwhelmingly dominant in the map. Similarly, the map from

Percentage of Black Population of the United States in 2007 were designed with manual
breaks that also would be easy to read in the legend but also so that one color was not
overwhelmingly dominant in the map. I did not consider alternative break points for the maps as
the separation that I used for Map 1 seems to work for many classification methods in the past,
and for Map 2 the geometric interval created fairly even break points.
2:
The right frame map from Black Population of the United States in 2000 has completely
random colors for each state. I chose to do this because I thought it was interesting in
Monmoniers piece how he made note of two maps with separate data that can be confused as
corresponding to one another. I decided to leave out the legend so that it appears the first maps
classes apply for the second map even though the colors are random. (View snapshot below for
better understanding) For the Percentage of Black Population of the United States in 2007 I
wanted two maps with different break points that were both aesthetically pleasing and easy to
read so for the second map I used slightly different break points but kept the same color ramp,

except the lying map begins on White while the objective map begins on a Light Coral/Red.

3:
There are obvious differences in the spatial pattern of the two maps because they cannot be
compared to the same degree or scale. Map 1 has absolute data while Map 2 has relative data.
While there are some states that have similar color relations, it is impossible to compare the two.
Because the total population for the states are abstract (as they are not mentioned anywhere) it is
even more impossible to compare the twothe population of every state is considered, not the
population of the country as a whole.
Both maps are meaningful, but Map 2 would often be seen as more meaningful. Map 2 has
relative data, but it looks at more attributes of the states then Map 1 does. Map 1 cannot be

compared to anything because it lacks and additional information, ie: other race population or
total population. If Map 1 had a table with the total population of each state against the black
population of each state, I would say Map 1 would be more meaningful. If either one of the
maps had the total population of the country in 2000 or 2007, I would consider that map the most
meaningful.
Map 1:

Map 2: