Homework Help

[maxwell635]

I’m doing a final project for my fundamentals of GIS. The topic I’ve chosen is to compare states by their firearm regulations and see if the gun violence in those states is reduced. I’m also looking to see if there is any other correlation to gun violence across the country. I’ve found so much data on the subject. The question I have is what kind of raster data can I used for this? I only need to use it for one map but I’m hung up on how or what kind would assist my project.

[MapGrrl]

As an instructor, i would suggest reaching out to your professor for assistance. There are some fundamental constructs you are missing, and I'm certain that your instructor would be the best resource for you.

Good luck!

[SaraJL]

I would also recommend reaching out to the professor first! They will be able to give a recommendation on some next steps to take.

Here is a couple of follow-up thoughts - 

I'm a little confused on the question! Do you already have data for your project and you're looking specifically for raster data?

• Typically for policy information or state data, this is going to be vector data and not raster (not 100% of the time, but probably the majority of the time!)
  • If you add an extra step in the assessment, for example --> do areas of concentrated urban heat increase the chance of gun violence in a region? "Regions" of gun violence would probably still be vector data (like county, state, neighborhood blocks) while urban heat data would be raster.
• What are you hoping to calculate in your project that would require the use of raster data that is not satisfied by the data that you currently have?

One thing I sometimes recommend on GIS projects - sometimes less is more with time sensitive projects! More data does not always mean more accuracy or more impact, it just means that it takes more effort to finish the project. So depending on what your thesis statement is, you may not even need the raster data!

I hope that helps - good luck with your project!