How Maps Can Add More Value to
Your Research

Research is a rigorous process regardless of what field you’re in. It takes months, if not years, of hard work, patience, and sleepless nights to complete it. 

Data from research is a minefield of information that may be wasted if not properly presented. If your research involves location data, consider incorporating maps. Here are five reasons why mapping is important in research, and how it can supplement your data-driven study. 

Mapping can help you visualize spatial relationships and patterns

If you aim to craft a compelling hypothesis, sometimes, it’s not enough to simply present your collated data into a running text or tables. Employing maps is a more visual approach that can help you create a more cohesive, easy-to-digest narrative using all the data you’ve painstakingly collected. 

Maps can show you patterns by revealing clusters, trends, and relationships that are otherwise not apparent in tabular data. For instance, we created spider maps to help a surgical resident determine which cities and municipalities in Region 4A and neighboring provinces are served by specific hospitals. By creating these maps and incorporating various parameters, the analysis was able to highlight service coverage. The study was also able to calculate and visualize the distances from each hospital to every city or municipality. 

Maps make data more accessible and engaging

Using digital maps, when applicable, can help you with data storytelling that’s more engaging. Your audience will be able to better understand and parse complex information by tapping into visual-spatial intelligence. Interactive maps, where readers can zoom in and out, pan, click, and choose filters and layers, prompt more engagement. This, in turn, makes your research more accessible. 

For instance, instead of presenting a static report on how a disease spreads geographically, you can use an interactive map that allows readers to filter case counts per region, province, city, municipality, or barangay. Readers can also explore how the disease behaves depending on various environments (i.e., urban vs. rural areas). A map with a time slider also allows your audience to navigate through different periods to observe the decline or resurgence of the disease. 

It’s easier to explore intersections and correlations

A professor taking her doctoral study asked us to create maps for her dissertation. Her study focuses on how designs of sari-sari stores reflect the local culture and foster social connections within families and neighborhoods. Sari-sari stores are small, family-owned stores commonly found in residential areas in the Philippines. 

The maps we created may be used to determine if tight-knit communities prefer certain storefront designs, therefore hinting at possible stronger social ties. The maps may also show if there are distinct differences in storefront styles based on the sari-sari store’s location (either within the central district or peripheral areas). Foot traffic patterns can also provide an insight into the daily routines and rhythms of the local community in relation to these mom-and-pop shops. 

Maps support decision-making based on evidence

Tables, spreadsheets, charts, and other traditional means of presenting data may not be enough if you want actionable insights. Including maps in your research on how dengue spreads through communities, for example, can instantly show which high-risk areas are in immediate need of intervention such as fumigation and clean-up drives. 

When determining the distribution of hospitals in a region, as with the case of the surgical resident we’ve worked with, the maps we created show which municipalities are underserved in terms of hospital access. This information can then guide the healthcare sector and governments to prioritize building more medical facilities in these areas. Health departments can also use this data to allocate funding, mobile clinics, and medical staff to fill in the gaps. 

You can track geographical changes over time

Maps are essential if your research aims to explore geographic correlations over time. For instance, if you’re tracking the impact of deforestation across several regions over the course of 10 years, using maps can clearly reveal geographic changes that have been happening. This can guide concerned institutions in formulating specific interventions per location instead of developing a one-size-fits-all solution. If illegal logging is the root cause of deforestation in one area, then lawmakers and environmental organizations can design solutions addressing that particular issue. 

Mapping can also identify boundaries, such as indigenous lands and agricultural zones, and serve as a tool in safeguarding these. You can also monitor how effective interventions are by tracking forest growth using satellite imageries. 

While presenting data in tables, graphs, and charts are still a crucial part of research, maps can add another layer of spatial context. It’s now easier to retain and understand facts and findings that are otherwise challenging to visualize, making your research more effective.