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Datamapper: a #MozillaNewsLab final project

Design document

TABLE OF CONTENTS

I. V isionII. GoalsIII. Non-goalsIV . Why now?V . User storyV I. Features V ision

1) Analytics Enginea. Back-endb. Front-end

2) User-friendly mapping framework V II. Challenges and unknownsV III. Initial development pathIX. Definition of success

MAIN DOCUMENT

I. V ision

Datamapper is a curated open-source platform to help journalists geographicallyanalyze local political & economic data,and then to easily create online maps tobring the story behind that data to life

II. Goals

y Allow any journalist on any beat to take a raw data set and turn it into abeautiful visualization

y Simplify data analytics and mapping -- Eliminatethe effort required byeachwriterto aggregate the data points organized by Census tract, zip code,local political boundary, or political district to turn them into something that a readermight understand, like cities or congressional districts

y Simplify visualization -- Removethe need foranadvanced knowledge of datavisualizationframeworks, GIS, KML, Flash/Flex, or any number of otheracronyms

III. Non-goals

y Compete with or attempt to replace established newsroom Flash-basedmapping frameworks

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y Go beyond basic glance-over maps to provide zooming or extensiveinteractivity

IV . Why now?

While text, photo, and video have translated well online, charts and maps havenot, leaving online storytelling weaker compared to traditional print journalism.However, modern web standards (HTML5, jQuery, and S V G)and database andcollaboration technologies can enable such storytelling once again.

V . User story (A day in the life)

Before D atamapp er:

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A f t er:

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The writer then embeds the map in with the story A richer article is born! And, weall win.

V I. Features V ision

1) Analytics EngineCreate a curated, open-source database of linked Census tracts, zip codes,local city and town boundaries, and political districts -- the analytics enginethat would empower visualizations, similar to the way the Music GenomeProject powers Pandora

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a. Back-end - Tools for collaborating among mappers around the world

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b. Front-end simple interface for journalists

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2) User-friendly Mapping Framework Based on modern web standards: HTML5, jQuery, and S V G. Expect to use d3or Polymaps, but can integrate with others

V II. Challenges and unknowns

y Must refine core need: interview journalists (large & small papers) andbloggers

o Is the idea over-engineered? Under-engineered?o Extensive data visualization frameworks seem to be well established

in large newsrooms. Initial priority appears to be the analytical back-end. However, simplifying map creation with d3 or Polymaps for, say,state-level data may offer a quicker win

y Can tap into any institutional resources at the newspapers? Or, are they toostretched and must leverage other infrastructure instead?

o Can leverage some of the pool of existing mapping data from newsorganizations like Th e New York Ti m es and experts from around theworld like Prof. Andrew Beveridge at Queens College?

y How easy can a community of like-minded open-source collaborators becreated?: target Hacks/Hackers and prominent data viz experts for feedback

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y How much effort would be required to cover 40-50% of the use cases?: Speak with developer team leads

V III. Initial development path

Ideally, develop initial platform in time for map apps focused on election 2012

1) Compile existing standard sets of codes (Congressional districts, FIPS, etc.) torefer to locations

2) Introduce time-stamped versions of the datasets: 10006 in 2007 may cover adifferent area than in 2008

3) Work with news visualization experts to resolve areas of ambiguity(Economic data for zipcodes that go beyond city boundaries)

4) Develop a set of tools to enable database updates to be made collaborativelyby local journalism organizations & citizens

5) Enable the database to be extended to regions beyond the U.S.

IX. Definition of success

1) 95% user satisfaction2) Adoption in 25 of the top 50 online newsrooms3) V ibrant open-source community and healthy pace of open source

development

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APPENDIX

Sample Article

Sample Data Inputs

1) Educational test scores

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2) Department of Defense (2008): military casualties by state

3) Campaign finance reform: OpenSecrets.org

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Sample Map Outputs

1) Unemployment by State (NPR Aug 2011)

2) Urban renewal: Strategies for St. Louis Inner City (ICIC 2000)

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3) Gay marriage: Gay Unmarried Partners (Social Explorer)(American Community Survey 2005-09)

4) Hunger and crisis