Data Map (US) Example 1

Data Maps support the display of numeric or categorical data for the United States (states and territories). Users can view data for a specific location by selecting the location on the map (Viewports 4, 3, and 2 only) or by viewing the associated data table. Users may also filter data by selecting the legend categories and sort data using the column headings in the data table. The Data Map works in both the English and Spanish templates (based on the page Language setting).

When to Use

• You want to display numeric or categorical data for the United States such as prevalence of a specific disease, case counts for an outbreak, or percentage of adults in a health program.

When to Consider Something Else

• You want to allow users to navigate to different pages by location, but have no data to display for the locations to be color-coded. See Navigation Maps.

Other Guidance

• Legend Categories for Numeric Data Maps: The data map offers several display options that can affect a map user’s perception of the data story. For example, the equal-number (quantile) classification schema places the states into data classes of the same size. The equal-interval schema divides the numeric range into subranges of equal size. (The second classification type is good for showing outliers.) To determine the best options for a data map, you should work closely with the content owner to ensure that the map conveys the intended story about public health data. This may require educating the content owner about the data map options available in the WCMS. For more information on data classification and other data map options, see the user guide[PDF - 389 KB].
• Color Palette: Consider the data being displayed when making a decision about the direction of the color ramp (i.e., whether highest or lowest values are darkest). Often darker colors are associated with a negative health outcome – the “worst case” or “something bad”. For example, “higher percentages of smokers” would be shown in a darker colors and “higher percentages of adults in a smoking cessation program” would be shown in lighter colors.

Before inserting a data map into a page, you must build the reusable map content item. (From the WCMS content browser, click New Content and select Data Map as the content type.) Completing this content type requires creation of a data file.  For details, refer to the user guide[PDF - 389 KB].

Once you have created and saved the map content item, you can insert it into Visual Composer or a WYSIWYG body field.