How to map your statistical data in AxioMap

Click on a variable in the box you see at the top of the left frame. The map to the right will display colors reflecting this variable's values and a legend box will appear. Click another variable, and the map coloring will immediately reflect that variable's values.

If the variable names are long in a particular dataset, the border of the left frame will extend accordingly. However, you can also extend the left frame manually, by dragging the frame boundary to the right with your mouse. Once inside the variable selection box, you can also use arrow keys to select a variable for mapping.

Additional possibilities

• Select a different set of variables: click the drop-down box immediately above the list of variables and select another variable set. These different datasets can physically reside on different Web servers.
  
  
• Change classification method and number of intervals: click the OPTIONS button, to display map settings form below the buttons. Under "Classification", select either "Equal Intervals" or "Quantiles" method, and the desired number of intervals (from 2 to 9). You can also choose to display your map in color (default) or in grayscale.
  The map and the legend will be immediately redrawn. With the "Equal Intervals" method, the map will be shaded so that each interval spans an equal range of variable values. The "Quantiles" method orders mapping units (states, census tracts, etc.) by variable values, and groups them so that each interval has approximately an equal number of mapping units in it.
  Choosing the right classification method is not always easy. Maps can look very different with different methods. For example, if distribution is skewed (the case with most social-economic variables), quantiles will in most cases produce a more "colorful" map. Think about the purpose of your map and the message you want to communicate when you select a classification technique.
  
  
• Re-position the annotation and/or the map legend. Simply click on the annotation box, or a legend box, and move the mouse. When you click again, the annotation or legend will be released and remain in the new position.
  
  
• Examine variable values for individual map units. When you keep the cursor over an area of the map, a label showing the name of the area and value of the current variable will appear. The same information is displayed in the status bar.
  

• Compose and map a new variable. Click the Compose button, and notice that a Compose Variable dialog box will appear below. In this form, you can specify an operation (add, subtract, multiply, divide), and a second variable to be used in the formula. For example, to map the proportion of Non-Hispanic White Population, select "Divide" as operation and "Population" as the second variable, while "Non-Hispanic White Population" is selected as your primary variable.  To map crime rate, select "Divide" as operation and "Population" as secondary variable, while "Absolute number of crimes" is selected as the primary variable. The variable name or formula will appear in the legend or in the map header. Note that the first and the second variables in the formula may come from different datasets.

  
  

• Save a new variable. If you want to construct more complex indices involving more than two variables, you may need to temporarily save the variable you are seeing on the map, and use it in further calculations. To do this, click on the "Save Variable" button. A window will open where you can modify the variable name if necessary. After you save the derived variable, it will be available under the <<Saved Variables>> dataset, as shown in the following picture.