Mapping 101

Markers display locations of interest on the map.

The markers in this map represent General Practice locations. To assist with map readability, nearby markers are grouped together and displayed with a number corresponding to the number of General Practices represented by the marker.

The amount of grouping also changes depending on whether the map is zoomed out or zoomed in.

The General Practice information is sourced from the National Health Services Directory (NHSD).

Detailed General Practice service details from the NHSD can be accessed by clicking on the markers.

Boundaries display geographic regions, such as Statistical or Administrative areas.

The displayed map represents the Australian Bureau of Statistics boundaries for Commonwealth Electoral Divisions 2011.

For the smaller boundary regions that are difficult to see on the map, configuration options are available to display these smaller regions using markers.

Following are examples of other boundaries, demonstrating some of the configurable display options:

Aged Care Planning Regions
Home and Community Care Planning Regions
Indigenous Regions
Local Hospital Networks
Modified Monash Model
Primary Health Networks
Representative Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Bodies

Choropleth maps display visual representations of data using shading, colours or patterns for defined geographic regions.

Each colour in the Choropleth visualisation represents a range of data values, which are displayed in the map legend.

This map represents the estimated number of Diabetes Mellitus sufferers in Victoria by Local Government Area.

The Choropleth maps can be displayed using other colour schemes without changing the data interpretation. The following examples demonstrate different colour schemes combined with different map background options, green,  blue or purple.

Geo-Bar charts provide another dimension to the visual representation of data on a map, as they display data magnitude independent of region size, colour or quantification choice.

The Geo-Bars support a range of advanced visualisation options, including:

  • Data outliers
  • Confidence intervals
  • Relative error
  • Inverse Geo-Bars to highlight smallest magnitudes

Geo-Bar charts can also be very effective in visualising smaller geographic regions, which can often be overlooked when using choropleth maps. For example, this Choropleth map, displays the Percent of Indigenous Persons. However, smaller geographic regions with high percents can often be difficult to locate.

Yet, when displaying the same data with Geo-Bars, many regions that may have been overlooked with Choropleth maps, are now visually more discernible. For example, regions along the East Coast such as Woorabinda, Cherbourg and Jervis Bay Territory.

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