Hands-on Lab:

Mapping Your

Research

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©2025 Fordham University

Fordham Information Technology

Educational Technologies

www.fordham.edu/edtech

January 6 - 10 2025

Mapping Your Research

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Research > Spreadsheet > Map

Why create a spreadsheet from your research material?

• Visualize what you have found
• Map
• Network analysis
• Graph (trends or distributions)
• See the negative space
• Engage in distant (vs. close) reading of texts

Why should spreadsheets be in your scholarly toolkit?

• We have evolved to value and prioritize the visual
• Text is awesome, but we are visual creatures

Preparing to Work With Data:

Research Workflow

• Does your subject matter change?
• Time
• Space

Preparing to Work With Data:

Research Workflow

• Your research workflow should include recording (in a spreadsheet!) each time you encounter something you might want to map
• Who or What?
• Where?
• When?
• Other variables?

Research Example

(Heather Hill)

Why a Spreadsheet?

• It is significantly easier to work with than a (relational) database
• Databases are for large-scale and long-term collections of data
• Big-Data requires a database
• Mapping applications use spreadsheets
• Mapping projects based on databases still have to begin by exporting the database data into a spreadsheet

Once You Have Location Information in a Spreadsheet, You Can Begin

Before You Begin:

Data Visualization

Should do 3 Things

1. Enrich your understanding of your material
2. Inform your argument when you publish
3. Enhance your readers’ understanding

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Let’s Map

1. Create a Datawrapper.de account
2. Chart, Map, or Table

Data Visualization

Should do 3 Things

• Enrich your understanding of your material
• Inform your argument when you publish
• Enhance your readers’ understanding

Mapping Your Research

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Research > Spreadsheet > Map

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Shawn Hill - shill18@fordham.edu