Geographic information systems link data to a place, and most importantly, answers questions that researchers ask of it. The software, which is widely used by government and industry, is now available for use by anyone at Brown
Brown researchers hope that someday health departments and other researchers will routinely rely on a more accurate way to examine illnesses across socioeconomic status. That is an aim of a project being conducted by Sally Zierler, professor of bio-med community health.
A new tool is helping Zierler and her collaborators at Harvard to prove that health statistics are more useful if looked at in small neighborhoods rather than larger ZIP code areas. The tool is software called geographic information systems (GIS). It links data to a place, and most importantly, answers questions that researchers ask of it.
GIS also provides a visual representation of the data, said GIS director Lynn Carlson, who oversees the GIS lab in MacMillan Hall equipped with the $25,000-per-year software and 10 computer terminals open round-the-clock for student use. The software, which is widely used by government and industry, is now available for use by anyone at Brown.
Most often, students find out about the software from others who have used it. Carlson gives one-on-one training as well as group sessions. Next year, she will teach a course on the subject, working with a professor in each student's discipline to create a way to tailor the software to their research.
Zierler says that the U.S. Census has already done the hard work of collecting the information about neighborhoods. Now, it is up to her research group to show that it's more accurate to look at small census blocks of about 1,000 people rather than what has historically been used: large census tracts and ZIP codes. Providence's East Side is home to both rich and poor, Zierler points out, so it may not provide accurate information when researchers look at which populations carry the burden of illnesses such as cancer or low birth weight.
"That is what the GIS software is so great for. We link it with census data rich in characteristics," said Zierler, whose research focuses on Rhode Island and Massachusetts.
The software can be used to look at any geographic area. At Brown, GIS has been used by graduate and undergraduate students mapping beetle populations in the rain forest, species distribution in Narragansett Bay, artifacts at the Great Temple at Petra, Jordan; land use near the Great Salt Pond on Block Island; and geological features on the surfaces of Mars and Venus.
Environmental science students used the software to look at data about children who had tested positive for lead poisoning. Once the data was entered, students asked the software to show which houses on a map had various lead levels.
Carlson is also working with the Rockefeller Library to put census data on all Rhode Island towns on the Web so that students can have quick access to statistics.
Supporters of the software in government and industry say GIS will become more important as society needs to increase its study of changes in such areas as population, natural resources and economics.