For this week’s blog, I have decided to create a tutorial on how to use a very useful app under ArcGIS, called ArcGIS Survey123. While we covered using solely the “Map” interface under ArcGIS in class, we never covered what it was like using ArcGIS apps, and in performing my final project for this class, I became very familiar with Survey123. This app is spectacular because it allows you to create a survey form that can be taken by anyone, and using that data pulled from the survey, these results will compile into a map ready to be further manipulated. For a digital humanities project, this can be especially useful for collecting location based information like historical sites, landmarks, or any specific items tied to specific places. By mapping these responses, we can visualize patterns, and spatial relationships connected to geography in ways that make data easier to explore and interpret. So once again, while we are still using ArcGIS for mapping similar to class, it’s app, Survey123, is a tool we never used that can greatly support digital humanities projects, just like the project I am working on right now for my final assignment.
Here are steps on how to use it:
Step 1:
Go to Carleton’s ArcGIS website (https://carleton.maps.arcgis.com/home/index.html) and click on the apps icon in the top right, and select the Survey123 app.
Step 2:
Once in Survey123, it will take you to a page with previously existing surveys from the past. In order to create your own, you must click “+New survey” in the top left corner.
Step 3:
From there, it will take you to a page where you can choose the type of survey you are creating. Survey123 provides multiple options for creating a new survey depending on what you want to make. The Blank survey option allows you to create a survey from scratch where you design all of the questions and structure yourself. The Survey123 assistant uses an AI-powered tool that helps generate and design a survey through prompts you give. The Template survey option lets you start with a pre-built template that already contains common questions that can then be edited and customized. The Feature layer option creates a survey connected to an existing feature layer so you can collect new data or update data that’s already been stored in an ArcGIS dataset. And lastly, Survey123 Connect opens the desktop application where you can build more advanced surveys through a XLSForm spreadsheet.
Step 4:
When you have chosen which survey you would like to make, you can then customize it to your needs! For example, for my final presentation, I used a Blank survey to create a survey form from scratch to track plants across the Carleton campus. In my form below, you can see I included a location map tracker, which allowed me to capture plants I found in specific buildings and record their coordinates. These coordinates are then translated perfectly onto the map, allowing me to compile the many different plants all over Carleton! Additionally, I used the addition of Singleline text in order to allow Relevant Plant Information to be relayed in the form. And lastly, I also used the Single select Choice option to allow the form to display a multiple choice question that answers what color the plant is. Through this, we can see clear examples of the types of questions that can be asked on the form to get data for the creation of maps!
Step 5:
This is an example of a map that is created once you fill out your prepared ArcGIS Survey123! This can be super helpful if you are trying to use collected data to create a visual map. In the map below, we see all the dots recorded as locations of specific plants across campus, and you can also click on those dots to see all other recorded data aspects about that them was filled out from the survey. Moreover, just like in class, once you have this baseline that has been created from Survey123, you can go wild in creating your map like we did in class! But this translation of collecting data from a survey is an incredibly useful tool that can certainly be used in many digital humanities projects.
If you are interested in learning more about ArcGIS Survey123, here are two more resources:
(1. Website and 2. Youtube Video)
This is a strong tutorial that clearly explains what ArcGIS Survey123 is and why it is useful for digital humanities projects. I like how you walk through each step and include your plant-mapping example, which helps show how the tool works in practice. You might also briefly mention how users share the survey with others to collect responses.
I know that I am in your group Brandon, but I was still confused on how to do this in arcGIS. This mapping is very important and can serve as a wonderful tool in many humanities projects. The amount of information we can get on just one small surgery is amazing! I am excited to see how this can make our project much better and we keep learning how to utilize it this tool.
This was a really descriptive and thorough presentation of the website! I like how you uploaded images of the website, as thats usually the hardest part of following tutorials. I can see this website being used in many applications, such as clinical research, or data keeping for companies and programs. I remember at the start of the year, seeing where everyone was from on the survey, and really liking that form of data vis!
This tutorial is specifically very useful for mapping survey data, but also opened me up to a great way of making surveys! I’ve never realized that ArcGIS has this tool so it could be a good alternative to Google Forms. Despite that, I like the clear arrows showing exactly where to go to get to the survey, and the detailed descriptions you write for how to employ your specific use of this tool.
This is a fantastic tutorial! I never realized that the Survey123 could connect so easily with the ArcGIS tools we already use in class. Using it to track plants around the Carleton campus is a nice way to show how spatial data collection works out in the real world. The step by step screenshots make the whole process super easy to follow. I can definitely see how this would be useful for gathering crowd sourced data for future projects!
Great tutorial on this useful tool! ArcGIS has so many different features, and I loved learning about this one through your informative work. It was very easy to follow, and I can see how helpful it would be for many projects. I wish I’d known about it earlier, as I’m sure I could have done some of my work in Survey123 rather than creating a new spreadsheet with my data points and having to find the specific coordinates myself.
Wow, I honestly had no idea that ArcGIS had the capabilities to do something like this. It makes sense given the fact that it deals with many things that are coordinate and map-based, but I think this is particularly useful. I think it would be cool to apply this tool to different types of research projects to see how location affects certain variables. I also thought your example of tracking plants across campus was a good demonstration of how the data collection actually works in practice.
Your tutorial does a really good job of explaining how ArcGIS Survey123 can expand on what we normally do. I especially like how you connected it to digital humanities projects, collecting location-based data through surveys is a creative way to build maps from the real-world. The step-by-step instructions also make the process easy to follow. Your example of tracking plants around the Carleton campus is a great demonstration of how survey responses translate directly into mapped points with additional information attached.