Assignment 4

Create a COVID-19 Dashboard

Create a web app in ArcGIS Online that uses layer styles to communicate geographic information. Use different symbols, shapes, colors, or sizes to represent a dataset, and publish the map in a web app that gives the audience tools to explore the data.

As an example, this exercise will roughly re-create the COVID-19 Dashboard launched by Johns Hopkins University (JHU) as it was in January 2021. Since its inception, the dashboard and its mobile version have received more than a billion views.

An ArcGIS Online Dashboard is a template for a web app that uses panels to display different information as text, maps, graphs, images, or other media. It is useful for a topic like a COVID-19 where several metrics are needed to portray different aspects of the pandemic.

Data

Our COVID-19 dashboard will use multiple datasets created by the JHU team.

• Point data - The Coronavirus COVID-19 Cases V2 item in the ArcGIS Online Living Atlas contains three layers we’ll use. Here they are along with the relevant attributes.
  • Cases (points) - records of territories (countries, regions, states, provinces, counties) with the number of confirmed COVID-19 cases, cases that recovered, deaths, and the last date the numbers were updated.
  • Cases_country (points) - like Cases but only for countries, and it also has the incidence rate (cases per 100,000 population) and mortality (ratio of deaths to cases)
  • Cases_state (points) - like Cases but for US states
• Table data - We’ll use another item to build a chart. It is deprecated and could be discontinued at any time, but it has the daily mortality needed for the chart.
  • Cases_time - contains columns for daily recorded deaths and new confirmed cases

Here is the plan of attack for where the data will be displayed in dashboard panels. You can compare it to the working example at the top of the page.

Layout of the dashboard labeled with where the layers will be used.

Steps

Since we are using layers already in ArcGIS Online, we can get started building the map that will be the basis of our dashboard. Here are the steps.

• Part 1: Create a Map
• Part 2: Create a Dashboard App
• Try it
• Submit

Part 1: Create a Map

1. Sign into ArcGIS Online and open Map Viewer Classic with a new map.

2. Click Add > Search for Layers > ArcGIS Online and search for Coronavirus COVID-19 Cases V2 owner:CSSE_covid19. Click + to add the result to the map. Repeat the search for Nc2JKvYFoAEOFCG5JSI6 owner:PD_EsriLAWResponse and again click + to add it, then click the back arrow.
   

3. We only need the layers listed below. Click the More Options button on the unnecessary layers and Remove them. Only show (check the box) for the Cases layer.
   • Coronavirus COVID-19 Cases V2 - Cases
   • Coronavirus COVID-19 Cases V2 - Cases_country
   • Coronavirus COVID-19 Cases V2 - Cases_state
   • Nc2JKvYFoAEOFCG5JSI6 - Cases_time
     

4. Click the Change Style icon on the Cases layer and under Choose an attribute to show, choose Confirmed. Under Select a drawing style, click Options.

5. You can change the symbols however you think best communicates the information, or stick to the JHU map settings:
   

6. Now choose a basemap that highlights the symbols you chose. Streets (Night) is used here.

7. Zoom out and pan the map to show the entire world, the click Save and fill out the details to save a new map item to your Content.

The map is now complete and ready to be added to a dashboard.

Part 2: Create a Dashboard App

During this part of the assignment, feel free to take creative liberties with the style and design instead of copying the JHU map.

1. With your map open in the Map Viewer, click Share, select Everyone, and then Create a Web App.

2. Click the ArcGIS Dashboards tab and click Done with the same details as the map. The dashboard will start in Edit Mode, showing by default a full-page map.

3. Click the gear icon on the left sidebar and change the theme to Dark. Near the gear icon, note the button for Layout, which will be used to add panels, and the Save icon, which you should click after making any major changes to your dashboard.

4. Click the Layout button, then the Header tab, then Add header. In the header options, for Logo Type click Icon and browse for an appropriate graphic and color. Click Done.

5. Under the Body tab, click Add element, Indicator, and choose the Cases layer. Set the following:
   • Data Options > Statistic > Sum, Field > Confirmed
   • Indicator Options > Top Text > type Global Cases
   • General Options > Name > type Global Cases. Turn off Last Update Text if it is on.
   • Done
   • Save The new panel will be huge, but just leave it that size for now.
6. Add a List and choose the Cases_country layer. Set the following.
   • Data Options > Sort By > Confirmed, Descending
   • List Options > Line Item Template > type {Confirmed} {Country_Region}. Set Line Item Icon > None
   • General Options, for Title and Name type Cases by Country.
   • Done
   • Save
     The list panel now also appears rather large, next to the indicator.
      

7. You can access panel settings by moving your mouse pointer over the top left corner of the panel to reveal a blue bar, which includes the Drag Item button. On the indicator panel (Global Cases), click the Drag Item button in the blue bar and drag the indicator panel over the list panel. Drop it on the top + icon. The indicator panel should now be above the list, near the top of the dashboard.
   

8. Move your mouse over the vertical divider between the indicator and the map, and drag the divider left to make the left column (indicator and list) more narrow, and make the map column wider. You can do the same with the horizontal divider between the indicator and list.

9. Add another indicator and choose the Cases layer for the data.
   • Data Options > Statistic > Sum, Field > Deaths
   • Indicator Options > Top Text > type Global Deaths
   • General Options > Name > type Global Deaths.
   • Done
   • Save
      
10. Add another List and choose the Cases_country layer. Set the following:
    • Data Options > Sort By > Deaths, Descending
    • List Options > Line Item Template > type {Deaths} {Country_Region}. Set Line Item Icon > None
    • General Options > Name > type Deaths by Country.
    • Done
    • Save
       

11. The global death indicator and the list of country death totals now appear side by side. Move the indicator above the list, but this time hold the Shift key before dropping the indicator at the top position. The two panels are now grouped. Drag the group to the position right of the map. Adjust the vertical and horizontal dividers to fit the content.

12. Add a Serial Chart panel and choose the Cases_time table.
    • Data Options > Filter > Last Update is within the last 200 days.
      This prevents the app from reaching a data limit. If it seems slow, try decreasing to 150 days.
    • Data Options > Category Field > Last Update; Statistic > Sum; Field > Delta Confirmed
    • Category Axis > Title > Daily Cases
    • General Options > Name > type Daily Cases.
    • Done
    • Save
      You can move and resize the chart appropriately.
       
      Now we have enough panels in the dashboard to start making it more interactive so the audience can explore the data. Let’s make it so they can click a country in the Cases by Country list and have the map, chart, and list of death totals show only the data for that country.
       

13. Move the mouse over the blue options menu for the Cases by Country list and click the gear icon for Configure.

14. Click Actions > Add Action > add both Filter and Pan.

15. Under Filter, click Add Target and add all of:
    • List - Deaths by Country
    • Chart - Daily Cases
    • Map - Cases
    • Set all Source and Target fields to Country/Region

16. Under Pan, click Add Target and add Map (1). Click Done. Now if you click a country in the Cases by Country list, four things should happen: the map pans to the country, and the chart, map symbols, and list of death totals get filtered to only show data for that country. Clicking the country again in the list clears the filters and again shows global data.

17. Save your work and return to your Content page in ArcGIS Online. You will have a new Dashboard item. Click it to go to its Item Details page and fill in the metadata.

Try it

1. Make a new map showing the percentage of positive cases who died from COVID-19, and the number of positive cases per 100,000 people. Hint: Save your first map as a new map (Save As, then choose a new name) and show only the Cases_country layer, using both Mortality_rate and Incident_rate for the style. This would let you, for example, represent how widespread the virus is with the size of the circles, and how deadly it is with the color.
   
2. Add the new map to your dashboard.
3. Add a new chart to the dashboard showing the deaths per day.
4. Update the actions of the Cases by Country list so when a country is clicked, the new chart and map react to the click (filter layers, pan map).
5. (Optional) Add a panel showing cases for US state-level information, such as cases, deaths, or recoveries, as pictured in the example at the top of the page.

Submit

1. The URL to the Item Details page of your dashboard app. Example: https://www.arcgis.com/home/item.html?id=ABC123 or https://arcg.is/ABC123