PrintUnlike reference maps, thematic maps are usually made with a single purpose in mind. Typically, that purpose has to do with revealing the spatial distribution of one or two attribute data sets.
In this section, we will consider distinctions among three types of ratio level data, counts, rates, and densities. We will also explore several different types of thematic maps, and consider which type of map is conventionally used to represent the different types of data. We will focus on what is perhaps the most prevalent type of thematic map, the choropleth map. Choropleth maps tend to display ratio level data which have been transformed into ordinal level classes. Finally, you will learn two common data classification procedures, quantiles and equal intervals.