How to Use the Query Data Tool

Use the Query Data Tool to identify geographic areas that meet, exceed, or fall below data thresholds of your choosing. In addition, the Query Data Tool serves as a means of converting Map Room data into tabular form, downloadable as a .CSV file. This tool is available to all SparkMap users.

1

Select a Layer to Query

2

Run Your Query

3

Explore and Export Your Queried Data

Step 1 – Select a Layer to Query

The Query Data Tool is only accessible once you add a map layer to the Map Room.

Once you’ve added the map layer from which you wish to download data, there are two ways to access the Tool. First, you can click the ellipses next to the data info button in the Map Room Legend (Figure 1). Or, click the “Tools” button in the left menu and scroll to the Query Data heading (Figure 2). Either way you access the tool, the following steps will be the same.

Query data location in map legend pane
Figure 1 – Query Data Tool selection in legend
Red arrow on map room interface pointing to Query Data
Figure 1 – Query Data Tool selected in Tools panel

Step 2 – Run Your Query

The first drop down menu will let you choose the field you’d like to query (Figure 3). When you click the drop down, a list of your map layer’s data attributes will populate.  

For example, the “Public Charter Schools” map layer contains data on each school’s name, school district, grade levels, school type, operational status, number of students, and more.  

You cannot query every attribute of a map layer simultaneously – this would produce an overwhelming amount of information!  

Instead, click to select one field in which you are interested, such as the total number of students. 

Query data tool with attributes including school name and total number of students
Figure 3 – Field Options for “Public Charter Schools, NCES CCD 2022-2023” layer

Once you select your field, the operator drop down options may change depending on your selection. They might read “contains” or “equals,” or they might provide a set of symbols (=, >, <).  

Select the appropriate word or symbol from the “Select Operator” dropdown and enter your value of choice (Figure 4).

As the questions you ask change, the field and operator you choose to query will change. See the two examples below.

Example 1: If I am looking for elementary schools in my area, I would select “Grade levels” as my field, press the “contains” button, and then type “elementary” in the following space.  

Example 2: If I am looking for schools in my area with less than 200 students, I would select “Total students” as my field, press the < button, and then type “200” in the following space (Figure 4).

Press the “Run Query” button to run your query.

Filter box showing filter is for schools with less than 200 total students
Figure 4 – Query Data tool set to identify public charter schools with less than 200 students

Step 3 – Explore and Export Your Queried Data

The locations within view of your map that meet the requirements set in your query will now be identified (Figure 5).

Map of Florida with charter school locations in blue and charter schools with less than 200 students highlighted in purple
Figure 5 – Map displaying queried data. All dots with a purple border mark a public charter school with less than 200 students.

To view the queried data visible on your map in tabular form, select the “View data” button (Figure 6).  

Query data box with view data button highlighted
Figure 6 – “View data” button

The attribute table will appear on the right side of your map (Figure 7). To export your attribute table as .CSV file, select the “Export CSV” button. 

Query result table showing information for the first school that met the <200 student enrollment criteria
Figure 7 – Queried data table