Computer Concepts in Action ©2009

Unit 6: Databases

Nature on a Rampage

Introduction
The Task
Process
Guidance
Resources

Introduction

You have become interested in the power of nature as displayed in natural disasters. One of your teachers has noticed your interest. She has asked you to help her with a research project. You are to gather information about natural disasters, design a database (in Microsoft Access) to hold the information, and answer questions based on the information you have gathered. You will gather information on 6 natural disaster events.

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The Task

You will research information about three of the following types of nature disasters: hurricanes, volcanoes, tornadoes, or earthquakes. Below is a brief description of each of your tasks for this WebQuest:

Task 1: Explore and Take Notes
As a natural disaster researcher, your first task is to gather factual information from different sources.

Task 2: Organize and Design your Database
Your next task is to organize your research findings and design a database for the information. You will develop your initial design using paper and pencil, note cards, or even sticky notes.

Task 3: Design your Table in Access
Next, you will use your database design sketches to create the table for your database in Access.

Task 4: Complete the Database
Finally your will enter your research findings into the database, create a report, and, with your teacher’s permission, post your database on the Internet.

The Process section below has a detailed description of each task. Also, the Guidance section has some helpful hints, and the Resource section has useful Web sites for you to use.

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Process

When you write an article based on research, your process can be broken into several steps. Before you start, decide on three nature disasters types you wish to research:

Hurricane
Volcano
Tornado
Earthquake
Wildfire
Avalanche
Tsunami
Landslide
Typhoon

List each type of disaster you have chosen on a separate index card. This will help you as you take notes.

Task 1: Explore and Take Notes
A good researcher uses several different sources. If you use only one source, the information you find may be too limited or too slanted in one direction (this is called bias, and good researchers try to avoid bias). You may use the URLs in the Resource section below for your research or find print or Internet sources of your own.

As you investigate, ask yourself the following questions about each disaster:

What type of disaster is it?
Where did it happen?
What caused it to happen?
When did it happen?
How severe was the damage? Rate the severity on a scale of 1 to 5, 5 being the most severe. For help on rating natural disasters, see Guidance below.

You will search at least three Web sites and review the information from each site carefully. When you explore, think about the material you are reading. Ask yourself what the information tells you. Make notes about what you learn from each source.

As you research information, you will need to make notes about what you find out. If your teacher allows, print the page(s) for your research files. Otherwise, take detailed notes including the site URL, the author, the date you visited the site, and any other information you may find useful. And remember—it is a form of plagiarism to copy any text directly, unless you say that it is a quote, and cite the source.

For extra help on how to take good notes, go to Guidance below.

Task 2: Organize and Design your Database
Your research notes now need to be organized into a table design. It can be tempting to start working with Access right away, but planning on paper first can save you time in the long run. If you just start working in Access too soon, you may find that you will have to spend many hours revising your work.

Before you start designing on paper, determine what questions you want your database to answer, such as:

Which earthquakes (or other disaster) were the most severe?
Where do most earthquakes (or other disaster) happen?
Where can I find more information about a particular hurricane (or other disaster)?

The answers to these questions will give you an idea of the fields you may want to include in your first table. Use this list to help you define your fields:

Type of disaster (earthquake, hurricane, tornado, or volcano)
Name of the disaster
When it happened
Where it happened
Number of deaths
Degree of severity (assign a number from 1 to 5, 5 being most severe)
URLs for additional information

Feel free to add any other fields you find interesting or valuable.

Sketch out what your Access table will look like, using paper and pencil. Or you might want to create your table using sticky notes so you can easily move items around and see what the best table design would be. Think about what filters you would create to find the answers to your questions above, and see if what you have designed will give you the results you want.

For help on database design, refer to the Guidance section.

Task 3: Design Your Table in Access
Finally, it is time to open Access and apply the design.Based on your paper design, create your first table in Design View and assign field names to the categories you want the database to include. Some examples of field names are included in the table below. Listing them in a table is a good way to determine your field names. Design your Access table using the following structure:

Figure 1, Table Structure

CATEGORY	FIELD NAME
Type of disaster	Type
Name of the disaster
When it happened
Where it happened	Location
Degree of severity
Number of deaths
URLs for additional information
Picture, video, or other graphic if available

Once you have decided on the structure of your table, create it in Access. Your table could look like the one below.

Figure 2, Sample Table

Refine Your Table Design
Before you enter all your research data into the table, make sure the table is designed as it should be. Enter only 2 or 3 records into your table. Try out some filters for specific information to see if the table is well-structured:

Filter for a specific natural disaster with a severity greater than 3.
Filter for a specific natural disaster, date, and location.
Filter for a specific natural disaster and URL.

Do these work for you? Try others to see if the information the filters give you is useful.

Evaluate Your Database
As you try out your database, you may discover that it needs improvement. Here are some things to look for:

Did you include all the fields that you need?
Does your table contain the same information in more than one field?
Were you unable to find information for one of the fields? You may need to delete the field.
Does your table contain too many fields? You may need to delete one or more of the fields.

Task 4: Complete your Database
After you have tested your table using filters on 2 or 3 records, you are ready to complete your database. Follow these steps:

Enter at least 8 records.
Provide filters or sorts for the following:
- The most severe natural disasters (those you rated 3, 4 or 5)
- The location of the most natural disasters
- URLs where you found the information about a particular type of disaster
- The most recent disaster to the earliest.
Create a report using the Report wizard. Title your report, “The Most Severe Disasters.” The report should show:
- The most severe natural disasters (those you rated 3, 4 or 5).
- The date of each disaster.
- The location of each disaster.
- The number of deaths in each disaster.
If your teacher permits, place your database on the Internet. Instructions for converting an Access database for use on the Web are given below under Guidance.

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Guidance

Rating Natural Disasters
You will often see a number associated with a natural disaster. For example, you may hear of a 6.2 earthquake. However, natural disasters do not all use the same scale and some do not have a commonly used system:

Hurricanes are rated by assigning numbers from 1 to 5, with 5 as the most severe.
Earthquakes are typically rated on the Richter scale, which ranges from 1 to 9.
Tornadoes are rated according to wind speed. The most common scale, the Fujita Scale, ranges from F0 to F6.

So, unless you decide to populate your database with only one kind of natural disaster, you will have to change the numbers. To simplify matters for your database, use a scale of 1 to 5 for degree of severity: with 1 as weak, 2 as moderate, 3 as severe, 4 as very severe, and 5 as devastating.

Data Types in Access
When you create an Access table in Design View, Data Type fields are used to define the characteristics of each Field Name that you enter. You can choose from the following Data Type fields as you create your table. Be sure to use the right Data Type field for the type of data you will enter in the table.

The Text field can contain numbers. If you choose to list only the year for the date, you can use a text field.
The Number field contains numbers with or without a decimal point. If you choose to include arithmetic calculations, you can use a number field.
The Date/Time field can contain dates and times. Data used in a Date/Time field can be used in date and time calculations.
The AutoNumber field automatically assigns consecutive numbers to each new record, and is often used as the primary key.
The Yes/No field is known as a logical field. You can also assign “True” or “False” to the data in this field.
The Hyperlink Data Type holds the URL of a Web page or a document. The user can click to display the hyperlinked object. NOTE: if you wish to make corrections to a hyperlink in Access, you need to press the F2 Function Key. Otherwise, you will be jumped to the linked page.

Steps to Follow When Creating Your Database
When you begin to create the table, do not worry if things are not perfect at the start. You can refine it as you continue working. The important thing to remember is to have a strong design on paper first. Then, create your table in Access. Check your work before entering too much data. Make changes if needed as you create the table or enter data. The important thing is for the database to work. You should be able to filter to find the information you want.

Decide on the purpose of your database. You need to research information and decide which facts you wish to enter in Access. (Tip: Start out with paper. Then try it out with sticky notes.)
Decide what fields you need. Decide on the categories of information you want to include in your table(s). Each category of information in a table is displayed in a column and is called a field. For example, one field in a natural disasters table could be Name, and another could be Type.

Figure 3, Fields in the Table
Improve your design. Check your database for any errors. Do you get the results you want? Analyze and refine your work until it gives you the best results.

Tip: Remember, if you delete a field, you will lose all the information you entered into that field. Also, if you change a field’s data type, you may also lose data. For example, if you change a Text field to a Number field, only number characters are retained. You will loose all the text characters.

Placing Your Database on the Web

Reports in Access can be placed on the Internet or local Intranet. When you have completed your database and tested it, you may wish to place it on your school’s Web site, if your teacher permits. To create data access pages, follow these steps:

In the database window click Pages, and then click New.
In the New Data Access Page dialog box, click Page Wizard, and then click OK. The Page Wizard dialog box will appear.
Under Table/Queries, choose the table you wish to appear on the Web.
Choose the fields you want to appear on the Web. Move them to the Selected Fields area using the arrows.
When you are finished selecting the fields, click Next. The Grouping box appears.
If you decide to use a Group, enter it here. Otherwise click Next. The Sort box appears. Click Next to continue past the sorting option.
Click Finish, and enter a name for your page.

To view your page as it will appear in a browser, click View in the menu bar and select Page View. Your new page will appear in your default browser. A navigation bar at the bottom will allow the user to move through the records.

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Resources

FEMA for Kids: The Disaster Area
This site from the Federal Emergency Management Agency is a good introduction to natural disasters.

Volcanoes!
This site at the University of North Dakota is a comprehensive source offering information on current eruptions, movie clips, maps, and much more.

National Geographic: Nature's Fury
This page has links to sources of information on volcanoes, tornadoes, hurricanes, earthquakes, and other natural disasters.

Costiest U.S. Hurricanes 1900-2000
This National Weather Service report lists the nation’s costliest hurricanes from 1900 to 2000.

The Most Intense Hurricanes in the United States: 1900-2000
This National Weather Service report lists the nation’s most intense hurricanes from 1900 to 2000.

USGS Earthquake Hazards Program
The U.S. Geological Survey has a lot of information on earthquake activity all over the world. Click on the “For Kids” tab on the menu bar for games, fun facts and much more.

Tornado Project Online
This site is a good source of information about tornadoes. Go to the link titled “Tornado Top Tens” for a list of the most destructive American tornadoes in history.

To search for more information on the Web go to Google or another search site. Try the keywords “Mt. St. Helens” to search for sources on this volcanic eruption. Try “Mt Vesuvius” to find out about how it destroyed the city of Pompeii, and how it continues to erupt from time to time.

Conclusion

You deserve applause for completing this WebQuest! Your teacher is very pleased with your research listing the details of 8 natural disasters. She is especially pleased with how the report looks on the Internet. Congratulations!