Using Bubble Plots to Aid in Extension Program Planning.

One vital component to every good extension program is to have a good mailing list of your clientele. Mailing lists are a great way to send information to clientele about research, field days, or upcoming educational events. The objective of this project was to determine if statistical software and bubble plot graphing could be used to analyze a mailing list in order to better plan future turfgrass educational programs in Arkansas and to maximize impact. A mailing list was compiled and data were imported in to JMP 7.0 statistical software (SAS Institute Inc.) where it was analyzed to count the number of clientele per city/town. The resultant output was then merged with longitude and latitude data for each city, and then graphed in a bubble plot. Bubble plots can be created in JMP with up to six dimensions; X, Y, size, ID, color, and time. For this experiment, latitude was the Y component, longitude the X component, city/town was the identification, number of clientele per city/town was the size and color component and the time component was omitted. The final step was to overlay the bubble plot onto an Arkansas state map. The bubble plot map overlay allowed for rapid, easy interpretation of the geographic areas with the greatest number of clientele. Cities with overlapping clientele groups were indicated on the map. Bubble plots provide a graphical way to interpret the data from a mailing list which aids in selecting locations to host future educational events specifically in areas where high clientele populations exist and where impact will be greatest.