Working with arrays of data for UFO sightings, to better navigate the findings a webpage was created to display the data in an easy-to-use table capable of fileting the data. Utilizing JavaScript (Bootstrap), HTML, and CSS, UFO sighting data between January 1 and January 13, 2010, was imported into a table on a webpage where you could filter the results by date, city, state, country, and type.
There are varying ways to perform searches on the webpage, that are outlined below:
- One way to search and filter the data is to use specific dates. You can find the ‘Filter Search’ on the bottom left hand of the webpage, where the first search parameter is by ‘Date.’ You can see this tool in Image 1 and results by 'Date' for January 10, 2010 in Image 2.
Image 1: "Filter Search" box
Image 2: Search results for UFO sightings on January 10, 2010.
- One key thing to make note of is that when entering your search parameters, the case sensitivity is important. In Image 3, you can see that when typing “CA” no results are returned, yet when you use a lowercase “ca,” then results for California are returned. You can see these results in Image 4.
Image 3: Using uppercase "CA" to search for California in state search.
Image 4: Using lowercase "ca" to search for California in state search.
- The other search parameters include city, state, country, and type. Using the ‘Type’ parameter you can choose different shapes that were reported with the UFO sightings. These include circle, light, triangle, sphere, oval, chevron, and even unknown. In the image above, Image 4, the shape parameter was a circle, yet in Image 5, you can see the data filtered by the triangle filter.
Image 4: Results for "Triangle" for Shape search.
Having a webpage and tool that allows people to search and filter data is a great tool to have available. This webpage helped make UFO sighting data more accessible for others. However, there are some drawbacks and areas that could use some improvement for this webpage.
Drawbacks
-One obvious drawback is the usability of the ‘Filter Search’ box. All parameters must be typed and are case-sensitive. Unless you know specifically what you are looking for and how to search for it, this tool is not user-friendly.
Recommendations
-One recommendation would be to utilize a drop-down menu for each parameter, to make UFO sighting searches easier to use and return more accurate results. This can create a lesser chance of human error.
-Another recommendation would be to expand the data set used for UFO sightings. With an established webpage, table, and search box, more data could be imported and included. This could be a longer timeline, more countries, cities, and even a search by keyword.