Want to incorporate a map or a timeline into your research paper or project? Looking for a tool that you can use to organize your research or creative work by places or periods of time? There are quite a few different options. Here are a few tools that are great for getting started and exploring the possibilities.

Google My Maps

Google’s “My Maps” feature lets you quickly add simple text and images to a map. You can drop specific points on a map, draw shapes to define regions, and even draw lines to define routes.

To get started:

1. Sign in to your google or g.ucla.edu account.

2. Go to http://maps.google.com

3. Click on the menu icon in the top left of the screen (to the left of the search box). Then select “My Maps” from the menu.

4. Create your map! You can use the toolbar to navigate and add information to your map.

5. Click the “share” icon to share your work and invite collaborators to help you with your project.

Mapbox

If you’re looking for a little more control over the look and feel of your map, you might want to try mapbox. It has many of the same features that you’ll find in Google My Maps, but offers a bit more customization. Note that including images, like the one below, requires that you use a little bit of html coding.

To get started:

1. Set up an account at http://mapbox.com

2. Use the toolbar at the top of the page to set the background style for the map, and add your data (i.e., the map points, regions, text, and images). When you are ready, use the “Project” icon to share your map project with others!

Timeline js

More interested in organizing your ideas along a timeline? Try out Timeline js to quickly put together a timeline incorporating text, images, and video.

To get started:

1. Visit https://timeline.knightlab.com

2. Check out the example timeline: Women in Computing, at the top of the page, for an overview of the features available in Timeline js.

3. Click the Make a Timeline button at the top of the page. It will walk you through the steps of setting up a Google Spreadsheet, based on a well organized template, that will serve as a source for your timeline data.

4. When you’re ready, use the embed code to include the timeline you have created on your own site, or use the preview link to share your work.

Looking for more?

Google’s My Maps, Mapbox, and Timeline js are just three of many digital research tools you can use to share and communicate your work using maps and timelines. If you’re looking for a greater degree of customization, take a look at Tyler Dahlberg’s step-by-step tutorial on creating story maps with Odyssey.js (you can see some additional examples of Odyssey.js in action on the cartodb blog. If you’re familiar with Omeka (or would like to be) another interesting option is Neatline, an Omeka plug-in that offers some very interesting options for maps and timelines.

To find more, check out UCLA Library's Geographic Information Systems (GIS) Research Guide or set up a consultation with one of our mapping specialists in the library.

Have a map or timeline based project you would like to share? Let us know! We are very interested in learning more about how instructors and students at UCLA are thinking about time and space in their projects. If you are an instructor that is looking to do a project like this in one of your courses, let us know if you would like to set up a consultation!

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A note of gratitude - The idea for this blog post - and all of the real thinking, technologies, and resources - came from Andy Rutkowski, Dawn Childress, and Dr. Sara Torres as we discussed her very interesting course, English 179R - New York City.