GEO 506
Introduction to Geographic Information Systems
Lecture: Tuesday, Thursday: 2:00 - 3:20
Professor: Douglas Flewelling
Office: 151 Wilkeson
Phone: 645-2722 ext. 38 E-mail: dougf@geog.buffalo.edu
Office Hours: Tuesday/Thursday: 11:00 to 12:00, and by appointment
GEO 506 is an introductory course that covers the development and basic principles of geographic information systems and practical experience in the use of these systems. Geographic information systems cover the technology used to represent observations about the geographic world. The lecture and reading components provide a background on the development of geographic information systems, the organization of such systems and their use. Students will learn to: identify and describe hardware components of a GIS; state differences between databases models; describe and evaluate methods of data capture and sources of data; discuss the nature and characteristics of spatial data; understand typical GIS operations; identify types of GIS products; identify various applications of GIS; and understand differences between raster and vector systems.
The laboratory component of the course provides for direct contact with the analysis of spatial information through the use of the Environmental Systems Research Instituteís ArcGISô desktop GIS.
The course does not require previous course work in computer science, although a familiarity with the fundamentals of computing and familiarity with the Windows NT or Unix operating systems may help.
Outline of Lectures and Readings
What is a system? What is an information system? What makes it geographic?
Origins of Geographic Information Systems
Common applications of GIS
Introduction of key concepts
Overview of the functional components of GIS
Readings
Chapters 1 and 2 in Chrisman
Unwin Handout
Stevens Article
The earth is a sphere and computer monitors are flat. Problems? Solutions.
Coordinate systems and map projections
Digitizing, editing and structuring map data: converting one model into another
Data quality and data exchange standards
Raster and Vector data model
Readings
Chapters 3 ñ 5 in Chrisman
Snyder ñ Map Projections Handout
Frank and Kuhn
Mid-Term Exam ñ October 9, 2001
Distance Relationships
Surfaces and Near Neighbors
Comprehensive Operations
LocationñAllocation Methods
Statistical Analysis and GIS
Transformations of Data
Readings
Chapters 6 ñ 9 in Chrisman
Evaluation and Implementation
Systems Analysis
Implementation Procedures
Social and Institutional Interactions
Historical and Cultural Context
Institutional and Social Consequences
Readings
Chapters 10 and 11 in Chrisman
Mid-Term Exam ñ November 15, 2001
Project/Paper (GEO 506) ñ November 29, 2001
Presentations of Papers/Projects ñ November 20 ñ December 6, 2001
Course Bibliography
Texts:
Exploring Geographic Information Systems: 2nd Edition by Nicholas Chrisman, John Wiley & Sons, Inc. 2002.
Getting to Know ArcGIS desktop by Tim Ormsby, et. al., ESRI Press, 2001.
Supplemental Texts:
Fundamentals of Spatial Information Systems by Robert Laurini and Derek Thompson, Academic Press, 1992.
Additional Readings:
Frank and W. Kuhn (1986) Cell Graph: A Provable Correct Method for the Storage of Geometry. in: D. Marble (Ed.), Second International Symposium on Spatial Data Handling, Seattle, WA, pp. 411-436.
Snyder, J. P. (1987). Map ProjectionsóA Working Manual. U. S. Geological Survey Professional Papers. Washington, D.C., United States Government Printing Office.
D. Unwin, 1981. A typology of maps (10 pp.) from Introductory Spatial Analysis, Methuen, London.
Other materials may be assigned as needed.
Grades will be based on a judgment of overall performance. As a guide, exercises, papers, and exams will contribute to your grade approximately as follows:
Product Delivered Portion of Grade
Laboratory Exercises 35%
Paper/Project 15%
Midterm Examination 20%
Final Examination 20%
Class Participation/Discussion 10%
All papers and exercises are to be typed or printed on some word processing configuration. No hand written exercise will be accepted.
The practical exercises are designed to supplement the lecture topics and are taught in the Geographic Information and Analysis Lab (GIAL). Exercises will provide an introduction to the procedures involved in completing simple GIS operations. The exercises will be graded on promptness (by 2:15 PM of the due date), completeness, and tidiness. Five points will be deducted for every day an assignment is late. A new day starts at 2:16 PM.
Term Project/Paper
All students in GEO 506 will complete an extended paper or project. The paper should be an in-depth research paper (10-15 pages) of publication quality. If you choose to do a project, it should be implemented using GIS software available in the department's computer labs and have an accompanying report (5-8 pages) which describes the GIS implementation. The project may be related to your research or on another topic of interest. This paper/project must be approved by the instructor. A proposed topic and outline or project plan are due on October 11th. A bibliography and progress report are due November 8th. The final paper is due November 29th. There will be a short (10 - 15 minutes) oral presentation of the paper or project between November 20th and December 6th, 2001.