Understanding Geographic Data

Description

Acquiring geographic data can be expensive, so it makes sense for GIS users and their customers to know what to look for and where to find useful data. This course provides a comprehensive survey of the nature of geographic data and of the technologies and professions involved in producing the data. You will gain a thorough understanding of the geographic data needed to perform common GIS tasks. In course exercises, you will find geographic data on the Internet from institutions such as the U.S. Geological Survey and the U.S. Census Bureau, and work with ArcGIS software and public domain data viewing applications.

Who Should Attend

New GIS users and customers of GIS service providers who want to become informed consumers of geographic data.

Learn How To

• Specify the characteristics of geographic data needed to perform a given GIS task.
• Determine whether the required data is available.
• Recognize the technology required to produce data needed for a particular task.

To complete course exercises, you need the following software:

• ArcGIS 9.1 for Desktop, ArcGIS 9.2 for Desktop, or ArcGIS 9.3 for Desktop (ArcView, ArcEditor, or ArcInfo)

• What Are Geographic Data?: Data informs decision making; Properties of geographic data; Map scale and map projections; Sources of geographic data; Exploring ArcGIS Desktop
• Land Surveys and GPS: Specifying positions on a plane; Horizontal positions; Vertical positions; Specifying positions on a spheroid; The Global Positioning System (GPS)
• Aerial Photographs and Planimetric Data: Topographic maps; Air photos and photogrammetry; Vector planimetric data
• Aerial Photographs and Elevation Data: Elevation data on topographic maps; Vector elevation data; Raster elevation data
• Remotely Sensed Image Data: The nature of remotely sensed image data; Visible and infrared image data; Multispectral image processing; Microwave data
• Census Data and Thematic Maps: Attribute data produced by the U.S. Census Bureau; Thematic maps; Planimetric data produced by the U.S. Census Bureau

Knowledge of Windows-based software for basic file management and browsing is required.