Using Digital Mapping GIS in Your Research

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Using Digital Mapping (GIS) in Your Research

• Shelly McCoy
• June 17, 2004

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What is this GIS stuff?

• GIS at UD
• Geographic Information Systems
• GIS on campus
• GIS and You

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College of Marine Studies El Nino
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Delaware Geological Survey
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CHEPP Hazard Vulnerability Study
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College of Agriculture and Natural Resources
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What this class wont do

• Show you EVERY way GIS can be used in your
  research
• Show you how to use ArcView GIS software

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What this class will do

• Motivate you to learn more about GIS
• Give you resources for more information and for
  places to find your data sometimes the hardest
  part!
• Examine using different levels of GIS in your
  research
• My Goal To have you start to use GIS in your
  research and eventually become comfortable enough
  with it that you will share the technology with
  others or bring it into your classroom!

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• Researchers in numerous disciplines are using GIS
  to help analyze and display their data.
• Biologists track and define species and habitats
• Geologists map earthquake fault lines
• Hydrologists analyze watersheds and water quality
• Archaeologists map the location of artifacts and
  sites
• Agronomists evaluate crop yields
• Epidemiologists track diseases
• and countless other scientists analyze data or
  test models in their fields or integrate data
  from multiple fields.

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H a r d w a r e

• ranges from centralized computer servers to
  desktop computers used in stand-alone or
  networked configurations.
• printers, plotters, digitizers, scanners,
  monitors, network
• The University has 7 computer labs
• with ArcView installed on the desktop,
• 13 other labs have a GIS software available
• by dialling through Strauss,
• and the library has the Digital Mapping Station.

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S o f t w a r e

• GIS software provides the functions and tools
  needed to
• store
• query
• display
• analyze
• create
• modify
• data.
• UD has a site license for ESRI GIS software (and
  more recently ERDAS IMAGINE GIS software).

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What you can use GIS to do
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Explore See and interpret spatial relationships

• Show the geographic distribution of data (simple
  method of detecting patterns).
• Change Symbology (in Layer Properties window)

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Tornado Data in GIS
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Q u e r y  a n d   A n a l y s i s Create new
info, find hidden patterns..

• Simple questions
• Where is there stressed vegetation?
• How far is it between a contaminant source and a
  potentially exposed individual?
• Where is land zoned for industrial use?
• And analytical questions such as
• Where are all the residences that could be
  exposed to this facilitys air emissions?
• What is the dominant soil type for oak forest?
• If I build a new highway here, how will traffic
  be affected?

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Visualisation Customizing to make the map your
own

• For many types of geographic operations the end
  result is best visualized as a map or graph.
• Map displays can be integrated with reports,
  three-dimensional views, tables, photographic
  images, and other output, such as multimedia.
• Can export your map in 50 different formats (such
  as .jpg, .pdf, .bmp, and .tif) to use on the web
  and in other applications
• Can print on a large-format printer for
  presentations or use the Tiling function to use
  8 1/2X11 paper and tile the map

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Levels of Using GIS in your Research
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Incorporate GIS skills and technology as
background tools in your research

• Find GIS websites that already have ready-made
  maps to support your research
• Use an online mapper specific to the data you
  need
• Use data/software from a CD
• You may already be using GIS technology without
  knowing it!

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Focus on problem-solving over technology

• Ask yourself
• What factors need to happen in order for my
  analysis to work?
• How can I test this model?
• How can I show this so that others can
  understand?
• Do this using GIS by
• Repeat an analysis using different parameters
  each time and compare the results
• Viewing attribute tables
• Viewing statistics
• Finding out how to join your data to geographic
  data
• Querying this data

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Develop an active learning environment

• Confirm results you already hypothesized with a
  GIS test
• Have your research assistants learn and use
  ArcView as well
• If you have a problem that you think GIS can
  solve, ask me or RDMS how. Know that it probably
  can be used, you just have to find out how.

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• Once you get all of the data you need, the rest
  is cake

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Where do you get this data?

• GIS Software
• CD-ROMs/DVD-ROMs
• Morris Library, RDMS, or commercially
• Internet
• Colleagues
• YOU provide it!

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Types of GIS sources both online and in CD-ROM
format

• Downloadable Data in GIS format
• Data in tables, in PDF format, etc.
• Interactive Mapper with or without downloadable
  data.

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Downloadable Data in GIS format

• What date was the data collected and by whom?
• Can it be downloaded in a format that will work
  with ArcView?
• Do you have enough room on your hard-drive?
• Can you get it in CD/DVD format if needed?

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Examples

• Bureau of Transportation Statistics Geographic
  Information Services
• www.bts.gov/gis
• Canaan Valley Institute
• Canaanvi.org/gis/gis_links.aspSPATIALDATA
• GIS Analysis of Topographic Change in
  Philadelphia, During the Last Century
• CD-ROM 1323

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Data in tables, in PDF format, etc.

• Does this data have a geographic component
  allowing you to join it to a layer in ArcView?
• If not, you may want to write down the
  information you need and make your own table
• If the data is in a table, can you open it in
  Excel to resave it as a Dbase IV file?

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Examples

• KIDS COUNT
• www.kidscount.org/kc2002
• www.kidscount.org/census
• Can download raw data from here, open it up in
  Excel, save as dBaseIV file and bring into
  ArcView.
• Topographic LIDAR An Emerging Beach Management
• CD-ROM 1156

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Interactive Mapper with or without downloadable
data.

• Can you do enough analysis online with this
  mapper for your research?
• Can you print out your maps?
• Does the site give you enough information, so
  that if you wanted the data, you could get it
  (contact info)?
• This is the easiest way to use GIS in your
  research, without having to use ArcView, for
  simple analysis.

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Examples

• Delaware Census Data 2000
• http//datamil.udel.edu/census/
• Geography Network
• www.geographynetwork.com
• CensusCD 1980
• CD-ROM 1201
• Global GIS Database Digital Atlas
• CD-ROM 1294

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If you provide your own data

• Specifically ArcCatalog supports short integer,
  long integer , float, double, text, data,
  object_ID and blob.

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Tips

• ArcGIS can display and overlay layers in
  different coordinate systems as long as the
  system for each is defined.
• If youre changing data, you may want to copy it
  first so that you have the original.
• Come up with your own naming convention
• Add an image before other data so that
  establishes the coordinate system used in the
  data frame
• Try to define the coordinate system from metadata
  or by going in to the properties and looking at
  the shape field. Click on the row to bring up
  anther window, click on the ellipses, and this is
  where you define the coordinate system, Click,
  Add, OK, View and Refresh and it should now
  display correctly

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Once you get the hang of it

• Research plays an important supporting role
  for data, tools, and course content provided to
  students
• .
• Research-based instruction helps to promote
  learning by introducing students to real-world
  problems that make information learned in the
  classroom more relevant. The potential of GIS as
  a tool to support scientific inquiry in all
  disciplines and at all educational levels has
  been described by many researchers (Alber, 1988
  Audett and Abegg, 1996 Kerski, 2000).

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http//www.udel.edu/gis/
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• http//www.lib.udel.edu/ud/digital/microcopy/gis/d
  ms.htm
• Thank you!
• Questions?