E S 220 GIS for the Sciences
SP 2015 MW 11-12:50; F 11-11:50 SCI208
Instructor: Dr. Carol Thompson
Office: 139D Science--ext. 9739
Office Hours:
cthompson@tarleton.edu
Required Text: Mastering ArcGIS, 6th edition-Maribeth Price
Program: ArcGIS Basic for Desktop with required extensions Spatial Analyst www.esri.com You can
download a 60 day free trial of the software to work at home. They are at 10.3, we are still running 10.1,
shouldn’t be too different
Check the requirements. You must have a good, high-speed computer to run this software.
http://resources.arcgis.com/en/help/system-requirements/10.2/index.html#
Other Supplies
4-8 GB flash drive, preferably 2 for backup
Intended Student Learning Outcomes
Knowledge outcomes
Upon completion of this course students will:
be competent in the use of ArcGIS
be able to design studies utilizing GIS
Skill outcomes
Upon completion of this course students will:
achieve competency with a GIS package
Value outcomes
Upon completion of this course students will:
appreciate the advantages and limitations of computer programs
understand the value of good data sets
Academic Honesty:
Tarleton State University’s Academic Honesty Policy, outlined in the student handbook, states that each
professor is responsible for determining academic honesty policy in his or her classroom. In this class,
each student will be expected to do his or her own work on all exams, labs, and other assignments. If a
student is observed cheating on any assignment, or in any other way represents someone else’s work as
his own, he or she will receive a grade of 0 on the work and will be referred to the Dean of Students for
disciplinary action.
Grading:
Exams (2):
Homework
Quizzes:
Project and presentation:
50%
25%
10%
15%
Class/Lab:
The book is a textbook and a workbook and as such I expect you to read it, before starting each week’s
exercises. Most of the classes will be spent working through exercises. You need to do all the assigned
exercises, so whatever we don't get done in class you need to do on your own. Can you get away with not
doing them - sure, but you won't be able to do your project or pass the test. GIS is a tool. Like any tool
the more you use it, the better you get. Additional homework is on your own, but you will need access to
the program. The program can be found on most school computers (not the library) including the ones in
the geo room. Business has the best hours. You will probably not be able to finish all the week’s work
during class hours, so be prepared to spend additional time
The tutorials are cookbook exercises that will teach you the needed skills. Do not blindly follow the
instructions without thinking about what you are doing. This is a pitfall many students fall into and then
they do not really know how to do anything.
There are homework assignments. These will be listed in BB with due dates. Most things should be
grouped in a word doc and attached in BB. I do not want the .mxd files, but you should save these in case
something goes wrong.
I may intersperse a short lecture on Wednesday or Friday. The lecture material will be to enhance what is
already in the text. We will most likely have a quiz on either Friday or the following Monday over that
week’s material so you will have had to finish the exercises and homework.
Exams
Exams will consist of two parts – a written part which will cover concepts (from the text and lecture
material) and a “doing” part which will consist of exercise skills.
Project:
In order to gain both application and management skills with Geographic Information Systems, a project
will be conducted by each member of the class. See below what other students have done at other
universities. Final topic ideas are due by March 6.
The project will consist of an oral presentation and a report. I expect to see some data analysis (i.e.
what is your question, how did you answer it) as part of the project. The presentation and the report
should reflect the research conducted and the procedures for carrying out the research. Do not simply take
some data layers off the web, resymbolize them and show them. That is not analysis. What new data
have you developed?
Both the presentation and the report should follow the following format: Introduction/Overview including
Objectives and Study Area, Database design (Layers, Source, Formats etc), Analysis Methods,
Discussion (including problems, weaknesses, strengths of project), Conclusions. There are rubrics for the
grading which will be available on BB. The presentation will be between 15-20 minutes. The report
should be turned in at the same time as the presentation.
Caveat emptor: I am not a GIS expert. Therefore if you have questions on your project I may have to do
some digging to find out the answer. In addition, the main problem with GIS is finding the data to do
what you want. The message: Start this early and work on it throughout the course. If you only work on
it at the last minute and then find out you don’t know how to do it or don’t have the data – it will be too
late. This is 15% of your grade and data gathering and manipulation is time-consuming!
Project examples:
An example of projects from other classes. Note, these are all UG projects, yours should be at least as
good or better. There are lots more out there, so you shouldn’t lack for ideas. Try a search on GIS student
projects.
http://www.sfu.ca/geog/ (Very good projects, note how they presented all aspects of what they did)
http://www.uis.edu/gis/projects/student/
http://www.uoguelph.ca/geography/research-geography
ESRI also publishes several journals-ArcNews, ArcUsers and Arc Watch. There are sometimes
interesting ideas in those. http://www.esri.com/esri-news/
Other Ideas
Compare wetland areas from delineation map to current status
Develop groundwater vulnerability map
Site selection for landfill, wind site, other
Walking tour of some large city (with hyperlinks)
Driving tour of some area of scenic or geological interest (with hyperlinks)
Below is a tentative outline. We might move faster or slower or I may change my mind.
01/12/15
01/14/15
01/16/15
1/21, 23
01/26, 28, 30
2/2,4, 6
2/9, 11, 13
2/16, 18, 20
2/23, 25, 27
3/2, 4
03/06/14
3/16, 18, 20
3/23, 25, 27
3/30, 4/1, 3
03/27/14
4/6, 8, 10
4/13, 15, 17
4/20, 22, 24
4/27
04/29/14
05/06/14
Lecture
Intro to class, computers
Lab: Intro lecture, Basics
Data sources
Install project data
Basics/Mapping
Mapping
Formatting Output
Attributes
Queries
Joins
Test 1
Finalize project
Geoprocessing
Rasters
Rasters
Last drop day
Editing
Geocoding
Coordinate systems
Project presentations
Project presentations
Databases. Metadata
Final 3-5:30 (closed book part)
Program part as take home
Reading
Introduction
Chp 1
Chp 1, 2
Chp 2
Chp 3
Chp 4
Chp 5
Chp 6
Chp 7
Chp 8
More rasters
Chp 12, 13
Chp 10
Chp 11
Chp 14, 15
UNIVERSITY POLICIES
I. Services for Students with Disabilities: Students with disabilities may request reasonable
accommodations which will enable them to participate in and benefit from all educational programs and
activities. Students should contact the director of student Disability Services in the Mathematics
Building Room 201, 254-968-9400 or disability@tarleton.edu. If you require special accommodation,
you must make arrangements with the faculty member.
II. Academic Honesty: Tarleton State University expects its students to maintain high standards of
personal and scholarly conduct. Students guilty of academic dishonesty are subject to disciplinary action.
Academic dishonesty includes, but is not limited to, cheating on an examination or other academic work,
plagiarism, collusion, and the abuse of resource materials.
II. Computer Usage Policy: Use of the computer resources at Tarleton State University is a privilege, not
a right. When using these resources, individuals agree to abide by the applicable rules, regulations, and
policies of the University, as well as federal, state and local laws. The University reserves the right to limit,
restrict or deny access to its technology resources, as well as to take disciplinary and/or legal action
against anyone in violation of these regulations or applicable law.
http://www.tarleton.edu/~policy/279999t101.htm