Thinking about GIS
applications and your projects
Today
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Introductions
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Course web site resources and logistics
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Lessons from the tutorial
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GIS application areas based on your field of
interest
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Project topics assignment
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Literature search tips and hands-on
Introductions
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Name
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General area of interest
Course web site resources
Student work zone
How to create your own workspace and
post assignments
ArcGIS Basics tutorial
What to turn in next Tuesday…a map with:
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Title
Main map
Inset locator map
Legend
Scale
North Arrow
Your name and date
Lessons from the tutorial
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Data comes from different sources at
different scales
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May be free or not, may be advertised or not,
may be private, shared or not shared…
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Examples you know about?
Lessons from the tutorial
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Start thinking about data you might need:
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Scale / resolution
Attribute information
Geographic extent
Likely source
Lessons from the tutorial
Tabular data (e.g., Excel, Access, PDF tables)
can be mapped if they have a geographic
identifier (a “geocode”)
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Country name or abbreviation
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Province
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City
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Latitude / longitude coordinates
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Census codes
Country code example
Census code example - Kolkata
PDF example – North Korea census
Latitude / Longitude example –
Tsunami historical data
Lessons from the tutorial
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Data management
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Folder structure
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Maintaining enough file space – get rid of old
files
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There’s are tip sheets for:
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data management
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Connecting to a personal GIS space (H:)
GIS applications of interest to you
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What have you found or heard about?
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Issues or questions addressed?
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Types of data?
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Did they have to create new data?
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Primarily mapping or more advanced
analysis?
Literature Search Tips
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Google Scholar for an initial pass
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“Get this item at Tufts”
Tufts Library databases
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Peer-reviewed articles
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Citations
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References
Literature Search Tips
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Search terms to add to your interest list:
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GIS (confusion with GIs)
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“Geographic information”
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Spatial
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Geographic
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Review or Meta-analysis or Lessons (to find
articles that are reviews of “what we know”
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Set time period as needed (e.g., 2005 or later)
Literature Search Tips – Analysis
Terms
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Suitability
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Vulnerability
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Siting
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Proximity
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Site suitability
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Prioritize
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Pattern
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Cluster
Accessibility or
access
Literature Search Tips
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Region / country of interest
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But don’t use first – by being geographically broad
you may find good examples from other regions
Other search terms – more specific
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Human security
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Crisis
Livelihood
Conflict
Health
Infrastructure
Other search terms – more specific
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International Environment and Resources
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Trans-boundary
Land use
Land conversion
Climate
Energy
Water
Forest
Agriculture
Other search terms – more specific
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Development economics
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Poverty
Development
Rural
Urban
Growth
Agriculture
Livelihood
Econometric
Other search terms – more specific
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International Security
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Sectarian
Ethnic
Religious
Conflict
Humanitarian
Relief
Peace
Intelligence
Hands on – quick literature
search
Test out terms / databases and see what
you find
Report back – useful terms, approaches,
databases
What to look for in articles
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Data
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Methods
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Limitations
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References / Citations
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Contact information