Geographical Information Systems

Code:

GEOGR061

Acronym:

SIG

Instance: 2010/2011 - 2S

Active?	Yes
Responsible unit:	Department of Geography
Course/CS Responsible:	Bachelor in Geography

Cycles of Study/Courses

Acronym	No. of Students	Study Plan	Curricular Years	Credits UCN	Credits ECTS	Contact hours	Total Time
GEOGR	172	Study Plan - Geo. Minor in History (2008-2011)	1	-	6	4
		Study Plan (2008/2009 - 2011/2012)	1	-	6	4

Teaching language

Portuguese

Objectives

Show the importance of GIS in research in geography.
Understand the operating principles of the Geographical Information Systems.
Develop skills related to the acquisition, handling and analysis of georeferenced information.
Know how to structure geographical information so as to be worked with GIS.
Develop skills in using GIS to exercise the profession of Geographer.

Program

1. Introduction
1.1 - Potential application of GIS: some examples.
1.2 - The various components of GIS.
2. The structure of geographical data and its attributes.
2.1 - Models of spatial data: vector, raster and tabular.
2.2 - Spatial data formats used in ArcGis: Shapefile, Geodatabase, CAD, Raster, tables.
2.3 - The import of graphic and alphanumeric information and query of attributes.
3. Acquisition and structuring of geographical information.
3.1 - Data sources for GIS.
3.2 - Cartographic projections and coordinate systems commonly used in Portugal.
3.3 - Acquisition and structuring of geographical information.
3.4 - Methods for georeferencing information (coordinates, tables of coordinates x, y, addresses, geocode);
3.5 - Creating and working with a Geodatabase.
3.6 - Manipulating the drawing editing tools (vectorisation from an image and correction of a CAD file).
3.7 - Acquisition and edition of tabular data.
3.8 - Acquisition and edition of data using GPS and ArcPad.
4. Exploitation of geographical information.
4.1 - Creating a project in ArcMap.
4.2 - Calculation and statistical analysis of indicators.
4.3 - Graph-Alphanumeric connection.
4.4 - Changing the characteristics of a map and examples of thematic mapping.
4.5 - Basic operations of GISs; dissolve, clip, overlay, intercept...
4.6 - Logical issues in GIS and the formulation of queries.
4.7 - Creating layouts and printing the map.
5 - Practical examples of GIS applications in Geography.

Mandatory literature

J. A. Gaspar; Cartas e Projecções Cartográficas, Lidel, 2000
Leão Neto; Sistemas de Informação Geográfica, FCA - Editora Informática, 1998
T. Orsby et al. ; Getting to Know ArcGis desktop, ERSI Press, 2004
Peter Burrough, Rachel A. McDonnell ; A. Principles of geographical information systems., Longman Scientific & Technical, 1998
David J. Maguire, Michael F Goodchild e David W Rhind ; Geographical Information Systems and Science., Wiley, 2005
J. G. Pereña; Introducción Conceptual a los Sistemas de Información Geográfica (S.I.G.), Estudio Gráfico Madrid, 1992
J. I. Barredo; Sistemas de Información Geográfica y avaluación multicriterio del territorio., Ed. Rama, 1996
João Luís de Matos; Fundamentos de Informação Geográfica, Lidel, 2001

Teaching methods and learning activities

Expository theory classes on the contents addressed.
Practical exercises on the computer.

Software

Google Earth
ArcGis

Evaluation Type

Distributed evaluation with final exam

Assessment Components

Description	Type	Time (hours)	Weight (%)	End date
Attendance (estimated)	Participação presencial	56,00
	Total:	-	0,00

Amount of time allocated to each course unit

Description	Type	Time (hours)	End date
Studying	Estudo autónomo	106
	Total:	106,00

Calculation formula of final grade

Performance in class (10%).
Final exam (90%)

Classification improvement

Resit exam.