Basic GIS Skills Review

This page provides a summary of what was covered in GEOG 110

The GEOG 111 and GEOG 112 material will assume you can do these tasks without any step-by-step instructions.
GEOG 111 and GEOG 112 will build upon the theory summarized on this page, and will not provide step-by-step instructions for these software and analysis tasks.

Set up a GIS project from scratch, save, and keep track of project files
Override the default file locations and file names offered by the software
Open an attribute table, manually select features, create a new field, calculate a field
Use the symbology pane to set up symbology
Filter features using definition queries using SQL
Create a new empty file geodatabase or shapefile
Find and execute appropriate geoprocessing tools from the Toolbox including Clip, Intersect, Union, Identity, Erase, Buffer, Dissolve
Use the Data Engineering tool to get statistics
Create GIS data by georeferencing a non-GIS image, digitizing, using the Display XY Data tool, make a tabular join, and geocoding
Choose and apply appropriate data classification methods including Equal Interval, Quantile, Manual, or Natural Breaks (Jenks)
Reproject a dataset appropriately
Convert vector to raster, clip a raster, reproject a raster, reclassify a raster, add rasters together with raster calculator
Create and export a layout

Describe the vector and raster data models, and know the pros and cons to each one, and know when to use which
Describe how spatial features and tabular attributes are related in GIS
Define the term "topology"

Define these data types: nominal, ordinal, interval, and ratio, and be able to recognize them
Identify a reference map vs a thematic map
Identify a qualitative map vs a quantitative map
Define the term visual hierarchy
Understand symbology conventions and know when it is appropriate to break them
Understand the difference between "large scale" and "small scale" maps, and use the terms correctly

Understand the difference between a file geodatabase and a shapefile, and know when to use which one
Describe the different ways to make a selection on a dataset, and know when to use each method
Understand the basic geoprocessing tools and what they do, including Clip, Intersect, Union, Identity, Erase, Buffer, Dissolve

Explain how to create GIS data by

Define the term "choropleth" and recognize them in the wild
Explain the important considerations when making choropleth maps, choice of shading style and choice of classification method
Be able to explain the "modifiable areal unit problem" (MAUP)
Understand the concept of normalizing your data, and know when to do it
Recognize a map that uses the "small multiples" technique in the wild
Know when or when not to use other kinds of quantitative thematic map types, including graduated symbols and dot density

Describe the two main kinds of raster datasets: images and GRIDs
Describe the two main kinds of GRID data: categorical GRIDs and floating-point GRIDs
Understand the tradeoffs between raster resolution and file size

Understand the thought process, logic, and workflow behind doing a simple site suitability model using raster datasets
Be able to find and evaluate the quality of a GIS dataset from the internet
Know the difference between the terms accuracy and precision as they pertain to GIS data, and use the terms correctly

Skills assessment adapted from GEOG 110, City College of San Francisco