Geographical Information Systems
Code: 43060 ECTS Credits: 6| Degree | Type | Year |
|---|---|---|
| Interdisciplinary Studies in Environmental, Economic and Social Sustainability | OT | 0 |
Contact
- Name:
- Alaitz Zabala Torres
- Email:
- alaitz.zabala@uab.cat
Teaching groups languages
You can view this information at the end of this document.
Prerequisites
No prior knowledge is required.
Objectives and Contextualisation
The main aim of this introductory course is to present the basic concepts and spatial analysis tools provided by the Geographic Information Systems (GIS) derived from the needs in socio-environmental planning and management.
Our general goal is that each student develops skills to interpret and use digital spatial data and set the grounds for further (self-) training in GIScience. The specific objectives are:
- Know basic georeferencing methods, main reference systens abd the tools needed to change the system when needed.
- Study of main GIS data models and their characteristics. Remote sensing data use.
- A starting knowledge of data sources and formats useful for geographical studies of all kinds, given special attention to the available standards.
- Introduce the knowledge of basic GIS operations such as mosaic, clipping, changes in spatial resolution and map projection and reference systems (ED50 to ETRS89, for example), raster /vector conversion. Buffer and distance analysis, etc. Introduction to interpolation.
- Present and extend the GIS analysis tools knowledge in the context of real-world applications shown on this course, including spatial dynamics with remote sensing, both urban growths as forest fires, etc.
Competences
- Analyse how the Earth functions on a global scale in order to understand and interpret environmental changes on the global and local scales.
- Apply specific methodologies, techniques and resources to conduct research and produce innovative results in the area of Environmental Studies.
- Continue the learning process, to a large extent autonomously.
- Solve problems in new or little-known situations within broader (or multidisciplinary) contexts related to the field of study.
- Work in an international, multidisciplinary context.
Learning Outcomes
- Apply spatial analysis results to particular environmental planning and risk evaluation cases.
- Apply specific methodologies, techniques and resources to conduct research and produce innovative results in the area of Environmental Studies.
- Continue the learning process, to a large extent autonomously.
- Evaluate the processes of transformation of the territory and the population by applying methodologies and instruments associated with reference theories, which can measure intervention mechanisms and results.
- Show mastery of cartographic expression of territorial information.
- Solve problems in new or little-known situations within broader (or multidisciplinary) contexts related to the field of study.
- Use Geographical Information Systems (GIS) both conceptually and when applied to problem solving in environmental and regional planning.
- Work in an international, multidisciplinary context.
Content
The diverse lessons to develop in the course are:
- Lesson 1: Geographic information
- Information on the territory and on phenomena located in the territory
- Geographical and non-geographic entities
- Nature of geographic information
- Lesson 2: GIS data models
- The raster model
- The vector model
- Data types, data formats, publishing on the Internet
- Remote sensing and GIS
- Lesson 3: Spatial analysis
- Overlay
- Buffer and maps of distances
- Introduction to interpolation
- Lesson 4: Georeferencing
- Localization as a factor of relationship
- Basic methods of georeferencing
- Main reference systems
The application of the concepts and tools covered by the course in use case exercises will be developed throughout the course, in an integrated manner.
Activities and Methodology
| Title | Hours | ECTS | Learning Outcomes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Type: Directed | |||
| 1. Professor's Lectures | 12 | 0.48 | |
| 2. Practical exercises guided by the teacher | 18 | 0.72 | |
| Type: Supervised | |||
| 1. Resolution guided practice | 10 | 0.4 | |
| 2. Monitoring oral presentation | 5 | 0.2 | |
| Type: Autonomous | |||
| 1. Reading theoretical literature | 15 | 0.6 | |
| 2. Practical exercises independently developed by students | 45 | 1.8 | |
| 3. Final project development | 27 | 1.08 |
The course content will be developed through the following activities:
- Oral expositions from the teacher
- Reading book chapters or articles (individual activity of students, complementary to classroom work)
- Practical classes guided by the teacher
- Work done independently by students based on teacher proposals
- Oral expositions from the students
For the realization of the course some different GIS software will be used.
Annotation: Within the schedule set by the centre or degree programme, 15 minutes of one class will be reserved for students to evaluate their lecturers and their courses or modules through questionnaires.
Assessment
Continous Assessment Activities
| Title | Weighting | Hours | ECTS | Learning Outcomes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. Final exam | 40% | 3 | 0.12 | 4, 5 |
| 2. Oral presentation | 30% | 3 | 0.12 | 5, 6, 7 |
| 3. Practical exercises developed at home | 30% | 12 | 0.48 | 1, 2, 3, 8 |
Common assessment
The course evaluation will be obtained from practical exercises made in the classroom and at home (30% of final qualification), a brief oral presentation (30%) and a short final exam (40%).
If the final grade does not reach 5, the student has another opportunity to pass the subject through the remedial exam that will be held on the date set by the degree coordinator. In this test you can recover both exams (theoretical and practical). The internship and coursework part is not recoverable.
Single assessment
Students who have accepted the single assessment modality will have to take a final test which will consist of a theory exam where they will have to answer a series of medium or short questions. Then they will have to do a practical exam where they will have to solve a series of exercises similar to those that have been worked on in the practical exercises developed in the classroom. When finished, the indicated assessable exercises will be handed in. Finally, the student will have to make an oral presentation of the personal project and hand in the corresponding report.
The student's grade will be the weighted average of the previous activities, where the exam will account for 40% (average to 50% between theoretical and practical), the average of the internship reports 30% and the oral presentation of the work the remaining 30%.
If the final grade does not reach 5, the student has another opportunity to pass the subject through the remedial exam that will be held on the date set by the degree coordinator. In this test you can recover both exams (theoretical and practical). The internship and coursework part is not recoverable.
Copies and plagiarisms
In the event of a student committing any irregularity that may lead to a significant variation in the grade awarded to an assessment activity, the student will be given a zero for this activity, regardless of any disciplinary process that may take place. In the event of several irregularities in assessment activities of the same subject, the student will be given a zero as the final grade for this subject. Those evaluation activities in which there have been irregularities cannot be not reassessed.
AI use
In this subject, the use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) technologies is not allowed in any of its phases.Any work that includes fragments generated with AI will be considered a lack of academic honesty and may lead to a partial or total penalty in the grade of the activity, or greater sanctions in serious cases.
Bibliography
- Bonham-Carter, G.F. (1994) Geographic information systems for geoscientists modelling with GIS, Pergamon. Kidlington. 398 p.
- Burrough, P.A., McDonnel, R.A. (1998) Principles of Geographical Information Systems (2nd Edition). Oxford University Press.
- Malczewski, J. (1999) GIS and Multicriteria Decision Analysis. John Wiley & Sons. Inc., New York, 392 p.
- Laurini, R., Tompson, D. (1992) Fundamentals of Spatial Information Systems Academic Press. Londres. 680 p.
- Longley, P.A., Goodchild, M.F., Maguire, D.J. and Rhind, D.W. (2005), Geographical Information Systems and Science. Wiley.
- Maguire, D.J., M.F. Goodchild, Rhind, D.W. (eds.) (1991) Geographical Information Systems. Principles and Applications. 2 Vol. Longman Scienti Technical. Essex. 649+447 p.
- International Journal of Geographical Information Science: http://www.tandfonline.com/loi/tgis20
Software
ArcGisPro and MiraMon.
Groups and Languages
Please note that this information is provisional until 30 November 2025. You can check it through this link. To consult the language you will need to enter the CODE of the subject.
| Name | Group | Language | Semester | Turn |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| (TEm) Theory (master) | 1 | English | first semester | afternoon |