GIS Education Center (GISEC)

Overview

The introduction workshop is designed for students with only basic statistical and GIS skills. After reviewing basic statistical concepts, students will learn spatial statistical concepts and some of the elements of the ArcGIS Spatial Statistics Toolbox.

Students will use the applications to solve questions such as:

• How to determine the significance of each of several factors that influence median income in a census tract;
• The degree to which some feature - for example firms, stores, or crimes - are clustered in a given area;

The workshop will help students gain confidence in employing the tools and techniques covered in their own analyses. The three week workshop will focus on the following:

• basic statistical
• elements of the ArcGIS Toolbox
• spatial autocorrelation tools
• hotspot analysis
• Ordinary Least Squares (OLS) regression analysis using ArcGIS

At the completion of this workshop a student should expect to be able to work comfortably with the highlighted tools.

For suggested pre-course readings see the Textbooks & Hardware tab.

Workshop Rewards

• Hands on lab time and opportunities to work one-on-one with the instructor
• Access to the CCSF lab during the semester 
• Certificate of Completion

Enroll Now!

Gallery

Click on the image for a larger size and description. Use Ctrl + the "plus" sign to zoom in.

Prereqs & Organization

Prerequisites
(1) This workshop requires no previous GIS skills.

(2) Students should have an intermediate-level knowledge of the Windows XP operating system. This includes creating new files and folders, understanding the copy and paste functions, transferring data between computers using a flash drive, and other basic desktop functionality. Familiarity with creating and managing new worksheets in Excel and working with a wide range of file types (e.g. TXT, CSV, XLS) is helpful but not required.

(3) Additional skills expected: storing, copying and management of multiple data types; managing multiple windows and applications; and the discipline to save work frequently.

(4) A strong motivation to learn, explore and have fun with computer applications is essential.  This workshop will require a significant amount of independent work and relies heavily on student initiative.

(5) An openness to working with other students in the class as a shared learning experience in order to complete assignments, build contacts in the professional GIS world and to support relatively new GIS learners.

Organization
The structure of each class will generally consist of a lecture followed by 1 - 2 hours of hands-on lab time, exercises, and a short break halfway through the class period. Homework assignments and readings are distributed in order to reinforce GIS concepts and techniques.

Textbooks & Hardware

Storage Device
Not all lab/exercise data are available online as GIS files can be large. It is recommended you bring a  2GB or greater storage device (flash drive) to class. If you plan on taking additional GISEC workshops we highly recommend, at minimum, a 4GB storage device.

Textbooks
No textbook is required for this workshop. However several books are suggested for reading:

1. Statistics in a Nutshell:  A Desktop Quick Reference, O’Reilly (2008), 452pp
By Sarah Boslaugh and Paul Andrew Watters

Notes: General reference book for statistics.  Useful for this and other statistics courses. Comprehensive, clear, and cheap.

2. Spatial Regression Models, Sage (2008), 99pp
By Michael D. Ward and Kristian Skrede Gleditsch

Notes: Reference book specific to one of the central topics of the course.  Informal, informative, and internet-available.

3. Spatial Autocorrelation: A Primer, Association of American Geographers (1987), pp.86
By Daniel A. Griffith

Notes: Reference book specific to another of the central topics of the course. “Golden oldie,” good examples, Geography-Association endorsed.

FAQ's