Department of Geography, Planning and Environment

Email: geogplanenviro@concordia.ca

Telephone: 514-848-2424 ext 2050

Website: http://www.gpe.concordia.ca/

Fall 2013 September 3rd December 2nd

Last day to register 16th September 2013
Last Day to DNE (Full-Refund) 16th September 2013
Last day to DISC (Academic Withdrawal) 27th October 2013
Final exams 4th to 19th December, 2013
(Travel Arrangements should not be made prior to the posting of the Final Exam Schedule mid-October)

GEOG 363/2 X Geographic Info Systems

(xlstd URBS 335)

Day and Time:

Course instructors:
Office:
E-mail:
Office Hours:

Mon & Wed; Lec.: 8:45-10:00; Lab.: 10:15-11:30

Prof. Daniel Naud
H-1255-38
daniel.naud@umontreal.ca
Mon & Wed: 3:00-3:30 or on appointment

Room: SGW H-820

Phone: 514-848-2424 #2059

Course Calendar Description:

GEOG 363 Geographic Information Systems (3 credits) Prerequisite: GEOG 260 or permission of the
Department. This course is an introduction to current theoretical and practical approaches to Geographic
Information Systems (GIS) through which students acquire basic skills and understanding in the use of GIS for
spatial analysis. Training is centred on a series of practical assignments using ArcGIS software and for the term
project, students explore the potential of GIS for addressing a realworld problem. Lectures and laboratory.
NOTE: Students who have received credit for URBS 335, 387, or 487 may not take this course for credit.
Helpful Websites:.
Concordia Counseling and Development http://cdev.concordia.ca/
The Concordia Library Citation and Style Guides: http://library.concordia.ca/help/howto/citations.html
Advocacy and Support Services http://supportservices.concordia.ca/
Student Transition Centre http://stc.concordia.ca/
New Student Program http://newstudent.concordia.ca/
Access Centre for Students with Disabilities http://supportservices.concordia.ca/disabilities/
Student Success Centre http://studentsuccess.concordia.ca/
The Academic Integrity Website http://provost.concordia.ca/academicintegrity/
Financial Aid & Awards http://web2.concordia.ca/financialaid/
Health Services http://www-health.concordia.ca

Plagiarism:
The most common offense under the Academic Code of Conduct is plagiarism which the Code defines as "the
presentation of the work of another person as one's own or without proper acknowledgement."
This could be material copied word for word from books, journals, internet sites, professor's course notes, etc. It could be
material that is paraphrased but closely resembles the original source. It could be the work of a fellow student, for
example, an answer on a quiz, data for a lab report, a paper or assignment completed by another student. It might be a
paper purchased through one of the many available sources. Plagiarism does not refer to words alone - it can also refer to
copying images, graphs, tables, and ideas. "Presentation" is not limited to written work. It also includes oral presentations,
computer assignments and artistic works. Finally, if you translate the work of another person into French or English and
do not cite the source, this is also plagiarism.
In Simple Words: DO NOT COPY, PARAPHRASE OR TRANSLATE ANYTHING FROM ANYWHERE
WITHOUT SAYING FROM WHERE YOU OBTAINED IT! (Source: The Academic Integrity Website:
http://provost.concordia.ca/academicintegrity/plagiarism/)

References
Theres one recommended book to buy for this class, which is also used for GEOG 463 (Advanced GIS):
JENSEN, J.R. and R.R. JENSEN, 2012, Introductory Geographic Information Systems, Boston: Pearson.
A copy of this book may be purchased from the University Bookstore.
Powerpoint slideshows will be uploaded to Moodle, prior to the class (usually, the previous evening). Several more
documents and tips will be uploaded to Moodle on a weekly basis, to help out with the laboratory / assignments or to
increase general knowledge on topics of interest. You are highly encouraged to log on regularly to the class Moodle.
Lectures are also based on the following introductory level GIS textbooks:

*Clarke K.C., 2010, Getting started with Geographic Information Systems, Fifth Edition, Prentice Hall series in GIS.
DeMers M.N., 2005, Fundamentals of Geographic Information Systems, Third Edition, New York: John Wiley & sons.
*Krygier J., and D. Wood, 2005, Making Maps: A visual Guide to Map design for GIS, New York: The Guilford Press.
*Longley P.A., M.F. Goodchild, D.J. Maguire and D.W. Rhind, 2005, Geographic Information Systems and Science, New
York: John Wiley & sons.
*Maantay J., and J. Ziegler, 2006, GIS for the Urban Environment, Redlands CA: ESRI Press
*Shellito, B.A., 2011, Introduction to Geospatial Technologies, New York: W.H. Freeman and Company
* On reserve at the Webster library
Please note the due dates for the 3 assignments. The assignments are due at the beginning of the labs. The penalty for late
submissions is a deduction of 3% per hour plus 5% per day.
COURSE STRUCTURE (subject to change)
Date

Lectures

Laboratory Topic

Readings (Jensen &

Jensen)

W. Sept. 4

1. What is a GIS?

Ch. 1

No Lab

M. Sept. 9

2. History and applications

Ch. 1

Cancelled L

W. Sept. 11

3. Spatial data

Ch. 3

L1: Getting started with ArcGIS

M. Sept. 16

4. Attribute data

Ch. 5

L1: Getting started with ArcGIS

(abridged)

W. Sept. 18

5. Mapping with GIS (I)

Ch. 10

L1: Getting started with ArcGIS

M. Sept. 23

6. Mapping with GIS (II)

Ch. 10

L2: Mapping with ArcGIS

W. Sept. 25

7. Map projections

Ch. 2

L2: Mapping with ArcGIS

M. Sept. 30

8. Coordinate systems

Ch. 2

L3: Mapping sociodemo data + Assign. 1

W. Oct. 02

9. Vector data model (I)

Ch. 5

L3: Mapping sociodemo data + Assign. 1

M. Oct. 07

10. Vector data model (II)

Ch. 5

L4: Projection & Queries

W. Oct. 09

11. Attribute data analysis

Ch. 5

L4: Projection & Queries

M. Oct. 14

Thanksgiving Day (No class)

W. Oct. 16

12. Vector data analysis

Chapter 6

L5: Mapping election results + Assign. 2

Date

Lectures

Readings (Jensen &

Jensen)

Laboratory Topic
(Assign. 1 due, both groups)

M. Oct. 21

13. Raster data model

Ch. 5

L5: Mapping election results + Assign. 2

W. Oct. 23

14. Midterm exam

M. Oct. 28

15. Raster data analysis (I)

Ch. 6

L6: Vector analysis

W. Oct. 30

16. Raster data analysis (II)

Ch. 6

L7: Raster analysis (Raster) (Assign. 2

due) + Assign. 3

M. Nov. 4

17. Terrain analysis

Ch. 9

L7: Raster analysis (Raster) + Assign. 3

(Assign. 2 due)

W. Nov. 6

18. Viewshed

Ch. 9

L8: Spatial analyst

M. Nov. 11

19. Network analysis and accessibility

Ch. 7

L8: Spatial analyst

W. Nov. 13

20. Distance, contiguity and spatial

autocorrelation

Ch. 8

Term project (Assig. 3 due)

M. Nov. 18

21. Critical GIS

Moodle (article)

Term project (Assig. 3 due)

W. Nov. 20

22. GIS, networks & Cinema

Term project

M. Nov. 25

No lecture

Term project

W. Nov. 27

No lecture

Term project

M. Dec. 2

Term project presentations

Term project

W. Dec. 4

Term project presentations

Term project

F. Dec. 6

Term projects due

Term projects due

L6: Vector analysis