GIS for Dummies »

Michael N. DeMers is an Associate Professor of Geography with more than 25 years of GIS experience. He is also CEO of DeMers Geographics, a provider of educational resources for GIS students and educators.

Curious about GIS?

Organizing a GIS?

Here's the book you need!

Geographic information system, or GIS, is a powerful technology that has been called "geography on steroids." This book contains what you need to know on mapping terminology and digital mapping, how to locate geographic features and analyze their patterns, and how to generate travel directions, customer locations lists, and much more with GIS.

• GIS takes a village — know all the hardware and software necessary to collect, analyze, and manipulate GIS data
• Just for map mavens — explore the difference between 2D and 3D maps, create a map, or manage multiple maps
• What the data mean — analyze patterns that appear in maps and interpret the results
• Think spatially — recognize how spatial factors relate to geographic data
• On the grid — define and locate geographic objects on the grid
• The earth is not flat — accurately portray geographic features with map projections
• Technological duct tape — discover the many uses of GIS for business, the military, city planning, emergency services, land management, and more
• Design a GIS — determine what your organization needs, do appropriate analyses, and plan your system

Open the book and find:

• How to get paper maps into your computer
• Different ways to measure distance
• How to organize your spatial data
• What raster and vector mean to a cartographer
• How to choose a GIS software vendor
• How GIS can help you determine appropriate land use
• Dozens of applications for GIS queries and analyses
• How to create animated GIS output

Introduction.

Part I: GIS: Geography on Steroids.

Chapter 1: Seeing the Scope of GIS.

Chapter 2: Recognizing How Maps Show Information.

Chapter 3: Reading, Analyzing, and Interpreting Maps.

Part II: Geography Goes Digital.

Chapter 4: Creating a Conceptual Model.

Chapter 5: Understanding the GIS Data Models.

Chapter 6: Keeping Track of Data Descriptions.

Chapter 7: Managing Multiple Maps.

Chapter 8: Gathering and Digitizing Geographic Data.

Part III: Retrieving, Counting, and Characterizing Geography.

Chapter 9: Finding Information in Raster Systems.

Chapter 10: Finding Features in Vector Systems.

Chapter 11: Searching for Geographic Objects, Distributions, and Groups.

Part IV: Analyzing Geographic Patterns.

Chapter 12: Measuring Distance.

Chapter 13: Working with Statistical Surfaces.

Chapter 14: Exploring Topographical Surfaces.

Chapter 15: Working with Networks.

Chapter 16: Comparing Multiple Maps.

Chapter 17: Map Algebra and Model Building.

Part V: GIS Output and Application.

Chapter 18: Producing Cartographic Output.

Chapter 19: Generating Non-Cartographic Output.

Chapter 20: GIS in Organizations.

Part VI: The Part of Tens.

Chapter 21: Ten GIS Software Vendors.

Chapter 22: Ten Questions to Ask Potential Vendors.

Chapter 23: Ten GIS Data Sources.

Index.