1. September 25, 2017 1.13 Use and Interpret Geographic Data
1.14 Use quantitative and qualitative data

2. Geospatial Data

3. What is Geospatial Data?
Geospatial data includes all information that can be tied to a specific place. Besides locations of things, such as mountains or roads or boundaries, it includes human activities and traits.
Examples:
Where do speakers of Mandarin live?
How common is poverty in each US county?

4. Obtaining Geospatial Data
Much geospatial data is gathered in the field. That means that the data was observed and recorded on location, and the act of collecting it is known as fieldwork.
Important sources of this type of data can come from a census of the population, from interviews, or even from informal observations made by geographers.
Land surveys, photographs, and sketches are also important ways in which this data is obtained.
Technology is also making it easier to collect data.

5. Geospatial Technologies
Copy the following chart into your notes. Make sure to label the first column either: GPS (Global Positioning System, Remote Sensing, or GIS (Geographic Information Systems)
Geospatial Technologies
Type
Description
Uses
Receivers on the earth’s surface use the locations of multiple satellites to determine and record a receiver’s exact location
Precisely locating borders
Navigating ships, aircraft, cars
Mapping lines (trails) or points (fire hydrants)
Computer system that can store, analyze, and display information from multiple digital maps or geospatial data sets
Analysis of crime data
Effects of pollution
Transportation/travel time analysis
Urban Planning
The use of cameras or other sensors mounted on aircraft or satellites to collect digital images of the earth’s surface
Determining land cover and use
Monitoring environmental changes
Assessing spread of spatial phenomena
Monitoring the weather

6. Quantitative and Qualitative Data

7. Geospatial Data
Quantitative Data: information that can be measured and recorded using numbers
It is often used with GIS because it lends itself to analysis using formulas and computers
Example:
Distribution of people by income or age group
Qualitative Data: in not usually represented by numbers
This data includes interviews, document archives, descriptions, and visual observations
More difficult to analyze than quantitative data
Example:
Asking people if they feel that an intersection is dangerous

8. Google Classroom:
Complete the Unit One GIS Activity on Toponyms by Sunday, October 1st at 11:59 pm.