Preface

These pages compile lecture notes for my Introduction to GIS and Spatial Analysis course (ES214). They are organized to follow the course outline, though most chapters can be read in any preferred order. The course–and this book–is divided into two main parts: data manipulation & visualization and exploratory spatial data analysis. The first part is typically conducted using ArcGIS Pro whereas the latter part of the book is carried out in R.

ArcGIS was selected as the GIS data manipulation environment due to its strong presence in job applications for undergraduates in the Unites States. However, other GIS software platforms, such as the open source software QGIS, can easily be adopted in lieu of ArcGIS. In fact, R itself is capable of performing many spatial data manipulations including clipping, buffering and projecting. Although some chapters reference ArcGIS-specific techniques, most can be studied without access to the software. A separate website provides ArcGIS Pro tutorials used in this course.

The second part of this book–and the course–relies heavily on R because of a) its widespread use in data analysis, b) its rich (arguably unmatched) collection of spatial analysis and spatial statistics packages, c) its scripting environment, which facilitates reproducibility and, d) its cost-effectiveness (it’s completely free and open source!).

R is also suited for many traditional GIS tasks involving data manipulation operations. The main advantages of using a full-featured GIS environment like ArcGIS or QGIS lie in creating/editing spatial data, rendering complex maps, and managing spatial data.

The Appendix explores various aspects of spatial data manipulation and analysis using R. While the course focuses specifically on point pattern analysis and spatial autocorrelation in R, additional resources are included for students interested in expanding their GIS skills using R.

2023 UPDATE:
  • Removed dependence on rgdal and maptools in Appendices
  • Added Statistical Maps chapter (wrapped confidence maps into this chapter)

2021 UPDATE:

This book has been updated for the 2021-2022 academic year. Most changes are in the Appendix and pertain to the sf ecosystem. This includes changes in the mapping appendix, and coordinate systems appendix. This also includes a new appendix that describes the simple feature anatomy and step-by-step instructions on creating new geometries from scratch.

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