Research Guides: Geographic Information Systems: Geospatial Guidance

Geospatial Analysis & File Conversion: Understanding basic possibilities of GIS

GIS/Mapping Tools and Services
Learn the definition of GIS, different GIS applications available at NYU, and GIS data sources
Introduction to ArcGIS (ArcMap)
Become familiar with ESRI's ArcMap desktop software and basic GIS concepts
How to Get Started with ArcGIS Online
ESRI Academy course that covers adding layers to a map, styling layers, configuring pop-ups, sharing a map as an app, and editing item details
ArcGIS Pro Basics
An introduction to the capabilities of ArcGIS Pro desktop software
How to Create a Single Buffer around Shapefile Features in ArcGIS Pro
Generating buffers and other areas around map features to perform analysis
How to Create a Single Buffer around Shapefile Features in ArcMap
Generating buffers and other areas around map features to perform analysis
How to Clip Shapefile Features to a Study Area in ArcMap
Using the clipping tool within the ArcMap toolbox to select parts from a larger shapefile
How to Dissolve Shapefiles in ArcMap
Aggregating or eliminating GIS layers within ArcMap

Downloading QGIS on MacOS or Windows
Instructions on downloading QGIS and its dependencies
How to Edit Attribute Tables in QGIS
Adding, calculating, and deleting data fields within a vector spatial data layer based on a condition or a formula.
How to Clip Shapefile Features to a Study Area in QGIS
Using the clip tool within QGIS to select parts from a larger shapefile.
How to Create a Single Buffer around Shapefile Features in QGIS
Generating buffers and other areas around map features to perform analysis
How to Query Attribute Tables in QGIS
Subset and select data from a vector spatial layer according to a condition or formula.
How to work with Vector Symbology in QGIS
Learn basic styling and visualization strategies with vector geospatial data
How to work with Raster Symbology in QGIS
Learn basic style and visualization techniques to represent raster or pixel-based geospatial data in QGIS

How to Create a Single Buffer around Shapefile Features in R
Generating buffers around map features to perform analyses
How to Join Geospatial Data in R
Joining two geospatial datasets together based on overlapping spatial area
How to Join Tabular and Geospatial Data in R
Joining tabular and geospatial datasets together based on shared ID.
How to Dissolve Shapefiles in QGIS
Aggregating or eliminating GIS layers within QGIS

Data Cleaning & Management: Transforming and manipulating data for GIS analysis

How to Merge Shapefiles in ArcMap
A guide to merging shapefiles and managing GIS projects
How to Merge Shapefiles in QGIS
A guide to merging shapefiles for GIS projects
How to Join Data in ArcGIS Pro (basic Table and Spatial Joins)
Joining two datasets together based on a shared ID or overlapping spatial area
How to Join Data in QGIS (basic Table and Spatial Joins)
Joining two datasets together based on a shared ID or overlapping spatial area
How to Join Data in ArcMap (basic Table and Spatial Joins)
Joining two datasets together based on a shared ID or overlapping spatial area
Downloading OpenStreetMap (OSM) Data Using QGIS
A guide to downloading OSM data using QGIS
Open Refine
A tool for working with messy data, cleaning it, transforming it from one format into another, extending it with web services
Data Cleaning Using Open Refine
Learn an open-source tool for fast clean up of tabular data in preparation for analysis
Data Cleaning for GIS
Develop essential strategies for cleaning data in preparation for visualization and analysis with GIS software

Geospatial Visualization: Approaches to creating maps and illuminating GIS data

How to Get Started with ESRI StoryMaps
ESRI Academy course that covers the basics of creating a StoryMap, adding content to it, and publishing it
Creating a dot density map in ArcGIS Online
Create a dot density map to visualize your spatial data.
Data Visualization with Tableau
An introduction of basic principles of data visualization with Tableau
Color Brewer
Color Brewer generates color swatches for sequential, diverging, and qualitative maps.
Cesium
Cesium is a JavaScript library for creating 3D globes and 2D maps in a web browser without a plugin. It uses WebGL for hardware-accelerated graphics, and is cross-platform, cross-browser, and tuned for dynamic-data visualization. Cesium is open source under the Apache 2.0 license. It is free for commercial and non-commercial use.

Geocoding: Generating latitude and longitude coordinates to reference data in GIS software

How to Geocode Data in ArcMap
Establishing a geocoding tool and optimizing results in ArcMap
How to Geocode Data in QGIS
Geocoding addresses in QGIS
How to Geocode Data in R
Geocoding addresses in R.
How to Geocode Data in ArcGIS Pro
Geocoding addresses using ArcGIS Pro
How to Add XY Data in ArcGIS Pro
Create your own point layer based on tabular data with latitude and longitude coordinates (XY data).
Geocode by Awesome Table
Geocode by Awesome Table is a Google Sheets add-on that allows users to derive coordinates for structured data. The add-on calls from the Google Maps API.
Address Geocoding with ArcGIS
ESRI Academy course that covers the mechanics of preparing data to be geocoded within ArcMap
Texas A&M Geocoding Services
Texas A&M Geoservices offers geocoding that is the result of years of work. If you have a large-scale dataset, you may want to enlist this service.
Geosupport Desktop Edition (NYCgbat)
A highly customized geocoding package that allows users to process geographic information for New York City.

Georeferencing: Ascribing location data to scanned images of historic maps

David Rumsey Georeferencer
Georeferencer from the David Rumsey collection at Stanford University is an application that allows users to overlay historic maps on modern maps or other historic maps. The overlaid maps reveal changes over time and enable map analysis and discovery.
Georeferencing Raster Data Using ArcGIS
An ESRI Academy course designed to introduce the concepts and strategies of georeferencing raster images

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