Syllabus for GTECH 201

Introduction to Geographic Methods

Fall 2006

Tuesday, Thursday 11:10 – 14:00

 

Instructor: Staff

Office: Hunter N1030                                           Office hours:  Th 3-5 PM

E-Mail: jochen@hunter.cuny.edu                            Phone: (212) 772-5265

 

TA: tbd                                                                 E-Mail:

 

Course Overview:

The title for this course is a bit outdated. What this course is in fact is an introduction to all kinds of methods for dealing with spatial data. As such, its main goal is to provide students with spatial literacy. We will cover a bit of traditional as well as more specialized spatial statistics, deal with methods of geographic data acquisition, storage and manipulation. As such, it lays the foundation for dealing with more advanced methods like the use of geographic information and image processing systems. At the end, the successful student is supposed to be able to judge the quality of a particular piece of geographic data and to know what tool to use to make sensible use of it.

 

Required textbook: none.

However, you might benefit from having a look at any the following:

  • Crawley, M 2005. Statistics – an introduction using R. Wiley.
  • McGrew, J and Charles Monroe 2000 (2nd edition). An introduction to statistical problem solving in geography. McGraw-Hill
  • O’Sullivan, David and David Unwin 2002. Geographic Information Analysis. Wiley
  • Walford, Nigel, 1995. Geographical Data Analysis. Wiley.

 

Pre- and co-requisites: GEOG 101, MATH 120 or equivalent, ENGL 120, or permission of the instructor.

 

Policies:

Attendance is crucial. Given that the class-learning environment is active learning, meaning that most of the student performance is practical assignments rather than tests, adherence to protocols and the course timetable is very important. Lateness in arriving at class, both lectures and laboratory/discussion sections will not be tolerated. Active involvement in the course is evidenced in part by undertaking the mechanics of the practical assignments systematically, and learning the tools by hours of practice. In so doing the tools soon come to be seen as a means to an end, rather than the end itself. For example, you will make many maps, and may get caught up in this creative activity, but remember that the maps are being made for particular scientific purposes. Class participation includes timely attendance at laboratory sessions, participation in organized class discussions, accomplishments of in-class tasks, accomplishment of the preliminary assignment on time, and participation in the map poster display (if this is a part of the course this semester). Remember that a good part of your grade depends on class participation.

Plagiarism is simply not acceptable. Helping other students on use of the software is encouraged. However, do not help other students answer questions from the labs. Many of the problems have a "sample" problem, which includes the answer. The best way to help your fellow students is to work the sample problem. If a sample problem is not available, create an exercise similar to the problem in the lab and solve that problem. You can't actually learn this material unless you do the work yourself. Therefore, do not share your calculations or measurements with other students. You must do your own work (and it is easy to see when students copy work from other students). Students with labs showing copied work can receive failing grades. To quote from an official Hunter College document:
“Hunter College regards acts of academic dishonesty (e.g., plagiarism, cheating on examinations, obtaining unfair advantage, and falsification of records and official documents) as serious offenses against the values of intellectual honesty. The College is committed to enforcing the CUNY Policy on Academic Integrity and will pursue cases of academic dishonesty according to the Hunter College Academic Integrity Procedures.”

Special accommodations for persons with disabilities are provided upon request. Please see the instructor if you feel the need for them.

Lab policies are described in detail in http://everest.hunter.cuny.edu/~tbw/spars/rules.html

Assignments are to be submitted electronically via BlackBoard (http://bb.hunter.cuny.edu). I expect assignments, big and small, to be submitted by announced dates. I may give grace periods (maximum of a few days) if logistical problems arise. It is in your best interests to keep up with the work and meet deadlines for assignments. Due as described in the schedule beneath. Late labs will be downgraded by one letter grade. Labs will not be accepted if greater than one week late. It is in your best interests to keep up with the work and meet deadlines for assignments. Incomplete grades and time extensions are not an option for this course. There are no "extra-credit" assignments. Unless otherwise instructed, you will submit assignments in electronic form. For all labs, you are expected to show all the work you did in order to complete the assignment. It is more important how you did the work, than whether you got the right answer. Partial credit will be given for good work but incorrect results.

 

Criteria for evaluation:

Evaluation of your performance in this course will consider both lecture and laboratory components, using the following breakdown:

Participation           10%

Midterm exam       15%

Five quizzes           25%

Lab projects           50%

 

Schedule:

Class #

Date

Topic

1

08/30

Introduction – the nature of data

2

08/31

The computing environment in the geography department

L1

09/02

Lab 1: BlackBoard and computing in the geography department

L2

09/06

Lab 1 continued: with an introduction to Unix

3

09/07

Data measurements; data errors

L3

09/09

Lab 3: introduction to Excel

4

09/13

The nature of spatial data

L4

09/14

Lab 4: how to write web pages

L4

09/16

Lab 4: how to write web pages continued

5

09/20

Storing spatial data

L5

09/21

Lab 5: introduction to ArcGIS

6

09/23

Projections

7

09/27

Surveying and digitizing

L6

02/28

Lab 6: digitizing data for the vector model

8

09/30

GPS

9

10/07

Remote sensing

10

10/14

Census data

11

10/18

Organizing and presenting data

L7

10/19

Lab 7: mapping census data

12

10/21

Midterm Exam

13

10/25

Midterm review

14

10/26

Introduction to descriptive statistics

15

10/28

Probabilities and introduction to R

L8

11/01

Lab 8: introduction to R

L9

11/02

Lab 9: descriptive statistics

16

11/04

Probability distributions

L10

11/08

Lab 10: probability distributions

L10

11/09

Lab 10: probability distributions continued

17

11/11

Estimation in samples; parametric vs. non-parametric stats

L11

11/15

Lab 11: estimation in sampling

L11

11/16

Lab 11: estimation in sampling continued

18

11/18

Bivariate statistics

L12

11/22

Lab 12: confidence measures

L12

11/23

Lab 12: confidence measures continued

19

11/29

Correlation and regression

L13

11/30

Lab 13: statistical models

L13

12/02

Lab 13: statistical models continued

20

12/06

Design of choropleth, dot and proportional symbol maps

21

12/07

Anatomy of a thematic map

L14

12/09

Lab 14: designing a thematic map

L14

12/09

Lab 14: designing a thematic map

22

12/13

Design of isarithmic and flow maps

23

12/14

Cartographic communication

L15

12/20

Lab 15: cartographic studio – you create your own map

Instructor expectations

Hunter College...

This is a place where students come to learn. It’s a place where knowledge is developed and hopefully it’s a place where students can see and participate in its development. Unlike previous schooling you don't have to be here, so we'll assume that you want to be here and that you are here to actively seek knowledge and skills.

With assumptions that you are (a) here of your own free will and (b) are actively seeking to gain knowledge and skills, there is only one fuzzy area (for some) - how to succeed! It’s really quite simple: have fun. If you are enjoying what you are doing, you will succeed; if you are taking subjects or studying in a particular program and not enjoying it, you are unlikely to be successful.

A few words on success and enjoyment. Success is not just measured by your grade (but passing does help!), it is also measured by how you feel about what you are doing. You are the only person who can really judge whether you are successful - have you met your own expectations? Enjoyment does not necessarily mean stress free living (although maybe it is for some!). Taking only subjects that you were told were "easy" doesn't guarantee enjoyment; some of us require a challenge in life! Again, only you are in a position to determine what you find enjoyable.

A final thought on what a university is: this is also a place where faculty comes to learn...

GTECH 201 Introduction to Mapping Sciences

Students: to be successful you should be taking this subject because you want to take it, not because someone told you that you need to take it and you must be actively seeking knowledge and skills. This subject is a good participation "sport", but it’s not a really good spectator event. You need to be proactive, be able to try something new, look at things from a new (spatial) perspective, ask questions, read read read. You need to know when to take a break, get some fresh air, rest your eyes (a Buddhist philosophy is quite useful...). Attend the lectures and practical sessions. When your absence is unavoidable, make sure you catch up on what was missed. Plan your week as best as possible and make the commitment to spend the amount of time needed for you to be successful. Get a study partner or three, if this works for you.

Faculty: to be successful, I need to know that I've "made a difference" to at least some of my students, i.e., they feel successful. I'll provide a coherent subject structure, I'll deliver the best lecture possible on the day, and pointers to resources where possible and my tutors and I will provide sound practical instruction and practice our listening skills so that we can understand what difficulties you may be having, so that we can resolve them. Furthermore, we are available and approachable; ask questions in lectures, labs and at other times; use our office hours or make appointments to see us. Faculty have shown disappointing prowess at extra-sensory perception, please help us out!

We often lecture in subjects we are considered to have some expertise in; we are therefore fairly interested in the subject matter. We too are students in that we are continuing to learn new things in our areas of expertise and sometimes we are the ones who develop new knowledge in our areas of expertise!

Theory vs. practice: in lectures I try to provide an overview of the most important knowledge, but this never replaces the reading material. Sometimes lectures and readings will cover the same ground, but often, the best that can be done in some fourteen sessions is to provide just a "flavor" of the subject matter, something to whet your appetite, something to set the context for your readings.

Finally...

The reason for this page of amateur pop psychology is two fold: (a) first I hope that prospective students take this subject for the right reasons (i.e. they believe that they will enjoy it) and are in the right frame of mind to be successful and (b) second, I hope that with a little mutual empathy the learning experience can be made better for both student and teacher. If we are not having fun, we are both doing something wrong!

 

I wish us a lot of fun in this course,