GIS Analysis
Geospatial data analysis, is the application of analytic techniques to a research problem when location is a significant or interesting aspect of the research question. This is useful for researchers who are trying to understand the location of things, if and how they relate, what that relationship means, and if actions can be taken.
The Library provides support for the popular geographic information system (GIS) software package ArcGIS by ESRI. For information on acquiring and installing the software, please visit the ESRI ArcGIS page on the Computing and Communication Services (CCS) website.
Getting started with geospatial analysis
- What is GIS (GIS Lounge)
- Understanding projections and coordinate systems (ESRI Help)
- Learning geographic and projected coordinate systems
- ARC GIS support documentation
- Get started with ArcMap
- Getting started with geoprocessing
- Getting started with spatial analysis (6-week free online course)
Find geospatial data
We recommend Scholars GeoPortal for Canadian geospatial data.
Get assistance
Geospatial analysis experts are available to help you find and use geospatial data.
Additional tools and support
Cite your sources
You must cite any GIS data you use that you did not create yourself. These guides can help.
- Citing geospatial data and software (Carleton University)
- Best practices in citation of cartographic materials (Association of Canadian Map Libraries and Archives)
- How to reference geospatial data, maps, atlases, air photos (Brock University)
Open source software and tools
- QGIS is the primary open source GIS software
- R is used in some disciplines for GIS analysis
- Open Source Geospatial Foundation (Wikipedia)
ESRI training tutorials
ESRI provides the University of Guelph community with many web courses and tutorials on ArcGIS.
Contact us to access training materials marked "locked" or "requires maintenance."