Module Identifier GG10720  
Module Title GEOGRAPHIC DATA ACQUISITION, ANALYSIS AND PRESENTATION  
Academic Year 2000/2001  
Co-ordinator Dr John Walton  
Semester Semester 2 (Taught over 2 semesters)  
Other staff Dr Neil Glasser, Dr Glenn Maas, Dr Giles Brown, Mr Robert Collin  
Pre-Requisite Acceptance on a Geography Single Honours or Joint Honours degree programme.  
Course delivery Lecture   18 Hours 1 hr lectures.  
  Practicals / Field Days   10 x 2 hrs practicals, 4 x 1 hr practicals, 2 half day fieldwork  
Assessment Continuous assessment   Computing 20%; Spatial data sources; 20% ; Computer Cartography 20%; Statistics 20%; Fieldwork 20%. All components must be submitted in order to obtain a pass in the module, though late submissions will be subject to the usual departmental penalties. A resit involves submitting missing components, reworking original exercises or undertaking equivalent pieces of work, according to the requirements of each section of the module.   100%  

Module outline
This module provides an introduction to a range of geographical data sources, both primary data
to be observed and collected in the field, and secondary data to be acquired from document
repositories and databanks. Included in the laboratory component are the most fundamental
spatial information sources for the Geographer - maps, aerial photos and satellite images, along
with computer methods and statistical techniques. In these sections example data will be used to
evaluate a variety of methods of manipulation, analysis and presentation. Staff representing a
wide range of geographical perspectives also demonstrate field methodologies in the second main
component of the module.

The module is organised around five sections:

Section 1: Computing - Word processing, spreadsheets, graphics, census data (5 weeks).

Section 2: Spatial data sources - Remote Sensing, aerial photos, published maps, digital map data
and Geographic Information Systems (6 weeks).

Section 3: Cartography - Map design, Computer Cartography (5 weeks).

Section 4: Descriptive statistics (5 weeks).

Section 5: Geographical field methodologies (2 field half days).

Aims of the module
To provide a sound training in the acquisition, manipulation and presentation of both primary field data and fundamental forms
of secondary geographical data.

Module objectives / Learning outcomes
By the end of the module students will:

1. Be able to evaluate and comparatively assess a range of spatial data sources, including satellite data, aerial photography,
published maps, digital map data and basic census data.

2. Be proficient in a range of PC-based handling and presentation skills, including word processing, spreadsheets, computer
graphics and mapping, and the integrated use of these techniques.

3. Be conversant with statistical measures capable of effectively describing and comparing numerical data sets.

4. Know how to recognise geographical relationships in the field, in both the physical and human landscapes, and be aware of
the kinds of data to be acquired to further study these relationships.