Research Guides: Geographic Information Systems (GIS): Get GIS Software

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Geospatial Applications & Software

BatchGeo
A free tool which geocodes a list of address and finds distances.
CartoDB
A web based GIS and anaylsis tool which allows users to create dynamic maps that can be displayed and embedded in a web browser.
Degrees, Minutes, Seconds to Decimal Degrees Converter
Allows users to easily convert between the two latitude/longitude units quickly and easily.
Heat Map Generator
The Maptive Heat Map Tool makes it easy to visualize and identify trends in your location data on a Google map. You can use our heat mapping software to visualize marker density or numerical data tied to geographic locations.
Kartograph
A simple and lightweight framework for building interactive map applications
Leaflet
A light weight, java script library for making tile based interactive maps for desktop and mobile browsers.
MapBox
An opensource, developer platform for creating and using interactive maps for desktop and mobile browsers.
OpenStreetMap
(OSM) is a collaborative project to create a free and editable map of the world. Data can be downloaded to use in a GIS.
PolicyMap
A web-based Geographic Information System (GIS) used to create maps of the United States down to the Census block groups. Available data includes demographics, home sale statistics, health data, mortgage trends, school performance scores and labor data like unemployment, crime statistics and city crime rates.
Social Explorer
Social Explorer provides easy-to-use tools for visual exploration of demographic information, from census and economic data to election and religion data, and more. With these interactive online tools, users can examine change over time and understand the patterns behind the raw numbers.
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MAPS: Create and customize thematic and interactive maps that explore all historical and modern US census data across the centuries and even down to street level detail (where available). Navigate current and historical demographic data and survey.
REPORTS: Create data reports at all geographic levels, including state, county, census tract, block group, zip code, and census place (where the data exist). Export, save, and print reports for professional-looking reports, presentations, and graphics. High-resolution images are available and any presentation can be exported directly to PowerPoint.
US Census Geocoder
An online tool which matches addresses to geographic locations and entities containing those addresses.

Field Data Collection Tools

ArcGIS Collector
A field data collection application which allows users to use their smartphone or tablet to collect and update information in the field, whether connected or disconnected.
ArcGIS Survey123
An application that allows users to create surveys and forms for simple and easy field data collection, analysis and sharing.
Fulcrum
A web-based application that allows users to create their own field data collection forms and applications for use on their mobile devices

Design Applications & Software

Canva.com
An easy to use graphic design web tool with templates for brochures, posters, presentations, flyers, etc.
ColorBrewer
An online tool created to assist users with appropriate color schemes for maps and graphics.
Color Wheel - Color Calculator
An interactive color wheel which allows users to explore creative color options for a design project. Simply pick your base color(s), choose a color harmony, tweak/explore as needed, and see results. You’ll get a report of the hex, RGB, and CMYK color values for your project and see your colors applied to design samples.
Design Seeds
Provides color palettes that are meant to inspire.

Statistical Applications & Tools

MedCalc
A collection of seven free calculating web pages: tests for one mean or one proportion, comparisons of means or proportions, relative risk, odds ratio, and diagnostic test evaluation.
OpenEpi
A web-based, open-source, operating-independent series of programs for use in epidemiology and statistics based on JavaScript and HTML
R Seek
A custom front-end to Google search engine to assist in finding content related to the R language.
SISA - Simple Interactive Statistical Analysis
Allows users to run statistical analysis directly within the browser. Choose a test, fill in the form, click the button, and the analysis will take place on the spot. The user friendly guides help determine which statistical procedure is appropriate for your data.
StatPages
A catalog of 100s of software packages and very specific statistical calculators. This is a great place to start whether you know what you are looking for or just browsing options.
VassarStats
A website for statistical computation. It has a large range of simple to sophisticated online calculators.

Data Visualization and Data Management Applications & Tools

ChartBlocks
An easy-to-use online tool that requires no coding, and builds visualizations from spreadsheets, databases… and live feeds.
Chartlr
Allows users to import tabular spreadsheet data, pick a chart type, and choose from dozens of fonts and unlimited color combinations
D3.js - Data-Driven Documents
A very flexible open-source JavaScript library for manipulating documents based on data (e.g. to generate HTML5 or SVG charts from data).
Gephi
An open-source beta project designed for visualizing statistical information, including relationships within networks of up to 50,000 nodes and half a million edges (connections or relationships) as well as network analyses of factors such as “betweenness,” closeness and clustering coefficient.
Google Charts
Powerful, simple to use, and free. Try out the rich gallery of interactive charts and data tools.
Plotly
Offers an engaging and user-friendly option for creating a range of visualizations within the browser. Simply upload data, choose a style or graph type, select your design elements and share your visualizations.
RawGraphs
A free and open-source web application for visualizing data. Raw is based on the popular D3.js and supports lots of different chart types like bubble, treemap, circle packing, and more.
TagCrowd
A simple word cloud creation tool. It requires no sign up and creates word clouds that look clean, organized, and professional.
Visage.co
A web application to create beautiful, branded reports.
WordArt
An online word cloud generator that enables you to create amazing and unique word cloud art with ease.
WordClouds
A free online word cloud generator and tag cloud creator.