Research Guides: Geographic Information Systems (GIS): Learn GIS

Learning GIS Resrouces

Geographic Information Systems (GIS) offer a dynamic digital environment for visualizing and analyzing geographic information. You can use it to display and analyze spatial data and map information.

Here are some resources to learn about GIS:

1. ESRI Training: ESRI has web courses and other training materials to help you learn ArcGIS and other ESRI products. A lot of ESRI web courses are online, available for free, and are asynchronous. **Note that some training materials are not available for free, such as in-person training, certification prep, books, etc.

2. Tutorials

3. QGIS Documentation

4. Use Library Search to find books and manuals.

General

ESRI TV
GIS with Public Domain Data
This is a link to data and exercises that accompany the book, GIS Guide to Public Domain Data (call # G70.217.G46 K47 2012).
The exercise topics include site selection, analyzing natural disasters and their impact, and land use.
Geospatial Historian
The Geospatial Historian is a tutorial-based open-access textbook, modeled on the Programming Historian, for historical scholars and digital humanists. It is designed to teach practical digital mapping and GIS skills that are immediately useful to real research needs.
Free online GIS courses

Finding Data

Find Imagery Using EarthExplorer

EarthExplorer contains a variety of imagery, including satellite, aerial photographs, lidar, and land cover.
How to Download Data from the National Map Viewer

Learn how to search for and download data from the National Map Viewer. Data includes topographic maps, elevation, transportation, government boundaries, hydrography, land cover, elevation, contours, natural hazards, protected land, and present-day imagery.