LibGuides: Geographic Information Systems (GIS): Introduction

GIS at Brown

Brown has several points of contact for supporting GIS education and research.

GeoData@SciLi
The library provides research consultations, project assistance, course support, workshops, and data resources. Contact the Head of GIS & Data Services for assistance with GIS and demographic / socio-economic / geospatial data sources.
Spatial Structures in the Social Sciences (S4)
Provides research consultations, project assistance, research seminars / colloquium, and training, including a 2-week GIS seminar that's offered twice a year. The Social Science Research Lab is available for students who are working on GIS projects.
Brown Digital Archaeology Laboratory
A center for teaching and research in archaeology and GIS. Hosts regular meetings and a series of skills-based seminars.
Environmental And Remote Technologies Lab (EarthLab)
The EarthLab is in a state of transition. The lab classroom is currently available for students who are working on GIS projects.
GIS Listserv
Join to find out about workshops, events, resources, internships and jobs. Must have a Brown or RISD email address to register.

What is GIS?

Geographic Information Systems (GIS) visually organize information around the concepts of location and place. Data is tied to actual locations on the earth, and geographic features are represented as points, lines, and polygons (vectors) or as continuous gridded surfaces (rasters). There are several different GIS software packages that can be used for geographic analysis, map making, database management, and geospatial statistics. You can use GIS to:

Study the distribution of populations
Study physical features of the earth and natural phenomena
Find the optimal location for an event, service, or business
Identify geographic patterns and evaluate the distribution of features
Measure distances and determine optimal routes or paths
Tie together separate pieces of data to create new information
Create maps