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Session 6: Geography 3: GIS
Date: Thursday, November 3, 2016, 15h30–16h45 (UK time)
Session coordinator: Leif Isaksen (Lancaster University)
YouTube link: https://youtu.be/3jiKy1sj39w
In this session we will look at the most commonly-used spatial technology: Geographic Information Systems (GIS). We will cover the basic principles underlying it, offer a brief overview of the interface of QGIS, a Free and Open Source GIS package, survey some of the applications of GIS most frequently used by humanists, and finish with a discussion of its limitations as well as the opportunities it provides.
- Weiss, C. 2010. Determining Function of Pompeian Sidewalk Features through GIS Analysis, in: Frischer, B., J. Webb Crawford and D. Koller (eds.) Making History Interactive. Computer Applications and Quantitative Methods in Archaeology (CAA). Proceedings of the 37th International Conference, Williamsburg, Virginia, United States of America, March 22-26 2009. Archaeopress, Oxford, pp. 363-372
- Poluschny, A.G. 2010. Over the Hills and Far Away? Cost Surface Based Models of Prehistoric Settlement Hinterlands, in: Frischer, B., J. Webb Crawford and D. Koller (eds.) Making History Interactive. Computer Applications and Quantitative Methods in Archaeology (CAA). Proceedings of the 37th International Conference, Williamsburg, Virginia, United States of America, March 22-26 2009. Archaeopress, Oxford, pp. 313-319
- Donaldson, Christopher, Gregory, Ian, & Murietta-Flores, P., 2015. Mapping 'Wordsworthshire': A GIS Study of Literary Tourism in Victorian Lakeland. Journal of Victorian Culture Volume 20, Issue 3.
- Drucker, Johanna. 2012. Humanistic Theory and Digital Scholarship. In Gold, M. & Klein L. F. (eds.) Debates in the Digital Humanities. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press
‘The theoretical underpinnings of humanistic interpretation are fundamentally at odds with the empirical approaches on which certain conventions of…spatial modeling are based' (Drucker 2012). Discuss the validity of this statement with regard to GIS.
The Powerpoint slides contain some additional information on where to find useful sources of data
Documentation to assist with some of the steps in this exercise can be found in the QGIS User Guide. The exercise can also be adapted to ESRI's ArcGIS.
You can use the CSV file of hillfort data from CANMORE and HydroSHEDS rivers Shapefile, but you are encouraged to experimen with your own data as well.
- Download the latest version of QGIS and using the 'Plugins | Manage and install plugins...' menu item, install the OpenLayers plug in
- Using the 'Web | Openlayers plugin...' menu item, add a map background from any of the OpenLayers data (OpenStreet, Google, Bing) and check coordinate reference system
- Add a vector layer using CSV file (point data). If you are using the hillforts file, make sure that the coordinate reference system is set to OSGB36 (EPSG:7405). Explore data with the attribute table, and change its symbology.
- Add a vector layer using Shapefile (line data)and change symbology
- Using the 'Vector | Geoprocessing Tools ... | Buffer(s)' menu item, Create a buffer of 10m around line features and save it as a new layer
- Using Project | New Print Composer' menu item, create a new map, and add any relevant map features (scale bar, legend, north arrow)
- Export the map as a pdf (A4 printing) and kml (for Google Earth)