School of Geography + Archaeology

Scoil na Treolaochta agus na Seandlaochta

Geography Compulsory Cover Sheet

It is compulsory that you attach this cover sheet to your work. If
you hand in a group assignment please use the table below on the
right to list the other students in your group. All deadlines are
12.30.
Please:
1. Use 12 font Times
New Roman
2. Use 1.5 spacing
3. Ensure text is
justified
4. Ensure all pages are
securely stapled.
Thank you.

Group Assignments
Name

I.D. No

Student Name: Manuela Antonia Gomes da Rocha

Student email address: M.GOMESDAROCHA1@nuigalway.ie
Student I.D. Number: 15100056

Year:

1st

2nd

3rd/4th

Course Code: TI_223__ Module Title: __Introduction to

GIS_________
Course Tutor: ____Dr. C. Zhang________________________________
Assignment Title/Number: What is GIS?/1
Number of pages: 4____
Bibliography attached? Yes

Word count: 1015___

No

I hereby certify that I understand what plagiarism is and that this essay is
entirely my own work. Neither the paper in its entirety nor parts thereof
have been published elsewhere in either paper or electronic form unless
indicated through referencing.

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______________________________
Student Signature

___________________________
Date

What is GIS?
Geographical Information Systems are computer systems able to capture, store, consult,
manipulate, analyze and print data spatially referenced in relation to the earth's surface.
(MAGUIRE, D.D.; GOODCHILD, M.F.; RHIND, D.; 1991)
Geographic Information Systems are a set of programs , equipment, methodology , data, and
people (users), perfectly integrated in order to make possible the collection, storage, processing
and geographically referenced data analysis , as well as production information derived from its
application. (TEIXEIRA, A.; 1995)
Geographically referenced or spatially referenced could be defined as objects with attributes
containing information about their geographic location in relation to a coordinate system.
Geoprocessing systems are a set of programs that are able to capture, process and manage this
kind of information. Some of the most known Geoprocessing systems are Automated Mapping
Systems, CAD Systems and GIS.
One of the main applications of GIS is in the land use planning, such as urban planning of a city,
environmental planning , citing as an example the population density of a city, the amount of
pollution or deforestation of an geographic area.
To better explain the significance of GIS is necessary to define its three elements separately,
Geoprocessing, Remote Sensing and GPS, due to the fact that each of these three tools has a
specific and very important function in the whole system.
The Remote Sensing is a set of techniques used to capture images through satellite sensors,
coupled with photographic equipment and scanners. It is a technique that allows to obtain
information of a particular object without coming into physical contact with it. GPS is the Global
Positioning System, a tool that lets you know the location of a person or a space object from their
geographical coordinates, latitude and longitude. It is currently being used in various economic
sectors such as agriculture and vehicle cargo tracking. With the traffic problems faced in the big

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cities, has become an indispensable item for navigation and guidance to car drivers. The
Geoprocessing, as stated earlier, is the technique of collecting and processing spatial data. This
process involves information collected by both the Remote Sensing and by GPS.
A Geographic information system differs from other systems by its ability to establish spatial
relationships between graphical elements. In addition to the geometric and spatial data, GIS also
have no-spatial data called attributes. These attributes are associated with the graphics, providing
descriptive information about them. The attribute data and the spatial data are stored, typically, on
separate bases. The system is programmed to allow access to these two data simultaneously. The
user is able to search information and associate them with graphical data.
Thus, the geographic information systems are able to collect spatial data from different sources,
such as field survey, GPS and remote sensing, as well as store, retrieve, update and correct the
processed data, and allow manipulations on the achievements of proceedings for review of stored
data, changing the shape of the data.
The data used in Geographic Information Systems can be divided into two groups: spatial data
(graphical data or geographic), describing the geographic characteristics of the surface in form
and position, and not graphical data, or attributes, describing the attributes of these features.
Between the two types of GIS data the spatial data have two different structures the vector and
the raster data storage. The vector data treat about geo-referencing storing the location of the
longitude, latitude in the form of coordinates x and y, it gives the location and shape of the
features and the relationship among those. The raster data use a matrix structure, in other words,
is based on pixels. The difference between then is that the vector even though it is more complex
it occupies less space than raster in the storage and it is used on database management and the
raster is used on spatial analysis. The attribute data are the character or names and number or
numerical values that are generally associated with the spatial data.
The main purpose of using a GIS is tactical, it simplifies the processing and geographic
information visualization for further decision making. Perform this work with a GIS is more
advantageous because the system works through digital formats and therefore compact, which
makes the performance more easy and quick. It also helps to retain and retrieve large amounts of
data quickly and at lower cost. GIS are able to analyze, manipulate and integrate different types
of data, both spatial and non-spatial, as well as their corresponding attributes are also at high
speed. This increases productivity and competitiveness, as it provides efficiency projects. The

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system provide mapping variety and quality products with a minimum investment of time and
money and can present the results in a fast, rational and easily understood by the user. This allows
quick and easy evaluation. Its use is part of the new procedures for the management of
information, which corresponds to the advancement of technology and represents a new way to
help companies make accurate decisions based of geographic information.
References:
-

MAGUIRE, D.J; GOODCHILD, M.F.; RHIND, D. Geographical Information Systems:

Principles and Applications. 2 Vol., Longman scientific & Technical, 1991.

TEIXEIRA, A. What is the best GIS definition? Magazine GIS Factor, 1995.

Dr. ZHANG, CHAOSHENG, National University of Ireland Introduction to GIS

(Lecture notes and slides), 2016.

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