Maps and Geographic Information Systems (GIS)

Upcoming GIS Training

Thurs, Jan 30, 1pm-3pm: Python GIS: Geopandas Library (Hands-on)

Mon, Feb 3, 1pm-3pm: GIS Using Python: xarray (Hands-on)

Mon, Feb 10, 1pm-3pm: GIS Using R: arcgis (Hands-on)

Tues, Feb. 11, 10am-12pm: Introduction to GRASS GIS Processing Engine (Hands-on)

Wed, Feb 19, 2:30pm-3:30pm NASA Earthdata’s Application for Extracting and Exploring Analysis Ready Samples (AppEEARS): A Tool for Accessing, Processing, and Visualizing Geospatial Data (Lecture)

These events are organized by BU's Research & Computing Group within Information Services & Technology.  Visit the RCS calendar for more training sessions.

Welcome to the Maps and GIS Research Guide. Use the navigation menu on the left to find maps, geographic data, and links to GIS software.  If you have any questions about this guide or geographic research, contact JD Kotula, BU's earth & environment librarian, at jdkotula@bu.edu.

Image credit: Map of Boston in 1835, digitized by the Boston Public Library

Some common geographic terms include:

Cartography, the making of maps, including print, digital, and 3-dimensional maps

Coordinates, a reference system that communicates location using longitude and latitude

Geodata or geographic data, used for any data that reference a location on Earth

GIS (Geographic Information System), used for databases that house geographic data (like terrain, population, political borders, etc.) and tools to visualize and analyze that data; examples include ArcGIS and QGIS

Raster data, data that are displayed on a map as pixels; images from satellites are usually stored as raster data

Topography, land surfaces, forms, and features, and the study of these phenomena

Vector data, data that are displayed on a map as points, lines, and shapes; political boundaries are usually stored as vector data.

For any research help regarding spatial information, contact me at jdkotula@bu.edu or write to one of our subject librarians.

Boston University librarians can help you with:

• Finding maps
• Finding GIS datasets
• Citing map and data sources
• Integrating geographic information into your research