GIS & Geospatial Data Services

Storing research data in a database can help researchers explore their data with queries, facilitate collaboration, improve data security, and ensure data integrity. This workshop will explore the differences between relational, graph, and document databases to showcase how researchers can make use of the functionality they offer for managing data. These database models will be explored through examples involving queries with SQL and Cypher, use of Google Colab and Python for managing databases, and data visualization with graphs.

Learning and adopting a few good habits can go a long way in managing your data. In this introductory workshop on data management concepts, you will learn about the many resources available at UT to help manage your data as well as best practices and tips for managing data. This workshop will be a lecture with interactive components; come with your questions.

Tableau is a data visualization tool built around the philosophy that users should be able to build useful, beautiful charts quickly and easily. In this workshop we will cover how to connect to data, build several chart types, and publish dashboards to share. Before this session, please request and install a free student license for Tableau Desktop or download and install Tableau Public.

For the 4th consecutive year, UT GIS Day was celebrated on campus with a variety of events designed to provide opportunities for sharing about GIS work being carried out on campus and learning new GIS skills. Events included a workshop, lightning talks, panel discussion, career event, social hour, and more. Many of our events were recorded and can still be accessed via Zoom below.

In this discussion-focused session, we will consider who the data belongs to when researchers generate data, how the data collection process works and who is impacted, what happens to the data post data collection, who is responsible for maintaining/stewarding the data, and who corrects data when errors are uncovered.

During this extended 90 minute interactive workshop, participants will learn best practices for working with spreadsheet data. After a brief presentation, the instructors will guide participants in cleaning a pre-provided dataset using the open-source tool OpenRefine. Topics covered in OpenRefine will include: sorting and filtering, saving scripts, and exporting the final cleaned data file. We ask that registrants download OpenRefine 3.5.1 and make sure they can open it prior to attending the workshop. Please contact Meryl Brodsky or Hannah Chapman Tripp if you are experiencing difficulty downloading or opening the software.

High resolution digital elevation model (DEM) data can now be found online for many areas of the world. GIS software and Python can be used to visualize elevation data in both 2D and 3D, and to analyze digital elevation models in a variety of different ways that are of relevance to researchers in many different fields. Attend this workshop to learn about how you can make use of DEM data in your work.

Tableau is a data visualization tool built around the philosophy that users should be able to build useful, beautiful charts quickly and easily. In this workshop we will cover how to connect to data, build several chart types, and publish dashboards to share. Before this session, please request and install a free student license for Tableau Desktop or download and install Tableau Public.

This workshop will provide you with hands-on opportunities to apply effective data management practices as we explore the parallels between research and cooking. Together, we will look at similarities including the importance of quality inputs, the necessity of carefully documenting workflows, and other factors critical to success.

This workshop will provide an introduction to US census data, explore the information collected by the Census Bureau and cover how it has evolved over time. It will address uses and limitations of data access and management. Tools for working with census data like GIS software and SimplyAnalytics will be introduced.

Drones have become a powerful research tool because of their ability to collect very high resolution geospatial imagery. This workshop will discuss how imagery collected with drones can be processed, visualized, and analyzed to study vegetation, topography, and geomorphology. It will provide an introduction to the use of photogrammetry software, GIS, and Python for image analysis.

The UT Libraries is steadily migrating scanned maps from the online Perry-Castañeda Library (PCL) Map Collection to the Texas GeoData and UT Collections portal. Learn about finding georeferenced maps in the Texas GeoData portal, using them with GIS software, and the metadata and image enhancements to maps in the UT Collections portal.

Learning and adopting a few good habits can go a long way in managing your data. In this introductory workshop on data management concepts, you will learn about the many resources available at UT to help manage your data as well as best practices and tips for managing data. This workshop will be a lecture with interactive components; come with your questions.

When you start working with large datasets or need to develop reproducible workflows, the ability to develop scripted processes for data processing and analysis can be essential. Tune in for this workshop to learn the basics of using Python, a popular free and open source scripting language to work with data.

This workshop is intended to outline a process for finding existing datasets. We’ll cover statistics vs data, how to search for subject-specific data repositories, searching literature for data, and identifying agencies or institutions that collect data. Participants will get a chance to search for data in their field and assess a dataset.

Wheatville was a freedmen’s community in the area now known as West Campus. This project maps the racial demographic changes in this neighborhood from the late 1800s to the mid-twentieth century. In this workshop, we will follow the paths of several Wheatville residents to showcase the complexities of geocoding historical data, and explore how this process can revive the social memory of communities.

Learning and adopting a few good habits can go a long way in managing your data. In this introductory workshop on data management concepts, you will learn about the many resources available at UT to help manage your data as well as best practices and tips for managing data. This workshop will be a lecture with interactive components; come with your questions.

Using Texas original land survey data, digitized historic maps, and current land parcel data, this workshop will show how GIS can be used to construct a historical model of land use in Texas. The workshop will introduce several GIS operations, including georeferencing and spatial querying, that can help us connect the present with the past.

This workshop will go beyond the basics of Python to introduce attendees to the data visualization capabilities provided by packages like the Plotly graphing library. It will cover the process of installing new packages to extend the functionality of your Python installation and demonstrate the advantages of scripted data visualization.

*Please note that this workshop is not specifically focused on geospatial applications but is of potential relevance to those carrying out geospatial research.

R is a free and open source programming language and robust software environment that allows for development of scripted reproducible data science workflows. Join us for this workshop which illustrates the power of R through a demonstration which will show how it can be used to map publicly available COVID data.

When you start working with large datasets or need to develop reproducible workflows, the ability to develop scripted processes for data processing and analysis can be essential. Tune in for this workshop to learn the basics of using Python, a popular free and open source scripting language to work with data.

Python is a powerful, widely used, scripting language that can be used to automate GIS processes in both QGIS and ArcGIS environments. This workshop will show you how to get started using Python to turn complex, tedious geospatial workflows into simple, documented, and reproducible scripted routines.

Geographic information system (GIS) software and related tools can greatly facilitate research into the spatial processes studied by those in the geological sciences. Recognizing the important research applications of geospatial technologies like GIS, the UT Libraries has spent the last several years expanding its GIS services to meet the needs of students, faculty, and staff engaged in geospatial research in departments all across campus. This talk will provide an overview of the Libraries’ geospatial services, give examples of how GIS software and similar tools can be utilized in geological research, and discuss specific GIS related resources that may be of interest to those engaged in geological work at the BEG and at UT more broadly.

Using georeferenced data from an Augustinian Order’s book of professions (Mexico, 1537-1620) and other related archival materials held at the Benson, this workshop will introduce you to ArcGIS StoryMaps, a web-based presentation tool for geospatial research. We will show you how to create and incorporate a map into an ArcGIS's StoryMap.

Demographic data collected by the U.S. Census Bureau and other similar agencies in other countries is often freely shared online in GIS compatible formats, but can often be difficult to utilize effectively. This workshop will showcase how these datasets can be excellent resources for supporting insightful geospatial analysis and discuss data processing strategies that are important for obtaining valid results.

Historical maps and aerial photos can be valuable resources for geospatial analysis but often require georeferencing with GIS software before they can be effectively utilized. This workshop will demonstrate how to make the most of these historical raster based datasets.

This workshop will provide instruction on browsing for geospatial data, cover how to search for specific datasets to download, and will discuss how to process downloaded data using GIS software to enhance its usability.

ArcGIS Pro is now 5 years old and it is a great time to get acquainted with all of the new functionality that Esri's most powerful GIS software offers. This workshop will provide a walk through of all major ArcGIS Pro functionality and cover important things to know for transitioning successfully from ArcMap.

GIS Day events on campus will include a keynote presentation from Dr. David Maidment, a discussion panel highlighting the diversity of GIS work at UT, a workshop that will introduce the new Texas GeoData portal, a tour of the PCL Map Room, geospatial lightning talks, a geovisualization exhibition, and more! For full details and the event schedule visit the UT GIS Day website at http://gis.utexas.edu/

Geographic information system (GIS) software can be a valuable tool for facilitating historical research. With GIS software you can create maps to visualize past events, analyze spatiotemporal datasets to assess change over time, identify locations associated with historical records or documents, and more. This workshop will provide an explanation of key geospatial terms and concepts and provide an introduction to the use of GIS software for visualizing, analyzing, storing, processing, and managing historical geospatial data. Relevant GIS functionality will be demonstrated using QGIS software, a free and open source application that is widely used in the academic community.

This workshop will show how anyone can start using open source geographic information system (GIS) software and open data to design maps and carry out geospatial research. It will start with a discussion of core GIS and geospatial data concepts and build up to interactive demonstrations that utilize QGIS and publicly available datasets to explore the theme of inclusivity in the context of digital cartography.

This workshop will provide an explanation of key geospatial terms and concepts and an introduction to geographic information system (GIS) software for visualizing, analyzing, storing, processing, and managing geospatial data. By the end of this session you should have the core knowledge required to start working effectively with geospatial datasets.

This workshop will cover the essentials of cartographic design and teach you how to design a custom map using QGIS software and openly available data that you can download online. Laptops preloaded with QGIS software will be available for attendees to use in the interactive portion of this work, but you are welcome to bring your own laptop if you would like so that you can work on your personal computer.

ArcGIS Online is a cloud GIS platform which supports data hosting and provides an easy to use web interface for designing interactive web maps without having to write any code. This workshop will cover the process of uploading geospatial data to ArcGIS Online, publishing it as a web service that can call be called by web applications, and creating a customized Story Map web application that presents the data in a narrated fashion through an interactive map interface.

This workshop will provide an introduction into the use of R and the RStudio integrated development environment for geoprocessing and geospatial analysis. Importing, manipulating, and visualizing geospatial data in R will be discussed in addition to demonstrations of common cases where geospatial analysis in R might be beneficial. Laptops with RStudio will be available so that you can follow along. No previous R experience is required.

This workshop will cover the essentials of working with geospatial data along with a review of data management best practices so that you can learn how to avoid the pitfalls that often ensnare researchers who are new to working with geospatial information.

This workshop will provide instruction on browsing for geospatial data, cover how to search for specific datasets to download, and will discuss how to process downloaded data using GIS software to enhance its usability.

This workshop will provide an explanation of key geospatial terms and concepts and an introduction to geographic information system (GIS) software for visualizing, analyzing, storing, processing, and managing geospatial data. By the end of this session you should have the core knowledge required to start working effectively with geospatial datasets.

This workshop provides a broad overview of commonly used tools, from powerful open source GIS software like QGIS to new online web mapping platforms like ArcGIS Online. Live demonstrations will showcase the diverse array of mapping tools that are available to UT faculty, staff, and students for creating engaging visualizations from a variety of geospatial datasets.