Skills Flashcards
Advantages of using IT to collect data (3)
Can collect qualitative data using digital cameras which can be used to help explain findings / anomalies
Can access data that may not otherwise have been available - e.g. secondary data from internet
Can ensure greater accuracy in readings and automatic collection to enable studies of change over time (using data loggers)
Disadvantages of using IT to collect data (3)
Often requires expensive equipment (e.g. data loggers / Global Positioning Systems)
May require specific software to actually make use of the data collected using data loggers etc.
Data from the internet may have some bias (need to consider reliability)
Advantages of GIS (5)
Provides ability to show lots of information on one map
Information can be linked together to help identify spatial patterns / support analysis of data
More and more people have access to GIS - e.g. i-phones etc.
GIS used by many public services to improve services offered
GPS combined with GIS has made travelling between places easier
Disadvantages of GIS (4)
May require expensive software and a computer which needs keeping updated
Some software is complicated to use / may require training
If too many layers or data are added to a map it can be difficult to interpret
GIS produces maps - but skills is still required to interpret the maps in a geographical context
Using GIS to collect data (4)
Upload photographs onto Google Earth using place marks
Measure straight line distances and irregular lines
Locate study areas and access aerial photographs
Link data / graphs collected with specific places in a GIS system
How to use a satellite image to investigate (4)
Identify a source for satellite images, e.g. through a google search, or using a specific programme such as Google Earth.
Once located image - right click and save, or print screen image
Image can then be pasted within text and given a title. Annotations can be made using text boxes.
A figure number should be given so that it can be made reference to in text and the source of the image added
How to use the internet to collect data (3)
Use a google search, with appropriate key words and where appropriate the + sign in between to get more focused results
Check origin of the information given in the website (to consider reliability / possible bias)
If it is a controversial topic that is being investigated, or involves specific points of view - look for a number of different views to get a more balanced overview
Site of an area (3)
This refers to the physical characteristics of the place and the land it is built on.
S H A W L
Slope; Height above sea level; Aspect (way slope faces); Water Supply; Land (e.g. floodplain)
Situation of an area (3)
The location of a place in relation to other places
Remember - P A R C
Places (nearby Settlements); Accessibility; Relief (near hills etc.) Communications (e.g. near roads / rivers)
Different types of settlement (3)
Linear Settlement - where buildings are located either side of a main road
Nucleated Settlement - where buildings are grouped together (often at a crossroads or around a village green)
Dispersed Settlement - where individual buildings are spread out around an area
Physical features on a map (3)
Relief (shape of land - e.g. contour patterns, shape of land - e.g. valleys, height above sea level etc.)
Drainage (e.g. number of rivers, width, lakes, marsh etc.)
Vegetation - woodland, type vegetation etc.
Human features on a map (2)
Land-use (i.e. residential, recreation, industrial etc.)Communications (i.e. roads, railways etc.)
Settlement (inc. site, situation, shape (linear, nucleated etc.))
What is GIS
GIS is a Geographical Information System - it is software tool that is available to geographers to aid the mapping and spatial analysis of data and information. It enables data to plotted and interrogated digitally in a map form. GIS can involve the layering of data, to overlay different data sets and look for spatial patterns and relationships therefore enabling us to make sense of large amounts of data
