An Introduction to Geospatial Thinking and Open Source GIS

The Scholarly Communications & Digital Publishing (ScholPub) department of WashU Libraries is excited to announce the publication of a new open-access book.

An Introduction to Geospatial Thinking and Open Source GIS is a beginner’s guide to understanding geospatial concepts and tools, and is intended to provide a flexible, open, and timeless resource for geospatial thinking and open-source geographic information systems (GIS). Part One of this resource provides an overview of key concepts in geospatial thinking and GIS, including key questions in the field, terminology, data management, and more. Part Two focuses on hands-on practice, providing exercises for students to practice finding, evaluating, and working with data in the open-source GIS tool QGIS. “With increasing use of generative AI, it’s more important than ever for students to understand the nature of geospatial data, how to form a geospatial question, and the power of mapping. It empowers them to critically evaluate data and maps, regardless of origin,” says Moore.

Jennifer Moore developed the text for use in teaching courses such as GIS Bootcamp, a School of Continuing and Professional Studies (CAPS) offering. CAPS seeks to provide students with in-demand job skills related to GIS and geospatial analysis; it leverages course like GIS Bootcamp to provide a foundation on which to build professional credentials for career advancement and skill development. Moore explains, “geospatial research and practice are deep and wide in complexity, the Bootcamp course provides students the opportunity to wade into these areas before engaging in the full certificate program.” For more information on the certificate program, contact CAPS Data Studies Director, Dorris Scott.

An Introduction to Geospatial Thinking and Open Source GIS is an open educational resource published by WashU Libraries in partnership with the DI2 Accelerator Award for Open Educational Resources. The complete list of award winners is shared on WashU Libraries’ website. Parts of this resource were adapted from the works: Essentials of Geographic Information Systems (2011) by Jonathan Campbell and Michael Shin, Spatial Thinking in Planning Practice: An Introduction to GIS (2014) by Yiping Fang et al, Human Geography by Christine Rosenfeld and Nathan Burtch, and The Research Data Management Workbook (2023) by Kristin Briney.

About the Author

Moore is head of Data Services at WashU Libraries and directs services in digital data management, curation and sharing, data visualization and exploration, 3D/AR/VR technologies, data literacies, digital humanities, and geographic information systems (GIS). She is program faculty in Global Studies and an instructor of GIS.