Geographic Information Systems Fundamentals

Citation

Bolstad, P., & Manson, S. (2022). GIS Fundamentals: A First Text on Geographic Information Systems (7th ed.). Eider Press.

Chapter Summary

The book is a large introductory GIS textbook, 732 pages in its seventh edition, that has been revised repeatedly since the early 2000s (earlier editions appeared in 2008, 2012, 2016 and 2019). Paul Bolstad, who taught GIS at the University of Minnesota and Virginia Tech, wrote the earlier editions; Steven Manson, a professor of geography at the University of Minnesota, joined for the seventh. The back cover defines GIS as computer-based tools for the entry, maintenance and analysis of spatial data, and says the book provides an introduction to both theory and application, written for a first-year GIS class and as a reference for practitioners.

What GIS is, and how spatial data are modelled

The book begins with an introduction to GIS and moves to spatial data models, the ways in which features and surfaces on the Earth are represented in digital form. These topics set up the vocabulary on which the rest of the book depends.

Map projections and coordinate systems

Map projections appear in the publisher's list and are a foundation of GIS work, since data from different sources must be placed in a common frame before they can be combined.

Getting data in: data entry, imagery and positioning

The topics include data entry, image data and satellite positioning (GNSS in the seventh edition; GPS in the sixth), together with digital data sources. This is the part of the book on how spatial data are collected, converted and brought into a GIS.

Managing data: databases, metadata, standards and accuracy

The book treats database systems in GIS, metadata, standards and accuracy. These topics cover how spatial data are stored, documented and checked for quality, which affects whether an analysis can be trusted.

Analysis: general spatial analysis, raster analysis and terrain modelling

The analytical topics are general spatial analysis, raster analysis and terrain modelling. The back cover says the book balances theoretical and practical material so that readers can apply GIS to real-world problems.

Key Concepts

Data and representation

• Spatial data models: the ways geographic features and surfaces are represented in a GIS.
• Map projections: the methods for placing the Earth's curved surface on a plane.
• Image data and GNSS: sources of imagery and positions that feed a GIS.

Management and analysis

• Databases, metadata and standards: the structures and documentation through which spatial data are organised and shared.
• Accuracy: the quality of spatial data and its effect on results.
• Spatial, raster and terrain analysis: the analysis operations that make a GIS useful for resource management and similar work.

Critical Analysis

Strengths

• Balance of theory and practice. The publisher states that the seventh edition balances theoretical and practical material, so that readers can apply GIS knowledge to real-world problems.
• Written for a first course. The back cover says the book is for a first-year GIS class and also for practitioners as a reference, so one volume serves both a class and later use.
• Authors with teaching experience. Bolstad has more than 35 years of experience teaching GIS and has taught over 4,000 students; Manson has taught thousands of students in geographic information science and spatial analysis.
• Kept current. The text has gone through several editions, and the publisher says each chapter of the seventh was updated, with over 40 new or improved figures.

Limitations

• Size. At more than 700 pages, the book holds more than most one-semester courses can use, so instructors and readers will need to select topics.
• Several editions in circulation. Editions from 2002 to 2022 circulate under the same title, with different page counts (688 pages for the fourth edition of 2012, 764 for the sixth of 2019, 732 for the seventh) and, from the seventh, a second author, so readers must check which edition a course assigns.
• Concepts rather than a software manual. The topic list is about GIS methods and data, not about operating a particular software package, so a reader who needs software training will need a tutorial or the software's documentation in addition.

Where It Fits in the Course

Bolstad is a general introductory text on GIS technology, from data models through analysis. Longley, Goodchild, Maguire and Rhind's Geographic Information Science and Systems covers similar ground but presents GIS as an applied science, moving through representation, data, software and databases, analysis and mapping to management and policy; the two work well as alternative first texts or together. O'Sullivan and Unwin's Geographic Information Analysis goes deeper into the statistical and analytical methods and suits a second course.

For the visual side of GIS, Krygier and Wood's Making Maps is a guide to map design for people who make maps with GIS software, and Monmonier's How to Lie with Maps is a short introduction to how maps simplify and mislead. Harley's The New Nature of Maps offers an advanced critical perspective on maps as cultural and historical documents.

How to Use This Book

The book suits undergraduates in geography, environmental science, forestry, planning and related fields, and practitioners moving into GIS. No prior GIS experience is assumed.

A practical plan:

• Read in order at first. The early chapters on GIS, data models and map projections underpin the later ones on data entry, databases and analysis.
• Pick up the analysis topics once the data foundations are clear. Raster analysis and terrain modelling are good targets for a reader who wants to move into applied work.
• Pair it with hands-on work. Use a desktop GIS package on a real dataset to practise the operations the book explains.
• Use it as a reference later. The topics on metadata, standards and accuracy are worth returning to when planning a project.
• Check the edition. The seventh edition has been updated chapter by chapter from earlier ones, so use the edition your course assigns when following page references.