Tufts GIS Tutorials & Tip Sheets ArcGIS 10.x

Tutorial Matrix Not sure where to start?
Check out our Tutorial Matrix – This helpful guide reviews which tools are covered in our ArcGIS tutorials.

	Tufts Tip Sheets	Tips from other sites
Working in the Lab	Uncompressing .exe Files on Data Lab Computers (e.g. MassGIS) Uncompressing zip files on Data Lab Computers Installing the Student Edition of ArcGIS 10.2x & 10.3x on your home computer – DVD Version Installing the Student Edition of ArcGIS 10.2x & 10.3x on your home computer – Digital Download Version	ArcGIS 10.2 10.2.1, and 10.2.2 HelpArcGIS 10.3 Help
Learning GIS Basics	Local data from Somerville and Massachusetts: ArcGIS Basics: Somerville (1.5 Hours) This is an excellent overview for a novice user of the basics in ArcMap using local, Massachusetts data. Download GIS Tutorial Data	ESRI’s Online Tutorials for ArcGIS 10.2, 10.2.1, and 10.2.2 Useful for getting instruction for different ArcGIS extensions and tasks.
	International Data: ArcGIS Basics: India Tutorial (3 hrs) This is an excellent overview for a novice user of the basics in ArcMap using international data. Tufts students can get the tutorial data from the GIS Lab S:\Tutorials\Tufts\Tutorial Data\ArcGIS_Basics_International_Version ArcGIS Basics: Examining the link between Human Epidemic Status & Cases of Yaws in Primates | Africa 2013 (1.5 Hours) This tutorial will lead you through the steps in ArcMap to create a map of known non-human primate cases of Yaws and the human epidemic status of Yaws throughout Africa. Additionally, you will then create a map of non-human primate cases overlaid on top of primate habitat extents to see if you are able to make any observations. This tutorial will cover adding data to ArcMap, symbologizing categorical and quantitative data, select by attribute query tools, and composing a final map in layout view. The data is available here: YawsTutorialData.zip. Basic Mapping Exercise – Haiti Livelihood Zones (1.5 hours) This tutorial focuses on Select By Attributes and labeling features. Tufts students can access the data from the GIS Lab in GIS Lab S:\Tutorials\Tufts\Tutorial Data\Basic Mapping_Livelihood Zones in Haiti Data can also be downloaded here: Basic Mapping-Haiti Livelihood Zones-Data Basic Queries Exercise – Haiti (1.5 Hours) This tutorial focuses on different selection methods, attribute table tools, spatial joins, and zonal statistics. Tufts students can access the data in the GIS Lab from GIS Lab S:\Tutorials\Tufts\Tutorial Data\Basic Query Practice Data – Haiti Data can also be downloaded here: Basic Query Practice Data
	US National Data: ArcGIS Basics – Mapping the U.S.
	US Water / Hydrography Data: Introduction to ArcMap for Water Resources Data – HydroGIS Tutorial (also download this 2006 NLCD Layer file (CANNOT UPLOAD) for use in the tutorial, or file)
	Census Data: International Census Tutorial: Downloading, Joining and Mapping International Census Data – This tutorial covers accessing and downloading South African census data, cleaning the excel data and joining the data to feature classes. It also reviews attribute table tools, such as field calculator and statistics. Census Tutorial: Downloading And Mapping American Factfinder Health Care Census Data– This tutorial reviews accessing and downloading health care insurance census data from the US Census Bureau. It also covers cleaning excel data, joining data, field calculator, and creating a nice final layout. Census Tutorial: Downloading And Mapping American Factfinder Housing Demographic Census Data in Boston – This tutorial reviews accessing and downloading housing demographic census data for Boston from the US Census Bureau. It also covers cleaning excel data, joining data and creating a nice final layout. Using Census Data to Calculate Social Inequality in Colombia– This tutorial uses international census data to review Joins, Selection tools, and Attribute Table Field Calculator in order to create a vulnerability model within the attribute table. Census 2000 tutorial – Working with MassGIS Census Data (for use in GIS lab – note this is for the 2000 Census, not the 2010 data!) Census Clipping Tip Sheet Using Census Geolytics – Neighborhood Change Database Estimating and Mapping Reliability for American Community Survey Data	Other census-mapping tools: Social Explorer (Tufts license) – good site for mapping current and historical census data down to census tract level Policy Map (Tufts license) – map current census and other policy related data
Mapping and Presentation	Cartography Tips Using the ArcMap Data Frame Clip Option to Mask Features in a Map Creating and Editing Scale Bars and Legends Font Size – Cheat Sheet Designing and Creating your Poster – Publisher set-up and PDF directions Step by step guide on how to use Microsoft Publisher for creating a poster. Publisher Exercise Files – The instructions reference these exercise files; however, you can use the tutorial without the exercise files. GIS Class Poster Design Presentation This PowerPoint, originally created by Melanie Saint James, gives excellent advice for creating interesting and attractive posters. It examines Design Tools and Concepts, such as Layout options, Typography, Color, and how to include high quality Images and Figures.	Elements of Cartographic Style (Harvard GSD GIS Manual) Design a Great Map Layout (from Land Trust GIS) Color Brewer – good tool for finding color schemes for quantitative maps ESRI Map Book Gallery Land Use Mapping – use of standard land use colors – see the APA’s Land Base Classification Standards document (p. 4 begins the description of colors)
Geocoding Add XY Data	Geocoding vs. Add XY Data using Reference USA data in ArcMap – Using Tiger 2019 Shapefiles Displaying Latitude and Longitude (XY) Data in ArcGIS– Data Available Here Geocoding Addresses with Google Maps Converting KML (Google Earth, Google Maps) data to shape files for ArcGIS Downloading GPS Data with DNRGPS & Importing to ArcMap and Google Earth	The Public Health Disparities Geocoding Project Monograph (Harvard School of Public Health)
Finding & Working with GIS Data	Creating a File Geodatabase Creating a Shapefile Using the Draw Toolbar Creating and editing a new shapefile Editing in ArcGIS 10 – this details the changes in ArcGIS 10 for editing; it assumes you are familiar with editing in previous versions of ArcGIS 9 Georeferencing a scanned map (map image) Georeferencing & Digitizing – Ghana Exercise GIS Literature Search Tips – This is an overview of how to use Google Scholar to search for peer-reviewed GIS literature for a variety of applications.
	Managing & Troubleshooting Data: Troubleshooting Rasters – Tips & Tricks GIS Data Management & Organizational Tips Creating a Smaller Data Set From a Larger Data Set – Vector Data Creating a Smaller data Set From a Larger One – Raster Data Copying Read Only GIS Data and Making it Writable
	Working with Tables: Adding a Field to the Attribute Table and Using Field Calculator Calculating Area, Perimeter and Length in ArcMap Fixing Problems with Numeric & Text Fields using the Field Calculator Viewing Statistics and Summarizing Data Working with Excel spreadsheets
Map Projections	How to define a map projection. Troubleshooting Coordinate Systems. Data available Here This tutorial walks you though understanding your data layers and data frames spatial reference and selecting an appropriate projection for your data. It also identifies how to use the Define Projection tool if you have missing or incorrect spatial references and it explains how to use the Project tool to project your data into a different projection.	Map Projections and Coordinate Systems (LINK DOES NOT WORK) (San Francisco State University) Geometric Aspects of Mapping – a very thorough introduction to map projections and datums from the International Institute for Geo-Information Science and Earth Observation in the Netherlands
Spatial Analysis Tools	Basic query tools: Using the Selection Tools for Querying Viewing statistics and summarizing information by category for a data set
	Advanced tools: Setting up for spatial analysis Vector Suitability Tutorial – Farm Land Suitability Analysis in Groton, Ma – Data can be accessed here Raster Suitability Analysis: Siting a Wind Farm Facility North Of Beijing, China – Data can be accessed here. Raster Risk Assessment: Determining the Risk of Malaria Transmission in Ethiopia – Data can be access here. Proximity Tutorial: A Risk Assessment for Nuclear Power Plants in Southern New England – Data can be accessed here Network Analyst Workflow for Creating a Service Area / Travelshed Moran’s I and Spatial Regression Overlay Analysis II: Using Zonal and Extract Tools to Transfer Raster Values in ArcMap Hot Spot / Kernel Density Analysis: Calculating the Change in Uganda Conflict Zones – Data can be accessed here. Calculating Conflict Density and Change over Time in Uganda using Vector Techniques
Working with Specific Datasets	Elevation Data: Working with elevation data in ArcGIS Converting GIS contour data to CAD
	Hydrologic Data: Delineating Watersheds from a Digital Elevation Model (DEM) Watershed and Drainage Delineation by Pour Point
	Open Street Map (OSM) Data: Downloading & Accessing OpenStreetMap (OSM) Data in ArcMap How to Access and Display Data from OpenStreetMap
	Soils Data: Working with the NRCS soils database
Comprehensive ArcGIS Guides	ArcGIS 10.1 Help – the online Help for ArcGIS – somewhat superior to the version that comes with the software as it is updated as needed and it highlights some of the most frequently needed tasks ArcGIS 10.1 Tutorials – useful for understanding different functions and processes ESRI Support Center – for the experienced ArcGIS user, this is THE place to find answers to your questions – type in a question or search terms, and the site searches ESRI user forums, Help pages, technical papers, and user-written scripts for ArcGIS (to track responses, create an ESRI Global Account – it’s free) Harvard Graduate School of Design – GIS Manual – excellent guide to various GIS topics and problems.