After an introduction to the concept and basics of GIS, vector and raster data types and coordinate reference systems, participants will learn how to view, interrogate, edit and present data through a series of practical tutorials.

The course is structured around freely available data from Ordnance Survey's OpenData mapping initiative and Government's data.gov.uk website and covers a variety of common file formats.

Whether you're a seasoned GIS user or new to GIS, this course will allow you to quickly get to grips with QGIS for both simple and more complex tasks.

Pre-requisite knowledge and skills

• Basic computer skills

Key Skills

Participants will acquire the following key skills:

• View georeferenced data overlaid on background mapping
• Interrogate raster and vector layers
• Create new vector layers
• Edit existing datasets
• Create professional maps to present data

Registering for this course

Contact us to register for this course.

Course outline

• Introduction to Free and Open Source Software (FOSS)
• Introduction to GIS
• Data types
• Projections
• Introduction to QGIS
• QGIS features
• Menu and toolbars
• Map navigation
• Vector data
• Vector formats
• Attributes
• Querying and setting attribute values
• SQL
• Styling and labelling
• Tutorial 1: Mapping domestic energy usage in Greater London
• Raster data
• Raster layer structure and formats
• Querying raster values
• Styling
• Tutorial 2: Working with a Digital Terrain Model in the Isle of Wight
• Digitising
• Creating new layers
• Snapping
• Simple geo-processing
• Tutorial 3: Comparing the extent of urbanisation in Brighton
• Projections
• QGIS Project files
• Groups, labels, presets, filters and bookmarks
• The print composer
• Presets
• Multi frame maps
• Overviews
• Atlas generation
• Tutorial 4: Creating professional maps with the Print Composer
• Plugins

Tutorials

The course features a series of practical tutorials in which participants carry out exercises, further developing skills learnt during the course.

Tutorial 1: Mapping domestic electricity usage in Greater London

Data from the Office of National Statistics is imported into QGIS and joined to existing polygon data to form a georeferenced layer showing energy usage. A style is then developed to enable the data to be easily visualised.

Participants will learn how to import data from a spreadsheet, join tables, use SQL queries to find features and create a meaningful style.

Tutorial 2: Working with a Digital Terrain Model in the Isle of Wight

Participants will interrogate a digital terrain model (DTM) to determine the ground elevations of points of interest and generate cross section profiles.

Participants will learn how to reproject, crop and style raster layers, including the generation of relief shadings.

Tutorial 3: Comparing the extent of urbanisation in Brighton

Tutorial 3 uses out-of-copyright mapping to compare the extent of the city of Brighton over time. After source mapping has been georeferenced, the extent of urbanisation will be digitised using QGIS' vector editing features. The historical extent will then be compared to a current map

Participants will learn how to georeference digital images, digitise new vector features and edit the geometry of existing features.

Tutorial 4: Creating professional maps with the Print Composer

QGIS' Print Composer will be used to prepare content created in Tutorial 1 for publication. A print layout will be created featuring frames, legend, scalebar, logos and labelling.

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