Section

  • General

    Welcome to GRID3 training!


    Please proceed as follows:

    1. First and most importantly, you must enrol on this course
    2. Explore the sections Course Introduction, Learning Objectives and Outcomes, and Training Setup:
      read carefully through the instructions in these sections
    3. Introduce yourself in the Discussion Forum: you will find it in the Getting help section below; the discussion forum is open to enquiries on either training setup, or the subject matter
    4. Watch the course presentation video
    5. Work through coursework and assessments for Task 1 to 4:
        • Part 1 available now!
        • Part 2 available now!
        • Part 3 available now!
        • Part 4 available from 30 April

    6. Complete the feedback form, and download your certificate!

  • Instructions: Clicking on the section name will show / hide the section.

    • Welcome to the course!

      The overall goal of this training course is to help reduce the significant volume of data that are routinely lost, or must be discarded by users because they are in some way incomplete, inconsistent or unsuitable for the task. Such data loss can afflict any industry or sector. It is widely acknowledged that a primary cause is human error, and poor data management.

      Course Summary

      The learner will be given tabular data (a spreadsheet) containing errors that must be addressed before the data can be used in a GIS. The course will provide practical guidance for identifying those errors and how to correct them. The learner will work initially on tabular data, in Excel. The data will then be imported to QGIS and plotted on the map canvas, for further error identification and correction.

      The course will demonstrate examples of good practice in data management – promoting consistent standardized methods for data formatting, storage, and documentation (metadata). Learners will be encouraged to apply those standards across their teams and their wider organization.

      Now review your Learning Objectives and Learning Outcomes, in the following section.


    • Meet the Team...

      The training team are here to provide help and advice on your learning journey. Post your questions in the discussion forum, in the 'Getting Help...' section below.

      Graeme Hornby

      Graeme Hornby

      Lead Trainer
      WorldPop, University of Southampton

      		 Josie Foster

      Josie Foster

      Support Trainer
      GRID3

      		 Oualid Fouad

      Oualid Fouad

      Support Trainer
      GRID3

    • Learning Objectives

      Learners will receive detailed instruction on the following:

      • Implementing best practices for data management focused on file management, formatting, storing, and documenting data for use in GIS, specifically:
        • Adopt a consistent file and attribute naming convention and folder structure
        • Understand the importance of maintaining raw and intermediate versions of data files to facilitate traceability of data processing.
        • Start and maintain metadata records for effective and consistent data tracking and accountability (including date captured, data source, version, terms of use, etc.)
      • Understanding the restrictions imposed by GIS when importing tabular data, and consequently being able to identify and correct common errors within table editing software (Excel or other open source alternative)
      • How to import data with GPS locations (latitude and longitude) in a table format into QGIS and plot them on the map canvas
      • Applying methods to identify and correct spatial data errors in QGIS
      • How to determine which spatial data format to adopt when embarking on a project:
        • Overview of available spatial data formats, pros and cons of each
        • Consider the arguments for and against the use of GeoPackage over shapefile
        • Appreciate the benefits of GeoPackage for efficient data storage, stability, and enhanced functionality

      Learning Outcomes

      By the end of the training, learners will attain:

      • An understanding of the vital importance of good data stewardship as the foundation of effective GIS work; how data ultimately determines the quality of analysis
      • A set of data management protocols and procedures, grounded in best practice, to enact when embarking on a new GIS project
      • An understanding of how to critically assess input data, how to troubleshoot and clean data prior to GIS analysis and visulaization
      • An understanding of the importance of enforcing clear data management standards within their organisation and teams, to benefit from greater efficiencies and internal cohesion

    • Training prerequisites

      You are expected to have basic IT skills and to be familiar with MS Office applications, particularly Excel, or another spreadsheet application.

      Requirements:

      In order to successfully complete this course you should ensure the following:

      1. You must have sole use of a computer and internet connection, for the duration of the training programme.
    • 2. QGIS desktop software downloaded and installed (Long Term Release, version 3.34)

      This should be organised in advance of the training, as the application installer is a large file (approx. 1GB); once installed you should ensure it is functioning correctly. Follow the Guidance document to download and install QGIS

    • 3. Basic QGIS knowledge

      Ideally, you should have completed the GRID3 QGIS Foundations training programme. Alternatively, you should complete our course on QGIS core functionality, or hold equivalent knowledge.

    • 4. GRID3 training data, downloaded and saved locally:
        • Download all data required for this training course from here:
      TRAINING DATA DOWNLOAD (Zip file; 6.7MB)

        • When the zip file has downloaded, extract the files and save the folder to a location on a local drive, such as directly to your 'C:/' drive; the file path to your data would therefore read:
      C:\GRID3DataMng\

        • Avoid saving GIS files to desktop locations which sync to cloud storage, such as OneDrive or Google Drive for desktop

    • Copyright and Data Usage

      The copyright and intellectual property for all course and training materials are reserved by GRID3 Inc. and its partners. Please cite: © GRID3; grid3.org

      Unless you and/or your organisation have a separate and agreed licence agreement, this work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License. To view a copy of this license, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/ or send a letter to Creative Commons, PO Box 1866, Mountain View, CA 94042, USA.

    • Click below to visit the discussion forum, for any questions you may have, either on your setup e.g. software requirements and troubleshooting, getting familiar with this learning platform etc., or alternatively any questions or ideas relating to the course topic. 

      You are enrolled on this programme, therefore you are part of a learning community... 

      … As part of the community, you will receive email notifications when any member posts a question. You are welcome of course to unsubscribe from these notifications, but we strongly encourage you to engage with fellow learners and respond to their questions, if you are able to help.

      For the duration of this training course, GRID3 trainers will also be monitoring and responding to queries.

    • GIS Data Preparation and Management: video presentation

      Your trainer will introduce the course topic in the following video, covering the essential theory and concepts. The presentation slides are also available as a PDF to view or download – see below.

      Key Themes

      • Data quality – the critical element in GIS
      • Data acquisition and inspection
      • Good practice in data management
      • Choosing spatial data format

    • The presentation slides featured in the video are provided below. Scroll down for links to download the PDF or to view it fullscreen.

      Remember to post your questions, ideas or discussions in the Discussion Forum.


    • Task 1: Video Guide

      Your trainer will outline the key aspects of this practical task in the video below. Further down the page you will find the accompanying briefing notes (PDF document) with instructions and screenshots for the task. 

      Video Themes:

      • File and folder management
      • Naming conventions
      • Documenting data (metadata)

    • Task 1: Guidance Note

      Ensure that you have correctly downloaded the training data (see Training Setup section). You can view the guidance note on screen or download the PDF and view locally.

    • Click here to view the briefing notes document in THIS WINDOW File 2.2MB PDF document Uploaded 30/03/24, 08:01


    • Task 2: Video Guide

      Your trainer will outline the key aspects of this practical task in the videos below. Further down the page you will find the accompanying briefing notes (PDF document) with instructions and screenshots for the task. 

      Video 1:

      • Transposing data
      • Correcting rows, columns and headers

      Video 2:

      • Combining data from multiple worksheets into one (Excel Power Query, Append function)

    • Practical Task 2: Guidance Note

      You can view the guidance note on screen, or download the PDF and view locally.

    • Click here to view the guidance note in THIS WINDOW File 5.8MB PDF document Uploaded 5/04/24, 21:41
    • Task 3: Video Guide

      Your trainer will outline the key aspects of this practical task in the videos below. Further down the page you will find the accompanying briefing notes (PDF document) with instructions and screenshots for the task. 

      Video 1:

      • Categorical data standardization

      Video 2:

      • Duplicated or missing records

    • Practical Task 3: Guidance Note

      You can view the guidance note on screen, or download the PDF and view locally.


    • Click here to view the guidance note in THIS WINDOW File 1.3MB PDF document Uploaded 15/04/24, 15:33