Geographical Information Systems (GEOM7005)

Course overview

This course provides students with a foundation in the science and technology of geographical information systems (GIS). GIS science focuses on ways to describe and explain geographical patterns and processes. GIS technology focuses on data modelling, databases and map visualisation. The course provides GIS application skills in fields such as ecology, environmental, marine and earth sciences and physical geography, and provides laboratory sessions for students to apply GIS for practical problem solving in these fields.

This course introduces practicalﾠmethods and concepts for applying geographical information systems (GIS) for mapping and analysing geographical data. The subject considers the use of GIS in the broadly defined areas of geography and environmental science, and provides laboratory sessions for students to apply GIS to practical problem solving.

Lectures are accessible online via Zoom and are recorded. Most lectures have required readings and an associated online quiz (which is not part of formal assessment); however, a subset of these quiz questions are part of formal assignment and exam assessment, so it benefits students to stay abreast of the material.

Students are able to gain sufficient understanding of course content from online learning materials provided on the Blackboard Learning Management System (LMS). This includes GIS practicals which have guided instructions and a Zoom recording so they may be completed flexibly.

Course requirements

Assumed background

Students are expected to be familiar with the basics of Windows Operating System and software for basic data analysis, such as spreadsheet programs. Students without this expected background will have to put in extra work to acquire appropriate competency, i.e. see Learning Resource for Khan Academy. Basic knowledge of mapping and its use is an advantage, otherwise consider foundation course GEOM7200 Fundamentals of Geographic Information & Technologies. 

Incompatible

You can't enrol in this course if you've already completed the following:

GEOM2001 or 2002 or 7006 or GEOS2300 or 7300

Course contact

Course staff

Timetable

The timetable for this course is available on the UQ Public Timetable.

Aims and outcomes

This course aims to equip students with:

1. The core skills and conceptual understanding required to apply GIS technologies to solve geographical problems

2. An appreciation of the broad range of applications of GIS technologies, including applications in the geographical, environmental and social sciences

Learning outcomes

After successfully completing this course you should be able to:

Assessment

Assessment summary

A hurdle is an assessment requirement that must be satisfied in order to receive a specific grade for the course. Check the assessment details for more information about hurdle requirements.

Assessment details

Practical Exercise 1 on GIS Mapping

Mode

Written

Category

Quiz, Tutorial/ Problem Set

Weight

25%

Due date

28/03/2025 4:00 pm

Learning outcomes

L01, L02, L03, L04, L08

Task description

Submission guidelines

Submitted online through Blackboard. Students need to store documentation for GIS tasks and retain a copy of submission.

Deferral or extension

You may be able to apply for an extension.

The maximum extension allowed is 14 days. Extensions are given in multiples of 24 hours.

Students are provided model answers 14 days after submission, therefore extensions cannot exceed this limit.

See the Additional assessment information section further below for information relating to extension and deferral applications.

Late submission

A penalty of 10% of the maximum possible mark will be deducted per 24 hours from time submission is due for up to 7 days. After 7 days, you will receive a mark of 0.

You are required to submit assessable items on time. If you fail to meet the submission deadline for any assessment item, then 10% of the maximum possible mark for the assessment item (assessment ‘marked from’ value) will be deducted as a late penalty for every day (or part day) late after the due date. For example, if you submit your assignment 1 hour late, you will be penalised 10%; if your assignment is 24.5 hours late, you will be penalised 20% (because it is late by one 24-hour period plus part of another 24-hour period). 

Practical Exercise 2 on GIS Analysis

Mode

Written

Category

Quiz, Tutorial/ Problem Set

Weight

25%

Due date

29/04/2025 4:00 pm

Learning outcomes

L04, L05, L07, L08

Task description

Submission guidelines

Submitted online through Blackboard. Students need to store documentation for GIS tasks and retain a copy of submission.

Deferral or extension

You may be able to apply for an extension.

The maximum extension allowed is 14 days. Extensions are given in multiples of 24 hours.

Students are provided model answers 14 days after submission, therefore extensions cannot exceed this limit.

See the Additional assessment information section further below for information relating to extension and deferral applications.

Late submission

A penalty of 10% of the maximum possible mark will be deducted per 24 hours from time submission is due for up to 7 days. After 7 days, you will receive a mark of 0.

You are required to submit assessable items on time. If you fail to meet the submission deadline for any assessment item, then 10% of the maximum possible mark for the assessment item (assessment ‘marked from’ value) will be deducted as a late penalty for every day (or part day) late after the due date. For example, if you submit your assignment 1 hour late, you will be penalised 10%; if your assignment is 24.5 hours late, you will be penalised 20% (because it is late by one 24-hour period plus part of another 24-hour period). 

GIS Project Analysis and Report

• Hurdle
• Online

Mode

Written

Category

Project, Quiz, Tutorial/ Problem Set

Weight

50%

Due date

30/05/2025 4:00 pm

Learning outcomes

L05, L06, L07, L08

Task description

Hurdle requirements

Submission guidelines

Submitted online through Blackboard. Students need to store documentation for GIS tasks and retain a copy of submission.

Deferral or extension

You may be able to apply for an extension.

The maximum extension allowed is 28 days. Extensions are given in multiples of 24 hours.

See the Additional assessment information section further below for information relating to extension and deferral applications.

Late submission

A penalty of 10% of the maximum possible mark will be deducted per 24 hours from time submission is due for up to 7 days. After 7 days, you will receive a mark of 0.

You are required to submit assessable items on time. If you fail to meet the submission deadline for any assessment item, then 10% of the maximum possible mark for the assessment item (assessment ‘marked from’ value) will be deducted as a late penalty for every day (or part day) late after the due date. For example, if you submit your assignment 1 hour late, you will be penalised 10%; if your assignment is 24.5 hours late, you will be penalised 20% (because it is late by one 24-hour period plus part of another 24-hour period). 

Course grading

Full criteria for each grade is available in the Assessment Procedure.

Supplementary assessment

Supplementary assessment is not available for some items in this course.

Should you fail a course with a grade of 3 you may be eligible for supplementary assessment.

Supplementary assessment provides an additional opportunity to demonstrate you have achieved all the required learning outcomes for a course.  

Supplementary assessment is not available if you have failed the practical components of this course. The learning objects of the laboratory components are demonstrated throughout the semester and it is not possible to validly reassess these learning objectives in the supplementary assessment period.  

If you apply and are granted supplementary assessment, the type of supplementary assessment set will consider which learning outcome(s) have not been met.  

Supplementary assessment can take any form such as a written report, oral presentation, examination or other appropriate assessment.

To receive a passing grade of 3S4, you must obtain a mark of 50% or more on the supplementary assessment. 

Additional assessment information

AI Statement

The assessment tasks in this course evaluate students’ abilities, skills and knowledge without the aid of Artificial Intelligence (AI). Students are advised that the use of AI technologies to develop responses is in general strictly prohibited (unless conditional use is specified in the submission instructions for an individual assessment item) and may constitute misconduct under the Student Code of Conduct.

Applications for Extensions to Assessment Due Dates

Extension requests are submitted online via my.UQ – applying for an extension. Extension requests received in any other way will not be approved. Additional details associated with extension requests, including acceptable and unacceptable reasons, may be found at my.UQ.

Please note:

• Requests for an extension to an assessment due date must be submitted through your my.UQ portal and you must provide documentation of your circumstances, as soon as it becomes evident that an extension is needed. Your application must be submitted on or before the assessment item's due date and time.
• Applications for extension can take time to be processed so you should continue to work on your assessment item while awaiting a decision. We recommend that you submit any completed work by the due date, and this will be marked if your application is not approved. Should your application be approved, then you will be able to resubmit by the agreed revised due date.
• If an extension is approved, you will be notified via your my.UQ portal and the new date and time for submission provided. It is important that you check the revised date as it may differ from the date that you requested.
• If the basis of the application is a medical condition, applications should be accompanied by a medical certificate dated prior to the assignment due date. If you are unable to provide documentation to support your application by the due date and time you must still submit your application on time and attach a written statement (Word document) outlining why you cannot provide the documentation. You must then upload the documentation to the portal within 24 hours.
• If an extension is being sought on the basis of exceptional circumstances, it must be accompanied by supporting documentation (eg. Statutory declaration).
• For extensions based on a SAP you may be granted a maximum of 7 days (if no earlier maximum timeframe applies). See the Extension or Deferral availability section of each assessment for timeframes. Your SAP is all that is required as documentation to support your application. However, additional extension requests for the assessment item will require the submission of additional supporting documentation e.g., a medical certificate. All extension requests must be received by the assessment due date and time.
• An extension for an assessment item due within the teaching period in which the course is offered, must not exceed four weeks in total. If you are incapacitated for a period exceeding four weeks of the teaching period, you are advised to apply for Removal of Course.
• If you have been ill or unable to attend class for more than 4 weeks, you are advised to carefully consider whether you are capable of successfully completing your courses this semester. You might be eligible to withdraw without academic penalty - seek advice from the Faculty that administers your program.
• Students may be asked to submit evidence of work completed to date. Lack of adequate progress on your assessment item may result in an extension being denied.
• There are no provisions for exemption from an assessment item within UQ rules. If you are unable to submit an assessment piece then, under special circumstances, you may be granted an exemption, but may be required to submit alternative assessment to ensure all learning outcomes are met.

Plagiarism

Evidence of excessive collaboration or plagiarism (including copying) between submitted work will be dealt with according to University Disciplinary Procedures (seeﾠhttp://ppl.app.uq.edu.au/content/3.60.04-student-integrity-and-misconduct).

Assessment Submission

It is the responsibility of the student to ensure the on time, correct and complete submission of all assessment items.

Please ensure you receive and save the submission confirmation for all submitted items, you may be asked to produce this as evidence of your submission.

Turnitin

All written assessment must be submitted via the appropriate Turnitin submission portal, which can be found within the Blackboard site. You are responsible for ensuring that your submission is complete. It is wise to re-enter the Turnitin portal and confirm that your submission is there and that it has not been altered during the submission process.

By submitting work through Turnitin you are deemed to have accepted the following declaration “I certify that this assignment is my own work and has not been submitted, either previously or concurrently, in whole or in part, to this University or any other educational institution, for marking or assessment”.

In the case of a Blackboard outage, please contact the Course Coordinator as soon as possible to confirm the outage with ITS.

Assessment/Attendance

Please notify your Course Coordinator as soon as you become aware of any issue that may affect your ability to meet the assessment/attendance requirements of the course. Theﾠmy.UQﾠwebsite and the Course Profile for your course also provide information about your course requirements, the rules associated with your courses and services offered by the University.

A note for repeating students in this course

Any student who enrols in a courseﾠmust notﾠbe given exemption or partial credit from their previous attempt(s) for any individual piece of assessment.ﾠInstead, the student must successfully complete all of the learning activities and assessment items within the study period of enrolmentﾠ(PPL Assessment - Procedures).

If the same assessment item is set from one year to the next, repeating students are allowed to submit the same work they submitted in previous attempts at the course. Where possible SENV recommends that you use the feedback you received in your last attempt to improve parts of the item where you lost marks. Resubmission of an altered or unaltered assessment item by a repeating student (where the same assessment has been set) will not be considered as self-plagiarism.

Learning resources

You'll need the following resources to successfully complete the course. We've indicated below if you need a personal copy of the reading materials or your own item.

Library resources

Find the required and recommended resources for this course on the UQ Library website.

Additional learning resources information

Additional learning materials are made available via Blackboard in Learning Resources.

Learning activities

The learning activities for this course are outlined below. Learn more about the learning outcomes that apply to this course.

Policies and procedures

University policies and procedures apply to all aspects of student life. As a UQ student, you must comply with University-wide and program-specific requirements, including the:

• Student Code of Conduct Policy
• Student Integrity and Misconduct Policy and Procedure
• Assessment Procedure
• Examinations Procedure
• Reasonable Adjustments - Students Policy and Procedure

Learn more about UQ policies on my.UQ and the Policy and Procedure Library.