GEO 265 GIS Practicum

GEO 265 GIS Practicum Final Project Guidelines

Objective: The objective of the final project is for you to bring together all of the new skills that you have learned in this class and apply them to solve a problem using ArcGIS. There will be predefined project options that will be available for you to use. Requirements: Your final project will consist of a term paper and maps (as well as tables and charts) that display your final results.

1. Paper Requirements-Your term paper must contain the following elements: A. Introduction: 1. Background information on the problem to set the context. a. Gather background information on the problem from both Internet resources as well as printed materials. 2. The problem to be solved must be clearly stated. 3. Discuss how a GIS helped you solve this problem. B. Methods 1. Discussion of what data you used and where you obtained it. a. This discussion should include what you know about the accuracy of the data and how this level of accuracy impacts your analysis. 2. You must describe the analysis methods that you used in ArcGIS to solve the problem. a. This should include a discussion of how you organized and processed your data for the analysis as well as a flowchart of the data processing. C. Results 1. The results should consist of a discussion of your findings with regard to the problem. 2. The results should be presented using table, chart and map formats. D. Discussion 1. You must have a conclusion that outlines the results of your analysis. 2. Discuss management implications for each species (ownership, landcover, management priorities, etc.) E. References

2. Map Requirements- A. Your maps must contain all of the basic cartographic elements that you have been using in the lab exercises. In addition, they must clearly and effectively communicate the results of your analysis.

Your term paper must be between 5 and 10 pages long, and should include page-sized color maps.

Due Date: Friday, December 5, 2003 –Final projects are due by 5:00 p.m. in the dropbox or in my mailbox in the Geosciences office.