Resources - Geography and GIS - Research and Subject Guides at University of Illinois at Chicago

General Social Science Resources

General Resources for Social Sciences

Geocoding

Often data has address inforamtion but needs to be geofreferenced or geocoded. This means that you need to add spatial coordinates to a data base to use it in GIS programs. Below are a couple of sites that allow you to do this.

USC GIS Services

The USC GIS Research Laboratory WebGIS site provides access to many of the services developed during the course of ongoing research in the lab. The services offered focus foremost on the production and accuracy of geographic data. And they are FREE within limits and after registering.

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GIS programs

SimplyMap
A relatively simple program to generate your own maps and exporting the map and/or its data tables for future reference. Includes incredibly short and simple tutorials. Requires registration (FREE!) and connecting through UIC library site or UIC log in.
Social Explorer
Social Explorer is an online research tool designed to provide quick and easy access to current and historical census data and demographic information. The easy-to-use web interface lets users create maps and reports to better illustrate, analyze and understand demography and social change.
ACCC
ACCC allows you to take online courses in using ArcGIS, ESRI's mapping program as found on ACCC lab computers. You can learn how to do basic mapping from these courses.

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Free Software Available Online

GRASS GIS
Commonly referred to as GRASS, this is a Geographic Information System (GIS) used for geospatial data management and analysis, image processing, graphics/maps production, spatial modeling, and visualization.
Quantum GIS
Quantum GIS (QGIS) is a user friendly Open Source Geographic Information System (GIS) licensed under the GNU General Public License. QGIS is an official project of the Open Source Geospatial Foundation (OSGeo). It runs on Linux, Unix, Mac OSX, and Windows
Saga GIS
SAGA - short hand for "System for Automated Geoscientific Analyses" - is a free, hybrid, cross-platform GIS software.

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