PHOTOGRAMMETRIC ENGINEERING & REMOTE SENSING
June 2014
499
BOOK
REVIEW
Introducing Geographic Information
Systems with ArcGIS: A Workbook
Approach to Learning GIS, Third
Edition.
Michael Kennedy. John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
Hoboken, NJ. 2013. Xlii and 619 pp. Softcover. $85.00.
ISBN 987-1-118-15980-4.
Reviewed by:
Meghan Graham MacLean, PhD,
Associate Professor of Natural Science, Math and
Science Division, Babson College, Babson Park,
MA.
Introducing Geographic Information Systems with ArcGIS:
A workbook approach to learning GIS, Third edition
is an
updated edition of Michael Kennedy’s previously successful
Introducing Geographic Information Systems
workbooks, ready
for use with ArcGIS 10 and 10.1. The book combines the more
traditional tutorial approach to learning how to use Geographic
Information Systems (GIS) with many of the underlying
concepts and theories of GIS in order to provide the reader
with a more comprehensive understanding of GIS all in one
book. The workbook is primarily intended for students taking
introductory GIS courses, as well as individuals/professionals
looking to expand or update their GIS skills and understanding.
The book is divided into two parts; the first introduces the more
basic concepts of GIS and goes through the very fundamental
steps of opening and understanding different types of spatial
data within the ArcGIS 10 platform, and the second part begins
to introduce spatial analyses using both vector and raster data.
Within each part of the book there are a number of chapters,
each with a theoretical section and what Kennedy refers to
as a “step-by-step”, or applied, section full of exercises to be
completed by the reader using ArcGIS software. Chapter one
is a very rudimentary introduction of the theory behind GIS,
as well as a short discussion of projections, coordinate systems,
database structures, and some basic computer organization
skills. Chapters two through four introduce different types
and sources of spatial data, organization and storage methods,
as well as strengths and weaknesses of different GIS products
(e.g. maps). The last chapter in Part I, chapter five, Kennedy
takes the reader through many of the different ways of locating,
importing, and transforming data in ArcMap, as well as how to
determine the utility of the new data. Chapter five is primarily
composed of step-by-step exercises, and gives the reader plenty of
opportunities to discover how to manipulate spatial data within
ArcMap. By the end of Part I, the reader should be relatively
comfortable opening, viewing, and deciphering the use of spatial
data within the ArcGIS 10 platform, no matter the source.
Part II begins to introduce some of the basics of analyzing
spatial data, including discussing the difference between
precision and accuracy, in chapter six. Chapters seven and
eight discuss how to create new spatial datasets from existing
ones using both vector and raster data processing. The chapters
discuss basic spatial analyses, such as buffer or overlay
techniques, as well as how and why the reader would use raster
calculator. Finally, chapter nine goes through an overview of
using three-dimensional data, either with a temporal component
or a vertical component. The chapter also introduces ArcScene
and ArcGlobe for looking at datasets with a “z” dimension, as
well as how to view data through time using ArcMap.
In each of the step-by-step sections, at least one of the exercises
addresses a larger project proposed at the beginning of the
workbook: trying to find a location for a new office and testing
facility for a boat company. The continual use of the same data
and the same project question throughout the exercises creates
a feeling of consistency and familiarity for the reader when going
through the exercises. Kennedy also has the reader keep a “Fast
Facts File”, or a digital reference file to help the reader organize
and remember what they have encountered in the workbook.
Kennedy has reminders throughout the workbook to update the
Fast Facts File with the new topics from each chapter, making
it quite easy for the reader to put together a personal reference
file that may be quite easy to use and helpful for them when
coming back to ArcGIS in the future.
Overall, the book is written in a way that is very accessible
to students and in a tone that is very friendly and reminiscent
of an instructor speaking to their students. Kennedy does
accomplish his goal of creating introductory text that combines
both theory and application in a single text. Although the book
could be used by anyone with rudimentary computer skills as
a stand-alone workbook,
Introducing Geographic Information
Systems with ArcGIS: A workbook approach to learning GIS
is likely best paired with an introductory GIS course with
an instructor present and able to make decisions on which
information to emphasize, as well as answer questions that
