Assignment 1: GIS: Data Collection, Storage, Transfer, and Maintenance

Write a four- to five-page paper that addresses each of the following: 

1. List one primary and one secondary method of data collection and identify the key differences between the two methods.
2. From the publicly available sources, identify a commercially available GIS software/hardware vendor or service provider and critique the data collection methodology. What do you like or don’t like about the data collection method?
3. Once data is captured, storing, transferring, and maintaining the databases are equally important tasks. Name one known technique for structuring geographic information, specifically for creating topology and indexing. Identify the issues associated with multi-user editing and versioning.
4. Maps are a very effective way of summarizing and communicating the results of GIS operations to a wider audience. Transitory maps and map-like visualizations are used to simply display, analyze, edit, and query geographic information. Describe your favorite cartography example within the GIS industry and its advantages.
5. Imagine you are the project manager for the data collection portion of a large GIS project. You were informed that the cost of the data collection could be as high as 50% of the total project, excluding the labor costs. How do you validate such a claim? Could you personally investigate the published resources and summarize your conclusions on your own? You don’t have to agree with the claim, but provide the rationale and justification for your statements.