"

About this Book

Publishing Information

Published by Scholarly Communications and Digital Publishing, WashU Libraries, Washington University in St. Louis, with funding from the DI2 Accelerator Award for Open Education Resources.

How to Use this Book

Introduction to Geospatial Thinking and Open Source GIS was developed for beginner GIS practitioners to learn foundational concepts and key skills to get started using geospatial data and GIS.

Part one introduces the concepts of geospatial thinking, how GIS works, coordinate reference systems and projection, effective communication, data management and mapping out a project. Part two provides opportunities to apply the concepts by conducting basic GIS actions such as adding data, changing projection, selecting data, exporting data, joining datasets, merging datasets, editing features, classifying data, and laying out maps, etc.

The activities are designed to be used with the open-source GIS software QGIS and with openly available datasets.

Navigating the book

This textbook has a table of contents to help you navigate through the book more easily. If using the online webbook, you can find the full table of contents on the book’s homepage or by selecting “Contents” from the top menu when you are in a chapter. Inside a chapter, you can use the keyboard arrows to go to the previous or next chapter.

Searching

If using the online webbook, you can use the search bar in the top right corner to search the entire book for a key word or phrase. To search a specific chapter, open that chapter and use your browser’s search feature by hitting [Ctrl] + [F] on your keyboard if using a Windows computer or [Command] + [F] if using a Mac computer.

The [Ctrl] + [F] and [Command] + [F] keys will also allow you to search a PDF, HTML, EPUB, and MOBI files if you are reading them on a computer.

If using an eBook app to read this textbook, the app should have a built-in search tool.

Acknowledgements

I would like to acknowledge the authors of the resources from whom I adapted (Briney, Campbell, Fang, Rosenfeld) or cited; all of the contributors to the QGIS software community over the years — a shining example of community-built, open-source tools; and to the catalog of free icons from the Noun Project.
…
To make this book happen, I would like to acknowledge and thank the Department of Scholarly Communications in the University Libraries at WashU. I’d like to especially call out Treasa Bane, Cadence Cordell, and Emily Stenberg for supporting me through the development. Thanks to WashU’s Digital Intelligence and Innovation Accelerator who supported the OER program, namely Dan Maranan and Christy Potthast. I’d also like to express appreciation to the School of Continuing and Professional Education (CAPS), especially the Director of Data Studies and GIS Certificate Program Coordinator, Dr. Dorris Scott.
…
Immense, grateful shout out to the mentors who introduced me to geospatial data and GIS, Aaron Addison, Dr. Michael Frachetti, Cheryl Morton, and Melisa McLean. To the colleagues that encouraged me as I built my GIS skills, Cynthia Hudson Vitale, Dr. Cindy Traub, Melissa Vetter, Mollie Webb, and Bill Winston. And to the team of babysitters who watched my eldest son when I was a single mom, learning GIS for the first time, after hours: Jaleh Fazellian. Makiba Foster, and Evie Hemphill. Thanks also to Nadia Ghasedi, Rachel Glick, and Kelley Wallace.
…
Finally I would like to acknowledge my little family, Ian, Ralph, and Theo who suffered late meals, distracted conversations, and my general grumpiness while I worked.

Licensing Information

This work is licensed under a CC BY-NC-SA 4.0

You are free to:

  • Share — copy and redistribute the material in any medium or format
  • Adapt — remix, transform, and build upon the material
  • The licensor cannot revoke these freedoms as long as you follow the license terms.

Under the following terms:

  • Attribution — You must give appropriate credit , provide a link to the license, and indicate if changes were made . You may do so in any reasonable manner, but not in any way that suggests the licensor endorses you or your use.
  • NonCommercial — You may not use the material for commercial purposes.
  • ShareAlike — If you remix, transform, or build upon the material, you must distribute your contributions under the same license as the original.
  • No additional restrictions — You may not apply legal terms or technological measures that legally restrict others from doing anything the license permits.

Accessibility Statement

Accessibility features of the web version of this resource

The web version of Introduction to Geospatial Thinking and Open GIS has been designed with accessibility in mind by incorporating the following features:

  • It has been optimized for people who use screen-reader technology.
  • All content can be navigated using a keyboard
  • Links, headings, and tables are formatted to work with screen readers
  • Images have alt tags
  • Videos have captions with transcripts available for download
  • Information is not conveyed by color alone.
  • There is an option to increase font size (see tab on top right of screen).

The web version of this resource follows all guidelines in the BCcampus Checklist for Accessibility.

Alternative Formats

In addition to the web version, this book is available in a number of file formats including PDF, EPUB (for eReaders), MOBI (for Kindles), and various editable files.  This textbook is available in the following formats:

  • Online webbook. You can read this textbook online on a computer or mobile device in one of the following browsers: Chrome, Firefox, Edge, and Safari.
  • PDF. You can download this book as a PDF to read on a computer (Digital PDF) or print it out (Print PDF).
  • Mobile. If you want to read this textbook on your phone or tablet, you can use the EPUB (eReader) or MOBI (Kindle) files.
  • HTML. An HTML file can be opened in a browser. It has very little style so it doesn’t look very nice, but some people might find it useful.

You can access the online webbook and download any of the formats for free here: Introduction to Geospatial Thinking and Open GIS. To download the book in a different format, look for the “Download this book” drop-down menu and select the file type you want.

Known accessibility issues and areas for improvement

While we strive to ensure that this resource is as accessible and usable as possible, we might not always get it right. Any issues we identify will be listed below. There are currently no known issues.

This statement was last updated on October 10, 2025.

Contact Us

Please contact Scholarly Communications and Digital Publishing, WashU Libraries, at digital@wumail.wustl.edu or the author Jennifer Moore, if you have any questions, comments, corrections, or concerns with the text.

 

License

Icon for the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License

An Introduction to Geospatial Thinking and Open Source GIS Copyright © 2025 by Jennifer Moore is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License, except where otherwise noted.

Share This Book