JOMO KENYATTA UNIVERSITY

OF
AGRICULTURE & TECHNOLOGY
JKUAT SODeL

SCHOOL OF OPEN, DISTANCE AND eLEARNING

P.O. Box 62000, 00200
©2015

Nairobi, Kenya
E-mail: [email protected]

BIT 2324 GEOGRAPHICAL INFORMATION

SYSTEMS

JJ II
J I LAST REVISION ON June 22, 2015
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 BIT 2324 Geographical Information Systems
This presentation is intended to be covered within one
week. The notes, examples and exercises should be sup-
plemented with a good textbook. Most of the exercises
have solutions/answers appearing elsewhere and accessi-
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ble by clicking the green Exercise tag. To move back to

the same page click the same tag appearing at the end of
the solution/answer.
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Errors and omissions in these notes are entirely the re-

sponsibility of the author who should only be contacted
through the Department of Curricula & Delivery
(SODeL) and suggested corrections may be e-mailed to
[email protected]
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 BIT 2324 Geographical Information Systems
LESSON 4
Tabular Data Design

Learning outcomes
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By the end of this topic you should be able to;

• Define data modeling.
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 BIT 2324 Geographical Information Systems
4.1. Introduction
Tables serve as a container for records about entities that can
be distinguished by their attributes. Data modeling is the pro-
cess of defining features to be included in the database, their
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attributes and relationships, and their internal representation in

the database. It involves the development of conceptual, logi-
cal and physical models of the census geographic database. The
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outcomes include a comprehensive data dictionary that defines

the content of the databases that are produced by the agency.
In some instances, such dictionaries can be adopted or adapted
from other agencies in the country, for example, where a na-
tional digital topographic database exists. In other cases, this
JJ II data dictionary has to be developed from scratch. The resources
J I required for this will depend on how comprehensive the database
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 BIT 2324 Geographical Information Systems
will be. It may also be necessary to integrate existing database
models that have been developed to manage tabular census in-
formation. This is necessary, for example, if data from previous
censuses need to be integrated in the GIS databases. In ad-
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dition to the data dictionary, a procedural manual defines the

steps necessary in the development and processing of digital spa-
tial data. Such manuals are important for ensuring consistency
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in the products that are generated by different technicians or

units that may, perhaps, be scattered across the country. They
also define recurring analytical work such as the methods used to
reconcile past census data with new boundaries after the admin-
istrative units have been changed. Accuracy standards should
JJ II also be defined as part of the overall database design process.
J I While accuracy is often not a critical issue in census mapping –
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 BIT 2324 Geographical Information Systems
in fact, many countries rely on hand-drawn sketch maps for this
purpose – it becomes an issue when the resulting census maps
are used in combination with other, higher-accuracy data.
Several types of database models exist, such as the flat, hi-
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erarchical, network, and relational models. A flat database is

essentially a spreadsheet whereby all data are stored in a single,
large table. A hierarchical database is also a fairly simple model
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that organizes data into a “one-to-many” association across lev-

els. Common examples of this model include phylogenetic trees
for classification of plants and animals and familial genealogi-
cal trees showing parent-child relationships. Network databases
are similar to hierarchical databases, however, because they also
JJ II support “many-to-many” relationships. This expanded capabil-
J I ity allows greater search flexibility within the dataset and re-
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 BIT 2324 Geographical Information Systems
duces potential redundancy of information. Alternatively, both
the hierarchical and network models can become incredibly com-
plex depending on the size of the databases and the number of
interactions between the data points. Modern geographic infor-
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mation system (GIS) software typically employs a fourth model

referred to as a relational database.
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 BIT 2324 Geographical Information Systems
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 BIT 2324 Geographical Information Systems
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 BIT 2324 Geographical Information Systems
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4.2. Querying GIS data

1. Attribute query
• Select features using attribute data (e.g. using SQL)
• Results can be mapped or presented in conventional
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database form
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 BIT 2324 Geographical Information Systems
• Can be used to produce maps of subsets of the data
or choropleth maps
2. Spatial query is used by clicking on features on the map to
find out their attribute values. The combination of these is
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a powerful way of exploring spatial patterns in your data.

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 BIT 2324 Geographical Information Systems
Revision Questions

Exercise 1.  What is data modeling?

Example . Discuss the two types of queries.
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Solution: Revise. 

Exercise 2.  Distinguish the different types of database files.

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 BIT 2324 Geographical Information Systems
Solutions to Exercises
Exercise 1. Revise. Exercise 1
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 BIT 2324 Geographical Information Systems
Exercise 2. Revise. Exercise 2
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