Geospatial data
- Big Ten Academic Alliance GeoportalThe Big Ten Academic Alliance Geoportal provides discoverability and facilitates access to geospatial resources. The resources in the portal are selected and curated by librarians and geospatial specialists at ten research institutions in the Big Ten Academic Alliance. The resources include GIS datasets, web services, and digitized historical maps. Learn more about the research institutions involved and the sources of the geospatial records.
- Geospatial Data ResourcesWhile this list is not exhaustive, its goal is to identify and provide access to as wide a variety of online GIS data and resources as possible.
data.gov
New data site with a subset of federal data and geospatial data available. Advantage: Can look easily for some specific formats including KML/KMZ and Shapefiles.
Online mapping and databases
- PolicyMap This link opens in a new windowPolicyMap is a web-based online data and mapping application that provides access to over 15,000 indicators related to demographics, housing, crime, mortgages, health, jobs and more. Data is available at all common geographies (address, block group, census tract, zip code, county, city, state, MSA) as well as unique geographies like school districts and political boundaries. Data comes from both public and proprietary sources.
- Social Explorer This link opens in a new windowOffers the ability to create customized maps and reports of demographic, housing, and employment patterns throughout the United States using data from the U.S. Census Bureau.
- SimplyAnalytics This link opens in a new windowCreate custom maps and reports on SimplyAnalytics using extensive data on demographics, consumers, real estate, housing, employment, crime, health, and more. Data includes Nielsen Scarborough local insights and crosstabs, AGS Census, Claritas PRIZM consumer segment, MRI Simmons consumer survey data, consumer expenditures and buying power, as well as public data sources such as the US Census, American Community Survey, FBI uniform crime reports, NOAA climate data, and CDC health data.
Limited to 5 simultaneous users. "Sign in as a guest" if you do not wish to register for a free personal account. A personal account allows you to save your work.
- More online mapping and databasesWhile not exhaustive, the list below highlights many of the map and geography-related resources that the University Libraries license for use by faculty, staff and students.
Historical aerial photographs
- Twin Cities Historical Aerial ComparisonAerial photographs for 1956 and 1966 with the ability to compare to the present.
- Minnesota Historical Aerial Photographs OnlineMHAPO provides access to over 121,000 digital copies of Minnesota air photos dating between 1923 and 2007.
Tracking your research
- Citation Managers (e.g. Zotero, EndNote Online, etc.)Citation managers are software packages used to create personalized databases of citation information and notes. They allow you to: import and organize citation information from article indexes and other sources; save links to pdfs and other documents; format citations for your papers and bibliographies using APA and many other styles; and include your own notes.
Research resources by subject
- All subject guidesListing of all subject guides from the University Libraries
Searching for articles
- Google Scholar (Setup connection to get to PDFs)Use Google Scholar to find articles from academic publishers, professional societies, research institutes, and scholarly repositories from colleges and universities. If you are using from off-campus access, change the "Library Settings" to University of Minnesota Twin Cities. Look for the "FindIt@U of M Twin Cities" links in your Google Scholar search results to access full text and PDFs. View this tutorial to learn how to go from a general idea to a very precise set of results of journal articles and scholarly materials.
- Libraries SearchSearch the University of Minnesota Libraries to find books, scholarly journal articles, news, magazines, media, and other items in the University's collection. View this tutorial to learn how to go from a general idea to a very precise set of results of journal articles and scholarly materials.
- Academic Search PremierA great place to start your research on any topic, search multidisciplinary, scholarly research articles. This database provides access to scholarly and peer reviewed journals, popular magazines and other resources. View this tutorial to learn how to go from a general idea to a very precise set of results of journal articles and scholarly materials.
- Web of ScienceA comprehensive interdisciplinary collection of journal article citations. Subjects generally covered are within science and technology, arts and humanities, and social sciences. View this tutorial to learn how to go from a general idea to a very precise set of results of journal articles and scholarly materials.
ChatGPT, Copilot, and other AI tools
ChatGPT, Copilot, and other AI tools - University Libraries Guide
Learn about using and researching AI tools like ChatGPT.
Searching for books
- Libraries SearchSearch the University of Minnesota Libraries to find books, scholarly journal articles, news, magazines, media, and other items in the University's collection. View this tutorial to learn how to go from a general idea to a very precise set of results of journal articles and scholarly materials.
- WorldCatFind books, journals, articles, maps, music scores, sound recordings, films, theses/dissertations, machine-readable data files, and any other materials available in libraries worldwide. All subject areas are covered. Request items through Interlibrary Loan using the ILLiad link on each item's record. A mobile version of this database is available. Limited to 65 simultaneous users.
Citing maps, atlases, and geospatial (GIS) data
Last Updated: Oct 2, 2024 5:09 PM
URL: https://libguides.umn.edu/GIS/8501