Introduction to Spatial Analysis for Social Sciences
Instructor: Ge Lin Kan
Course Description
Advances in geo-computation and explosion of geo-referenced data have pushed the geographic information system (GIS) and spatial analysis to the forefront of knowledge discoveries in social sciences. This course introduces basic GIS concepts, spatial data processing, and exploratory data analysis. Each lecture is organized by introducing (a) concepts and measurements, (2) social science applications, and hands-on labs using QGIS (optionally GeoDa). Students are encouraged to bring their own data and research questions to the lecture to have a live discussion or research in action.
About the Instructor
Dr. Ge Lin Kan is a professor of epidemiology in the School of Public Health, University of Nevada, Las Vegas. He received his BS. MA and Ph.D degrees (all in geography) from Peking University, University of Akron, and the State University of New York at Buffalo. He was trained in spatial demography and GIS. He is known for his works in spatial modeling, spatial statistics for count data, and spatial disparities in health. His most recent research focuses on the public health data science. He uses the infrastructure approach to develop integrated data marts, data analysis utilities, and training modules for public health data specialists. His research has been supported by NIH, NIJ, NSF and the Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services. His book Smart use of state public health data for health disparity assessments was published 2016 by CRC Press.