GEOM 3007A: Cartographic Theory and Design
Section A - Winter 2017
Department of Geography and Environmental Studies, Carleton University
Instructor:
Farhana Yasmin, PhD
Office: TBD
Office Hours: TBD
Phone: TBD; Email: [email protected]
Teaching Assistant:
To be assigned - see cuLearn for TA contact information and office hours.
Course electronic resources: cuLearn (http://culearn.carleton.ca) and log in using your student
account.
Course calendar:
Lectures
Monday 12:35 pm to 2:25 pm
Loeb Building B146
Labs
Tuesday 11:35 am to 1:35 pm
Loeb Building A200
Calendar description:
Principles of and issues in cartography, cartographic communication and map design; practical
aspects of cartographic representation using multimedia and online mapping.
Prerequisite(s): GEOM 1004 or GEOM 2007 or permission of the Department.
Lectures and laboratory four hours a week.
Course objectives:

To teach the art and science of modern cartography using Geographic Information Systems
(GIS).

To develop both theoretical and practical knowledge in thematic cartography including
descriptive statistics, data classification, mapping techniques, design concepts, multivariate
mapping and online mapping.

To learn GIS procedures and analyses required to produce sound cartographic products
using modern geo-computing tools.
Course Outline, GEOM 3007A Winter 2017
Required Text (available at the MADGIC and many other sources)
1. Dent, Borden et al., 2009., Cartography: Thematic Map Design, McGraw Hill
Copies of this book are available for reading at the Maps, Data, and Government Information
(MADGIC) section of the library (Floor 1), Call # GA105.3 .D46 2009.
Any additional course material will be made available on cuLearn.
Assessment:
The grade weighting will be as below:
Lecture and lab participation:
10%
Laboratory assignments:
30%
Midterm Exam:
15%
Final project and presentation/discussion:
25%
Final exam (Theoretical and practical):
20%
Total
100%
Attendance ~ Random attendance will be taken at any time during the lectures or the labs.
Lab assignments ~ There will be three assignments in total with equal weight (10% for each
assignment). Due dates are indicated in the detailed schedule which follows. The assignment
reports must be submitted before the start of the lab session on their due dates. Please note
that there will be a penalty for late assignment submission.
Midterm exam ~ On week seven after winter break, there will be a midterm exam which will
include multiple choice, fill-in-the blanks and short-answer questions.
Final project
~
There will be an individual/group project on thematic mapping with your
choice. On week 12, students will present their work during the lecture period (on April 3, 2017)
and submit a report and all the files needed for working on the project by the end of the week
(on April 7, 2017). Please note that there will be a penalty for late project submission.
Final exam ~ On week 11 and 12, there will be a two-part (theoretical and practical) exam
which will include questions on the lecture content and lab activities. The theoretical exam will
be held during the lecture period on week 11 which will include multiple choice, and short-, and
Course Outline, GEOM 3007A Winter 2017
long-answer questions. The practical exam will be held during the lab session on week 12 and
students will be required to use their map making skills learned in lectures and assignments to
answer the questions.
Standing in the course is determined by the course instructor subject to the approval of the
Faculty Dean. This means that grades submitted by the instructor may be subject to revision.
No grades are final until they have been approved by the Dean.
Policy on Plagiarism:
Plagiarism is defined as "presenting, whether intentionally or not, the ideas, expression of ideas
or work of others as one’s own. This can include:

reproducing or paraphrasing portions of someone else’s published or unpublished
material, regardless of the source, and presenting these as one’s own without proper
citation or reference to the original source;

submitting a take-home examination, essay, laboratory report or other assignment
written, in whole or in part, by someone else;

using ideas or direct, verbatim quotations, or paraphrased material, concepts, or ideas
without appropriate acknowledgment in any academic assignment;

using another’s data or research findings;

failing to acknowledge sources through the use of proper citations when using another’s
works and/or failing to use quotation marks;

handing in "substantially the same piece of work for academic credit more than once
without prior written permission of the course instructor in which the submission occurs."
Plagiarism is a serious offence that cannot be resolved directly by the course’s instructor. The
Associate Dean of the Faculty conducts a rigorous investigation, including an interview with the
student, when an instructor suspects a piece of work has been plagiarized. Penalties are not
trivial. They can include a final grade of "F" for the course. Further information on the Carleton’s
Academic Integrity Policy is available at
http://www2.carleton.ca/studentaffairs/academic-integrity
Course Outline, GEOM 3007A Winter 2017
Academic Accommodation
You may need special arrangements to meet your academic obligations during the term. You
can visit the Equity Services website to view the policies and to obtain more detailed information
on academic accommodation at http://www.carleton.ca/equity/. For an accommodation request
the processes are as follows:
Pregnancy obligation: Write to me with any requests for academic accommodation during the
first two weeks of class, or as soon as possible after the need for accommodation is known to
exist.
Religious obligation: Write to me with any requests for academic accommodation during the
first two weeks of class, or as soon as possible after the need for accommodation is known to
exist.
Academic Accommodations for Students with Disabilities: The Paul Menton Centre for
Students with Disabilities (PMC) provides services to students with Learning Disabilities (LD),
psychiatric/mental health disabilities, Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), Autism
Spectrum Disorders (ASD), chronic medical conditions, and impairments in mobility, hearing,
and vision. If you have a disability requiring academic accommodations in this course, please
contact PMC at 613-520-6608 or [email protected] for a formal evaluation. If you are already
registered with the PMC, contact your PMC coordinator to send me your Letter of
Accommodation at the beginning of the term, and no later than two weeks before the first inclass scheduled test or exam requiring accommodation (if applicable). After requesting
accommodation from PMC, meet with me to ensure accommodation arrangements are made.
Please consult the PMC website for the deadline to request accommodations for the formallyscheduled exam (if applicable) at
http://carleton.ca/pmc/students/dates-and-deadlines/
Course Outline, GEOM 3007A Winter 2017
GEOM 3007A (Cartographic Theory and Design) - Winter 2017
Tentative class schedule
Week
1
Date of
Lecture
Jan 9
2
Jan 16
3
Jan 23
Descriptive Statistics and Data
Classification
Dent Ch. 5
Assignment 1
continues
4
Jan 30
Thematic mapping techniques:
Choropleth Maps, Dot‐density
maps, Proportional Symbol Maps
Dent Ch. 6,
7 and 8
Assignment 1 due
Assignment 2 starts
5
Feb 6
Thematic Map Design: Map Design
Process and Elements of Map
Composition
Dent Ch.
12
Assignment 2
continues
Final project starts
6
Feb 13
Thematic Map Design: Type and
colour
Dent Ch.
13 and 14
Assignment 2 due
Work on project
Break
7
Feb 20
Feb 27
8
March 6
Online mapping and design
techniques
(Guest lecture)
Dent Ch.
16
Assignment 3 starts
9
March
13
Dent Ch. 9
Assignment 3
continues
10
March
20
Thematic mapping techniques:
Isarithmic Mapping, Multivariate
mapping
Course review
11
March
27
April 3
12
Lecture topics
Relevant
readings
Introduction to Course and Thematic Dent Ch. 1,
Mapping
2 and 3
Geographic Data and Selection of
Dent Ch. 4
Thematic Map Symbols
Lab/assignments/
projects
No lab
Mid-term exam
Assignment 1 starts
Winter break - no lecture and lab
Work on project
Assignment 3 due
Work on project
Theoretical exam in lecture
Work on project
Final project
presentation/discussion
Practical exam in
lab
Final project due by
end of the week on
April 7
Please note that lecture topics and assignment and project details are subject to change at the
discretion of the instructor.