Geocomputation

Welcome

Welcome to Geocomputation. This module offers a deep dive into the principles of spatial analysis and data visualisation while providing a thorough introduction to reproducible research. Over the next ten weeks, you will explore the theory, methods, and tools of spatial analysis through engaging case studies. You will gain hands-on experience in sourcing, managing, cleaning, analysing and presenting spatial, demographic, and socioeconomic datasets.

Prerequisites

Please be aware that for this module you are expected to have access to a working R v4.6 installation and have a basic level of proficiency in programming with R. This includes skills such as installing libraries, loading data, calculating variables, and reshaping data.

For installation instructions and a refresher, please refer to the Getting started and R for Data Analysis tutorials in the GEOG0018: Methods in Human Geography workbook.

Moodle

Moodle serves as the central hub for GEOG0030, where you will find all essential module information, including key details about assessments. This workbook provides links to all required reading materials and contains the content for each computer tutorial.

Module overview

The topics covered over the next ten weeks are:

Week Section Topic
1 Core Spatial Analysis Reproducible Spatial Analysis
2 Core Spatial Analysis Spatial Queries and Geometric Operations
3 Core Spatial Analysis Point Pattern Analysis
4 Core Spatial Analysis Spatial Autocorrelation
5 Core Spatial Analysis Spatial Models
Reading week Reading week
6 Applied Spatial Analysis Raster Data Analysis
7 Applied Spatial Analysis Geodemographic Classification
8 Applied Spatial Analysis Accessibility Analysis
9 Data Visualisation Beyond the Choropleth
10 Data Visualisation Complex Visualisations

This GitHub resource has been updated for the 2026-2027 academic year. The content for 2025-2026 has been archived and can be found here: [Link]

Troubleshooting

For specific assistance with this module, you can:

  • Refer to the Moodle assessment tab for queries about module assessments.
  • Ask a question at the end of lectures or during the computer practicals.
  • Attend the scheduled Geocomputation Additional Support Hours.
  • Book into the Academic Support and Feedback hours.

Major updates

This year’s module material features the following major updates:

  • Weeks 9 and 10 now focus on AI-assisted applied spatial analysis using Microsoft Copilot.
  • Weeks 1-8 now open with a short “Start of session” section outlining what will be shown live at the start of the tutorial.
  • The Data Sources page is now organised by theme rather than a single long list.
  • Various bug fixes and dependency updates across the course material.

Acknowledgements

This workbook is created using the Quarto publishing system. Elements of this workbook are partially based on and modified from:

This year’s workbook also takes inspiration and design elements from:

The datasets used in this workbook contain:

  • Data from Office for National Statistics licensed under the Open Government Licence v.3.0
  • OS data © Crown copyright and database right [2024]