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Geospatial Data & GIS

A guide to help you discover geospatial data and GIS resources and services available for your research

Proprietary Software

  • ESRI/ArcGIS
    • This suite of software is in wide use due to it's power and features. Mason has a site license so it can be installed on any Mason-owned computer, and some student computers. See the tab to the left for more information. 

Open Source GIS Tools

Online Tools

Online Tools

  • Geocoder (the Bureau of Census): Convert address data to XY and Census Geographies up to 10000 records. See the guide to use this tool.
  • GeoCoding Tools (Univ. of Penn): Provides various tools for geocoding.
  • Geotools: Includes various resources related to geography and GIS tools (via Michigan State University).
  • Mapshaper: A tool for topologically aware shape simplification. Reads and writes Shapefile, GeoJSON and TopoJSON formats.