Spatial data can be obtained from various sources. It can be collected from scratch, using direct spatial-data acquisition techniques, or indirectly, by making use of existing spatial data collected by others. The first source could include field survey data and remotely sensed images. The second source belongs to printed maps and existing digital data sets.

Any operation that converts GIS data into computer-readable form. Geographic data can be captured by being downloaded directly into a GIS from sources such as remote-sensing or GPS data, or it can be digitized, scanned, or keyed in manually from paper maps or photographs.