As GIS continues to become more accessible to nonexpert users, there are a wide range of new and creative opportunities in research. As with any new tool, GIS can be used incorrectly and provide misleading results. Any researcher familiar with standard statistical analysis software can relate to this concept. Use of the tool is not simply a matter of collecting a dataset and pushing buttons in the software. Good research necessitates collection of appropriate data in an appropriate fashion and then conducting an intelligent, well-thought-out analysis that makes sense for the hypothesis or question being addressed.
The following chapters discuss several of the essential concepts all users should keep in mind when developing a dataset for analysis in a GIS. They also address the major GIS data formats, along with their strengths, weaknesses, and applications. With these few but important pieces of information, you will be better prepared to use GIS as a tool in your own research applications, while avoiding many of the common pitfalls new users of these tools encounter. Chapter 2 examines spatial conceptualization and implementation, which are central to any research methods approach.
Review questions
1. What does it mean to think spatially? Provide an example.
2. What is the difference between informal and formal spatial analysis?
3. Name four of the advantages to spatial analysis as discussed in this chapter.
4. What is the definition of space? What is the definition of place? Explain how these two concepts differ.
5. What does the term sociospatial mean? What is a topic that you could study using this perspective?
6. Is spatial thinking a new or an old concept? Explain by drawing on examples of spatial thinking used in this chapter.
Additional readings and references
Addams, J. 1895. Hull-House Maps and Papers. By residents of Hull-House, a social settlement, a presentation of nationalities and wages in a congested district of Chicago, together with comments and essays on problems growing out of the social conditions. New York: Crowell.
Arlinghaus, S., F. Goodman, and D. Jacobs. 1997. “Buffers and Duality.” Solstice: An Electronic Journal of Geography and Mathematics 8:2. http://hdl.handle.net/2027.42/60252.
Babbie, E. 2013. The Practice of Social Research. 13th ed. Belmont, CA: Cengage Learning.
Brown, N. 2004. “Florence Kelly: Slums of the Great Cities Survey Map, 1893.” Center for Spatially Integrated Social Science. http://www.csiss.org./classics/content/35.
Corbett, J. 2004. “Mark Jefferson: Civilizing Rails, 1928.” Center for Spatially Integrated Social Science. http://csiss.org/classics/content/12.
Creswell, T. 2004. Place: A Short Introduction. Malden, MA: Blackwell.
Creswell, J. W., and V. L. Clark. 2007. Designing and Conducting Mixed Methods Research. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
Fearon, D. 2011. “Charles Booth: Mapping London’s Poverty, 1885–1903.” Center for Spatially Integrated Social Science. http://www.csiss.org/classics/content/45.
Goodchild, M. F. 2011. “Spatial Thinking and the GIS User Interface.” Procedia Social and Behavioral Sciences 21: 3–9.
Jefferson, M. 1928. “The Civilizing Rails.” Economic Geography 4: 217–31.
Steinberg, S. L., and S. J. Steinberg. 2009. “A Sociospatial Approach to Globalization: Mapping Ecologies of Inequality.” In Understanding Global Environment, ed. Samir Dasgupta, 99–117. Mahwah, NJ: Pearson Education.
Relevant websites
The first two websites listed are portals to all things related to GIS. In addition to basic information about GIS, they link to information about software, training, data, and a variety of other useful resources.
Chapter 2
Spatial conceptualization and implementation
In this chapter, you will discover the strengths and challenges of GIS by examining each aspect of the GIS terminology: geography, information, and system. You will learn about the connection between conceptualizing and understanding the broader picture and the value of the logical and physical data models. You will learn how to determine project goals and define concepts and parameters important to a study question. You will also learn how to define research objectives. Once you identify the key variables for a research project, you can follow the guidelines in this chapter for implementing them focusing on spatial analysis in GIS.