Читать книгу GIS Research Methods - Steven J. Steinberg - Страница 58

Mapping attitudes, ideas, social networks (connections that exist between people), and countless other human constructs should be viewed as equally valid as mapping the latitude and longitude of a data point on the ground. Numerous opportunities, limited only by the creativity of the researcher, will allow GIS systems to extend into realms not envisioned by the traditional geographies originally programmed into the software. The question that remains to be addressed is how one can develop an appropriate mapping context to represent concepts such as social interaction, desirability of a community, or social ties. Developing an index value or relationship between data points that can be used in place of physical distance as traditionally mapped is one means for visualizing data in a mapping context. Visualizing data means being able to portray the data in a visual format.