Читать книгу GIS Research Methods - Steven J. Steinberg - Страница 62

GIS were largely developed with traditional geography in mind. Since the initial development of GIS, the use and capabilities of GIS have expanded across a variety of disciplines and applications in both the public and private sectors. However, these systems are limited by the map data model, consisting of points, lines, and polygons. This model assumes that all data can be linked to a specific, discrete location and that lines can be drawn to explicitly delineate the boundaries between data categories. Of course, many datasets are not so clearly defined, especially those collecting social science data, which tend to be less geographically specific, either because the data must be degraded to protect privacy or because social science research typically involves analyzing conceptual maps as opposed to geographic maps.

Although there have been efforts to develop fuzzy GIS systems that allow locations and boundaries to be less definite, these systems are not yet available in the mainstream. Therefore, the existing GIS data models do not necessarily fit the analysis being conducted, and you may be forced to come up with a creative solution to make nondiscrete data fit into a discrete data model. One caution is that it is easy to allow the capabilities of the software to dictate the analysis you carry out, or conversely, the analysis you never attempt. This is one reason why researchers in some areas of social science have taken longer to integrate GIS technology into their research than researchers in the natural sciences (who have been using GIS for about fifty years). Nonetheless, GIS began to find its niche in social science applications soon after its early development, most notably as a tool for collecting, storing, and analyzing US Census data, beginning with the 1970 US Census.

Those early years of GIS focused on natural resources for two simple reasons. First, natural resource managers in Canada, with vast amounts of information to map, originated GIS technology in the 1960s. It is relatively easy to map the location of a forest, which doesn’t move and doesn’t change quickly, and the computer is an excellent tool to accomplish that task. Working out methods to map nondiscrete data, such as mobile human populations, concepts, and attitudes, more typical of social science research would come later, thus explaining why GIS has taken substantially longer to make its way into daily use by certain researchers.

Furthermore, unlike today, early GIS systems were expensive and complicated to use. This made GIS a difficult technology to bring to small community groups or individuals, and a researcher often had to act as an intermediary between the data provider and the GIS analysis system. Even today, a researcher who wants to make use of the additional capabilities of a spatial analysis needs to understand spatial data characteristics, a multitude of data types, spatial and topological analysis, and spatial modeling. Social scientists must be able to discuss how GIS technology is applied to their data, even if they employ GIS experts to develop the databases, perform the analysis, or output the results from the GIS. Fortunately, powerful personal computers are now relatively inexpensive (especially compared to computers of the 1960s and 1970s, when GIS technology was in its early development). In combination with easier-to-use GIS software, the technology is much more accessible. You can now answer any spatial analysis questions that may previously have required the expertise of a GIS specialist. Learning the ins and outs of any GIS program, as well as the essential underlying concepts, is still a relatively time-consuming process. However, with some time and effort learning the fundamental concepts and organization of GIS and spatial analysis, you can go a long way toward answering interesting and important questions in research methods.

As GIS has grown in popularity, the number of trained GIS professionals has also expanded tremendously Thus, when your questions or analysis go beyond your own experience, you can turn to a number of different people for additional assistance. In particular, you can find GIS experts at local universities, community or technical colleges, or government agencies. In many areas, GIS user groups meet regularly to share ideas, assist with questions, or show off new projects or the capabilities of their favorite GIS software. The creator of your GIS software can often provide information on these local groups and access to online communities of users who can assist you.