Overview

Research in geography
Types of geographic research questions
Quantitative versus qualitative research
approaches
Using GIS for research in geography

Why do we do research in
geography?

Research for exploration

Investigation of little-understood
phenomena
Identification of important variables
Generation of questions for further research

Research for description

To describe and characterize patterns and
phenomena
To document patterns and phenomena of
interest

Research for explanation and

understanding
To explain what caused an observed pattern
or phenomena
To explain why a pattern or phenomena is
characterized the way it is
To understand processes and interactions
between people, places, and phenomena

Research for prediction

To predict future patterns or outcomes for
different phenomena
To forecast events and behaviors resulting
from different phenomena

Types of research questions in

geography

Exploratory questions: learn about a new issue

Descriptive questions: describe a phenomenon
Explanatory questions: explain a phenomenon
Predictive questions: predicting future patterns
Research studies often include two or more types
of research questions

GIS can be used to answer all

types of research questions:
Exploratory: Is there a spatial pattern?
Descriptive: Has the pattern changed over
time?
Explanatory: What caused a pattern to
change?
Predictive: What do we expect the pattern
to look like in the future?

GIS can be applied in both

quantitative and qualitative research
studies

Quantitative research approaches

Application of numerical analytical
techniques to address geographic research
questions (of all types)
Defined as the collection, classification,
presentation, and analysis of numerical data

Qualitative research approaches

Use non-numerical information (e.g.
conversations, artifacts, visual images)
Entails a wide range of approaches such as
unstructured interviews, ethnography,
content analysis
Shared belief in grounded theory (generate
theory from information that the researcher
collects)

All quantitative analysis is based on

qualitative judgements (e.g. quantitative
survey of quality of life in Oslo)
Did the respondent understand the question?
Did the respondent understand your answer
scheme (e.g. 1 = agree; 2 = disagree) ?
Did the respondent realize the questions were
only about living in Oslo?
Was the respondent answering honestly or
just randomly?

All qualitative data can be measured and

coded using quantitative methods (e.g.
unstructured interviews about quality of
life in Oslo
Code responses in an open-ended interview with
numbers that refer to data specific references
For example, code the factors that people see as
reflecting high quality of life (e.g., bars, skiing)
Quantitative research can therefore be generated
from qualitative inquiries.

Whats the real difference between

research approaches?
The major difference between qualitative and
quantitative research stems from the researchers
underlying strategies.
Quantitative research is viewed as confirmatory
and deductive in nature (use data to test theories)
Qualitative research is considered to be
exploratory and inductive (gather the data and
learn whats happening from the data and then
generate theories)

Questions to consider for qualitative

versus quantifative research
Is your aim the generation of new theories or
hypothesis?
Do you need to obtain a deep understanding of an
issue? Is the issue too complex to quantify? (what
does it mean to be poor in Oslo today?)
Are you willing to trade detail for generalizability?
(e.g., someones experience of poverty vs. a
quantifiable measure of income levels)

GIS is a tool for all types of

research questions and research
approaches

GIS and quantitative, descriptive analysis

GIS and quantitative, explanatory analysis
GIS and qualitative, descriptive analysis
GIS and qualitative exploratory analysis

GIS and Quantitative Analysis:

Vulnerability to climate change and
economic changes in Indian agriculture

Context
Agriculture in India
27 % GDP
700 million people
more than 60 % is rainfed cultivation

Both climate change and economic globalization are

ongoing processes with uneven impacts. Indian
agriculture will be confronted by both processes
simultaneously, leading to changing patterns of
vulnerability.

Main objectives
Assess vulnerability of agriculture to climate
change in the context of economic changes
Use GIS to identify highly vulnerable areas and
social groups
Interview farmers in highly vulnerable areas to
understand how farmers are coping with climatic
and economic changes

Methodology
GIS-based vulnerability profile
Village-level case studies
Integration of macro- and micro- scale
analyses

Globalization vulnerability

Climate Change Vulnerability

Double Exposure: Areas that are

Vulnerable to both Climate Change and
Globalization

Case study approach

Questionnaire-based survey

Economic status
Agricultural practices
Coping mechanisms
Access to facilities (electricity,
irrigation, health, education,
loans, etc)

Participatory rural appraisals

Focus group discussions with
small and marginal farmers
One-to-one meetings with
village heads and district
administrative officers

GIS and Quantitative Methods

GIS can also be combined with statistical
techniques such as correlation and regression
Correlation: are observations correlated across
space (e.g. do high income counties cluster
together)
Regression analysis: incorporate correlation across
space into a spatial regression model

GIS and Quantitative

Explanatory Analysis:
Accounting for Income Variation
on American Indian Tribal Areas

Rural Poverty and Tribal Areas

Persistent poverty is an enduring problem for rural
areas
In the US, persistent rural poverty is especially
evident on tribal lands
Tribal lands also tend to be located in very
marginal places
Cross-sectional economic and geographic
literature has paid relatively little attention to
tribal areas (despite many case studies)

Research Questions
1. Are there significant differences in per
capita income levels between tribal and
non-tribal areas, after controlling for
locational and other characteristics?
2. Across tribal spatial areas, what accounts
for income level variation?

Tribal Counties in the

United States

Reservation and Trust Area

N

No tribal area
OTSA-TDSA area
1000

W
1000

2000 Miles

E
S

Per Capita Income (1999)

Per Capita Income (1999)

4896 - 19382
19383 - 24423
24424 - 33398
33399 - 81665

N
W

1000

1000

2000 Miles

E
S

Per Capita Income (1999)

and high AI share counties

High AI-share
Per Capita Income (1999)
4896 - 19382
19383 - 24423
24424 - 33398
33399 - 81665
1000

N
W
1000

2000 Miles

E
S

What might explain variation in

spatial income levels?
Locational factors: proximity to urban areas, cost of
living, natural amenities, transport infrastructure
Structural factors: industry structure (shares in
manufacturing, agriculture/resources, federal gov)
unemployment rate
Individual factors: educational attainment, agestructure of the population
Tribal and social capital: AI population share,
presence collective economic activity (gaming), type
of tribal area (presence of tribal land base)

Key Findings
Locational, Structural and Individual factors
all matter in accounting for income
variation across all county groupings,
including all tribal types of tribal counties
Consistent factors include market size,
unemployment, educational attainment, and
shares of retirement-age population

Key Findings
Tribal counties do not have significantly
different income levels than other counties
(once locational and other factors are
controlled)
But, tribal and nontribal counties with high
shares of American Indians do have
significantly lower incomes than other
counties (even controlling for other factors)

GIS and Qualitiative Methods

GIS has historically been applied primarily
to quantitative questions
Newest frontier in GIS research entails use
of GIS in qualitative research

Marianna Pavlovskaya,
Professor of Geography
(CUNY-Hunter)
2002 "Mapping urban change
and changing GIS: Other views
of economic restructuring,"
forthcoming in Gender, Place and
Culture.

Research Questions
How did the end of communism affect
peoples everyday lives?
How did their participation in the economy
change (changes in the nature of work)?
How did their access to consumer goods
changes?

Mei-Po Kwan, Professor of

Geography
(Ohio State University)
Evaluating Gender Differences in
Individual Accessibility: A Study
Using Trip Data Collected by the
Global Positioning System

Research Questions
How do typical daily travel patterns vary
between men and women?
What do these variations imply about
employment opportunities and leisure time
activities?

Summary
GIS can be used to answer all types of research
questions, including exploratory, descriptive and
an explanatory questions
GIS applies to both quantitative and qualitative
work
The choice of GIS techniques depends on the type
of research questions that you are asking
The research questions should always come
first