A unique introduction to contemporary quantitative geography, integrating material suitable for both introductory and more advanced courses. No previous knowledge is required and worked examples and computer analyses help student understanding.
The purpose of quantitative geography is to train geographers in numeracy and in the vital skills of data collection, processing and interpretation. Introducting Quantitative Geography describes quantification from first principles to cover all the key elements of quantitative geography. No previous knowledge of statistical procedures is assumed. Worked examples and computer analyses are used to explain measurement, scale, description, models and modelling. Building on this, the book explores and clarifies the intellectual and practical problems presented by numerical and technological advances in the field.
Numerical data are everywhere. Charts and statistics appear not just in geography journals but also in the media, in public policy, and in business and commerce too. To engage with quantitative geography, we must engage with the quantitative methods used to collect, analyse, present and interpret these data. Quantitative Geography: The Basics is the perfect introduction for undergraduates beginning any quantitative methods course. Written in short, user-friendly chapters with full-colour diagrams, the book guides the reader through a wide range of topics from the basic to the more advanced, including: Statistics Maths Graphics Models Mapping and GIS R Closely aligned with the Q-Step quantitative social science programme, Quantitative Geography: The Basics is the ideal starting point for understanding and exploring this fundamental area of Geography.
Quantitative and Statistical Approaches to Geography: A Practical Manual is a practical introduction to some quantitative and statistical techniques of use to geographers and related scientists. This book is composed of 15 chapters, each begins with an outline of the purpose and necessary mechanics of a technique or group of techniques and is concluded with exercises and the particular approach adopted. These exercises aim to enhance student's ability to use the techniques as part of the process by which sound judgments are made according to scientific standards while tackling complex problems. After a brief introduction to the principles of quantitative and statistical geography, this book goes on dealing with the topics of measures of central tendency; probability statements and maps; the problem of time-dependence, time-series analysis, non-normality, and data transformations; and the elements of sampling methodology. Other chapters cover the confidence intervals and estimation from samples, statistical hypothesis testing, analysis of contingency tests, and non-parametric tests for independent and dependent samples. The final chapters consider the evaluation of correlation coefficients, regression prediction, and choice and limitations of statistical techniques. This book is of value to undergraduate geography students.
This book brings together international research on the quantitative revolution in geography. It offers perspectives from a wide range of contexts and national traditions that decenter the Anglo-centric discussions. The mid-20th-century quantitative revolution is frequently regarded as a decisive moment in the history of geography, transforming it into a modern and applied spatial science. This book highlights the different temporalities and spatialities of local geographies laying the ground for a global history of a specific mode of geographical thought. It contributes to the contemporary discussions around the geographies and mobilities of knowledge, notions of worlding, linguistic privilege, decolonizing and internationalizing of geographic knowledge. This book will be of interest to researchers, postgraduates and advance students in geography and those interested in the spatial sciences.
Written for undergraduate geography majors and entry-level graduate students with limited backgrounds in statistical analysis and methods, McGrew and Monroe provide a comprehensive and understandable introduction to statistical methods in a problem-solving framework. Engaging examples and problems are drawn from a variety of topical areas in both human and physical geography and are fully integrated into the text. Without compromising statistical rigor or oversimplifying, the authors stress the importance of written narratives that explain each statistical technique. After introducing basic statistical concepts and terminology, the authors focus on nonspatial and spatial descriptive statistics. They transition to inferential problem solving, including probability, sampling, and estimation, before delving deeper into inferential statistics for geographic problem solving. The final chapters examine the related techniques of correlation and regression. A list of major goals and objectives is included at the end of each chapter, allowing students to monitor their own progress and mastery of geographic statistical materials. An epilogue, offering over 150 geographic situations, gives students a chance to figure out which statistical technique should be used for a particular situation.
Exploring the dynamic growth, change, and complexity of qualitative research in human geography, The SAGE Handbook of Qualitative Geography brings together leading scholars in the field to examine its history, assess the current state of the art, and project future directions. "In its comprehensive coverage, accessible text, and range of illustrative studies, past and present, the Handbook has established an impressive new standard in presenting qualitative methods to geographers." - David Ley, University of British Columbia Moving beyond textbook rehearsals of standard issues, the Handbook shows how empirical details of qualitative research can be linked to the broader social, theoretical, political, and policy concerns of qualitative geographers and the communities within which they work. The book is organized into three sections: Part I: Openings engages the history of qualitative geography, and details the ways that research, and the researcher′s place within it, are conceptualized within broader academic, political, and social currents. Part II: Encounters and Collaborations describes the different strategies of inquiry that qualitative geographers use, and the tools and techniques that address the challenges that arise in the research process. Part III: Making Sense explores the issues and processes of interpretation, and the ways researchers communicate their results. Retrospective as well as prospective in its approach, this is geography′s first peer-to-peer engagement with qualitative research detailing how to conceive, carry out and communicate qualitative research in the twenty-first century. Suitable for postgraduate students, academics, and practitioners alike, this is the methods resource for researchers in human geography.
This new and enlarged edition contains extra material on a number of topics, including geography and computers, transformation and combination of data, cluster sampling, the use of surrogates and linear programming. As in the first edition the authors attempt to give an insight into some of the techniques and underlying concepts of numerical analysis which form such an integral part of modern geography. Worked examples and exercises for the student are included throughout the text. The examples are taken from both physical and human geography.
Integrating a discussion of the application of quantitative methods with practical examples, this book explains the philosophy of the quantitative methodologies. It discusses issues such as: the nature of modern quantitative geography; spatial data; geographical information systems; visualization; local analysis; and point pattern analysis.