1 intro gis socialscience

7/27/2019 1 Intro Gis Socialscience

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1 - Intro to GIS for the

Social Sciences

RESM 493r


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Goal

Apply GIS techniques to social science andbusiness research

Explore spatial and quantitative analysis

methods Examine problems in business and marketing,

community planning and development, healthcare, crime analysis, environmental justice,

recreation, and other applications Explore the significance of spatial thinking in

social science research and analysis.


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Learning objectives

Explain how place and space are importantand can be analyzed with GIS in varioussocial science fields.

Find and download appropriate census datafor use with political boundaries.

Perform business and marketing spacebased analyses.

Analyze the patterns of features and usemodels to make predictions about futureconditions.


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Today

Into to GIS for social sciences

Hazards of place model


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GIS use in the social sciences

An analytical tool for social sciences

Not new, but only recently has it gainedwider recognition

Due to availability and easy to usesoftware

Applied in various social science

disciplines Is a continuously evolving technology


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Examples

Mapping crime statistics

Social inequality

Environmental justice


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Understanding the G in GIS

Knowing exact location is an importantpart of the GIS process

Information about people and places is

location based. Street address, zip or area code, census

block, x,y coordinates, latitude andlongitude, etc

scientific basis for mappingscale (level ofspatial detail - privacy and ethical issues),coordinates, control datums.


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Not all social science research usespatial analysis

focus on social, economic, cultural andsurvey data without spatial questions

E.g. Do educated or wealthier pregnantwomen receive higher quality prenatal care?

Alternatively Where are the prenatal clinics located

relative to available public transportation,child care etc ?causative relationships.


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Not all data is geographice.g. data onperceptions, desires, social ties, ideas orinteractions. Use of cartograms - to represent social relationships

Data variability in time and space Most data are staticsnapshot in time.

Difficult to map changes or trends in data

Many things are dynamic

Choice of variables to be used. E.g. Mappingindividuals over time - home address or place ofemployment; or where the person is likely to be at aparticular time of the day or week.


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Computers allow us to transform static datainto dynamic dataAnimation

Difficult and expensive to collect and update

temporal scale (real time) data Fortunately, only a few social science

applications use this kind of data

Representation issues

Privacy and ethical issues

Lumping (grouping) or degrading to mask

individual data points


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Understanding the I in GIS

Information relates to software database Databases are specialized software programs designed

for storage, organization and retrieval of information.

Most GIS can interact with any database system May involve some transformation and translations

Most data are now available in GIS ready formats e.gUSCensus, local and state agencies, private companiesand universities

Primary datasurveys, interviews, andobservations locational information and coding and formatting


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Extending the I in GIS

Multimedia capabilities of computers

Allows the incorporation of video, audio,photos and text

Oral history, narratives and interviews,

Data is stored in a raw form

Can be used for further and different

analysis

Dynamically linked to a map location


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Understanding the S in GIS

System component

Hardware, software and people

GIS setup involves costs and training

Issues of data structure, format andcompatibilityInteroperability

High costs and training may warrantsubcontracting to GIS specialists.


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Understanding the S in GIS

GIS data model is based on discrete datacategories of points, lines and polygons that arein space

Assumes all data can be linked to a specific discretelocation

Assumes that lines can be drawn to delineateboundaries between data categories

Many data sets are not clearly defined E.g degraded

Efforts to develop fuzzy GIS systemsless definedlocations and boundaries


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Qualitative Research Methods

Integrating qualitative research and GIS

Qualitative research forms: Sociospatial grounded theory

Participant observation

Ethnography Oral histories


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Qualitative Research Methods

Inductive Approach

Grounded Theory and GIS

Sociospatial Grounded Theory

Determine topic of interest

Determine geographic location of interest

Collect data (qualitative, spatially linked social data)

Geocode the data

Ground truth the data

Analyze the data, look for spatial and social patterns

General theory (spatial and social)


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Integrating GIS & Field Research

GIS software in the field Entering data in the field.

Consider climate conditions, access to power or recharge thecomputer and storage space

Base maps of study area Hard copy maps Mark some reference points

Ground truth of map data Verification and ground truthing

Use of aerial photos

Elicit help from local people

Cultural perceptions of technology How technology is viewed by people in the study area e.g. Amish

community Alternative methods

Access to Results Who will read the report

Public access
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Local Sources of Data

Oral History Interviews

GIS and oral history

Participant Observation

Researcher actively participates in theissue and topic under study

Researcher record their experiences(social, environmental and personalsentiments)


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News as Data Source

Background data or actual data

Newspapers, magazine, TV and online formats

Content Analysis Approach Analyze events in time, location, time of

occurrence etc

Identify patterns in news stories

Information can be used for decision making
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Ethnography and GIS

Detailed description of a problem or issue

Telling people stories the way the people want thestories told (Earl Babbie, 2003)

Recorded conversations

GIS integrates contextualized or environmentally situatethe stories over time

Key elements/variables from stories can be used foranalysis
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Public Particiaption and GIS

Local peoples ideas, thoughts and actions aresolicited to be part of the planning process.

Community meetings, stage hearings to solicitcommunity input, focus groups, surveys, keyinformant interviews, needs assessments etc

Disadvantagevery few people (general public)understand GIS

PPGIS allows people to see the data and itsphysical, environmental or social context now or infuture

Use of GIS as means of idea portrayal can giveplanners of community desires
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Sociospatial Research

Enhances analysis by providing additionalinsights and information not previously

considered understand social context and characterstics

Outline Explore GIS as a tool for the integration and

analysis of social science data

Role of GIS in research

Applications


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GIS in the social science

Does not have a long history in thesocial science

Its value is beginning to berecognized


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Why is GIS a good tool for thesocial scientist?

Allows for the integration andcomparison of contextual data fromsocial as well as environmental orphysical standpoint


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Social science researcher

Almost all of their data have anassocicated geographic point oflocation

Researchers need to identify wherethe differences, similarities,correlations, and interactions exist

GIS can accommodate bothqualitative and quantitative variablesinto a study


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Inductive vs deductive approachesto research

GIS can be helpful to both

Inductive hypotheses emerge from

the data, no preconceived notions Deductive more traditional

approach of lit review, generateframework, create hypoth, test the

hypoth by collecting data


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Hazards of place model


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Example: Hazards-of-Place Model of Vulnerability


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Example: Hazards-of-Place Model of Vulnerability


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Example:Hazards-of-Place Model of Vulnerability

Step 1: Determining Biophysical Vulnerability


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Step 2: Defining Social Vulnerability


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Step 2: Defining Social Vulnerability


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Step 3: The Vulnerability of Places


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Combining Tables(application of Census data or otherdemographic information with spatial layers)


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Tables

Descriptive information about features

Each feature class has an associated table

One row for each geographic feature

Right-click


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Understanding table anatomy

Basic table properties

Records/rows and fields/columns

Column types can store numbers, text, dates

Unique column namesColumns (fields)

Rows

(records)

Attribute

values


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Table manipulation

Open table in ArcMap or preview in ArcCatalog

Sort ascending or descending

Freeze/Unfreeze columns

Statistics In ArcMap

Select records

Modify table values


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Associating tables

Can store attributes in feature table or separate table

Associate tables with common column key values

Must be same data field types

Must know table relationships (cardinality)Additional

attribute tableFeature attribute table

Example: Associating county attribute table with separate table of poverty estimates by county for WV


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Table relationships

How many A objects are related to B objects?

Types of cardinality

One-to-one, one-to-many or many-to-one, andmany-to-many

Must know cardinality before connecting tables

or

One parcel

has one owner

One parcel

has many owners

Many parcels

have one owner

Many parcels

have many owners


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Joins and relates

Two methods to associate tables in ArcMap based on acommon field

Join appends the attributesfrom one onto the other

Label or symbolize featuresusing joined attributes

Relate defines a relationshipbetween two tables


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Connecting tables with joins

Appends the attributes of two tables

Assumes one-to-one or many-to-one cardinality

County Attributes (before Join) WV_Poverty98

County Attributes with joined poverty data (virtual table after Join)

One-to-one

c c


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Connecting tables with relates

Define relationship between two tables

Tables remain independent

Additional cardinality choices

One-to-many

Discovers any related rows

2) Open related table1) Make selection

Example: Relate WV county attributes to table of coal production statistics for 1986 - 1998

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