Qualitative Geographic Information Systems Research Articles

Cree Ethnogeography

This paper explores the nature of Wemindji Cree territorial identity. It uses a mixed methods approach combining qualitative geographic information systems (GIS) and ethnography. GIS was used to categorize a database of Wemindji Cree place names within local and traditional naming systems. The resulting maps produce a picture of Wemindji Cree life as a ‘view from nowhere’ disconnected from lived life on the ground. Participant observation of life in Wemindji, especially amongst tallymen (trapline bosses), over two seasons provided an ethnography of Cree life both in town and on the land. The situated perspective ‘on the ground’ offers specifics of daily life that revolve around maps. Inscriptions such as maps have been incorporated into the everyday lives of tallymen, who are respected leaders in Wemindji. Rundstrom's categories of inscribing (written) versus incorporating (oral) cultures were found to elude mutual exclusivity. Wemindji Cree are a residually oral culture with a dependence on maps necessitated by the tracking and discussion of incursions from state-industrial interests in trapline territories and by the need to commemorate traditional life on the land. Maps are thus necessary but not sufficient for explaining Wemindji Cree territorial identity. Ethnographic depth was included to round out strictly inscribed accounts of identities demonstrated to revolve to a great extent around the leadership of the tallymen. A balance of inscribed (through GIS maps) and embodied (through ethnography) accounts of Wemindji Cree life as lived through movement, wayfaring and the business of life both in town and on the land, helped produce the resulting ethnogeographic account of Wemindji Cree life and territorial identity.

Knowledge Production in Urban Governance Systems through Qualitative Geographical Information Systems (GIS)

Urban governance offers opportunities for more inclusive urban management, incorporating tacit knowledge and citizens’ preferences. The question is how to elicit such knowledge and preferences so that they are both inclusive as well as efficient. Field visits to Indian cities have shown that a lot of effort is put into the implementation of E-governance tools and setting up Geographic Information Systems (GIS), focusing on administrative interaction with citizens. Little attention is paid to how GIS could be included in strategic governance processes. The main question here is how a combination of GIS-based qualitative and quantitative approaches can make local embedded knowledge visible for inclusive urban governance. Therefore workshops were held in four Indian cities (Mysore, Hubli–Dharward, Kalyan and Mira–Bhayandar) with participants from local government departments and elected councillors to elicit and discuss local knowledge on urban inequalities. GIS maps were used as an input to the process and for visualizing outcomes. The workshops show that using GIS throughout the process provides an understanding of the local context, enriches knowledge obtained from local databases, and therefore supports multiple forms of knowledge. However, the outcome depends greatly on the nature of input maps, the situated knowledge of workshop participants and map literacy.

Negotiating GIS and Social Theory in Population Geography

AbstractPopulation researchers are increasingly giving attention to how geographic information systems (GIS)‐based analytical techniques can answer questions about the spatial aspects of demographic processes. This broader turn toward spatial demography, however, has occurred concurrently with concerns within population geography about the sub‐discipline’s position within human geography as it turns toward critical social theory. These developments create distinct tensions for population geographers who seek to engage with the growing interest in GIS and spatial analysis outside of geography, and remain relevant within an increasingly theoretical human geography. This article evaluates the challenges in incorporating insights from critical social theory into spatial demographic research, with attention to issues such as the social construction of space and scale and the modifiable areal unit problem (MAUP). The article then assesses the potential of qualitative GIS as a methodological resolution to these challenges, and considers the prospects for theoretically informed spatial demographic research in population geography.

Geo-Narrative: Extending Geographic Information Systems for Narrative Analysis in Qualitative and Mixed-Method Research*

This research seeks to contribute to advancing qualitative methodologies at the intersection of qualitative geographic information systems (GIS), narrative analysis, 3D GIS-based time-geographic methods, and computer-aided qualitative data analysis. The approach to GIS-based narrative analysis developed in the study, called “geo-narrative,” is based on extending current GIS capabilities for the analysis and interpretation of narrative materials such as oral histories, life histories, and biographies. The three central elements in this approach are (1) narrative analysis as the qualitative approach; (2) 3D GIS-based time-geographic methods as the representational framework; and (3) 3D-VQGIS as the GIS-based computer-aided qualitative data analysis component. A case example based on a study of the lives of the Muslim women in Columbus, Ohio, after 11 September 2001 is used to illustrate the approach.

The changing face of space

More often than not, Geographic Information Systems (GIS) excludes emotion and qualitative analysis from studies of people-place relationships in favor of quantitative approaches. We employ emotional cartography as a form of qualitative GIS (qualGIS) to elevate emotions from the periphery to the center of dialogue about children's well-being. We highlight the ontological parallels between qualGIS, emotional cartography and children in society, and advance emotion maps as a way to visualize different spatial and emotional realities. In reflecting upon the felt geography of our own childhood places, we affirm the importance of children's emotional attachments to places as well as the centrality of ‘messy’ human experiences in GIS. To conclude, we discuss the implications of emotional cartography for researchers, planners and GIS, paying special attention to children's well-being amidst the current COVID-19 pandemic. In particular, this includes a call to ‘witness’ and to foster spatial empathy among those advocating for children.

Predicting occurrences of geographically restricted rare floral elements with qualitative habitat data

Habitat-directed survey methods are often used for locating narrowly distributed rare species and communities across landscapes, though their predictive accuracy varies, depending on the element targeted and the type of data employed. We discuss habitat-directed surveys for rare floral elements in the context of landscape-level management planning, focusing in particular upon a case study from southern New Brunswick. Databases of rare species and community occurrences are important requisites for such planning, but existing information is usually deficient and expensive to develop. A habitat-based approach directs surveys to sites with a higher-than-random probability of hosting rare elements and avoids areas deemed unlikely to be of interest due to environment or disturbance factors. We describe a four-part survey procedure that uses readily available qualitative habitat descriptions and geographic information systems (GIS) based land resource data to identify sites potentially hosting rare biota. The procedure includes remote-sensed and on-site screening to confirm significance and collect ancillary data needed for conservation planning. The use of existing data is cost and time efficient, a necessity given often narrow planning windows and restricted budgets. The method described here is well suited to geographically restricted plant biota associated with distinct habitats, especially in unsurveyed or highly fragmented landscapes. However, the approach does not apply to species of wide-ranging and environmentally heterogeneous habitats. As well, by targeting only highly specific locations assumed to be "optimal" habitat, the occurrence of rare biota in other areas cannot be definitively determined and some sites will almost certainly be missed. The limitations of the procedure highlight the need for multifaceted biodiversity assessment over large areas.Key words: ecosystem management, rare species, gap analysis, habitat-directed biodiversity survey, reserve network, New Brunswick.