Research Methods In Geography Research Articles

Night on South Korea: Unraveling the Relationship between Urban Development Patterns and DMSP-OLS Night-Time Lights

Using artificial light data measured from satellites has the potential to change research methods in geography and urban planning. The Defense Meteorological Satellite Program Optical Linescan System (DMSP-OLS) night-time light datasets provided consistent and valuable data sources for investigating urbanization processes. This study intends to empirically investigate the relationship between night-time lights, population, and urban development patterns. A novel protocol was developed to integrate heterogeneous datasets into a standardized unit of analysis. Multivariate mixed-effects models were applied to detect correlations within and between provinces in South Korea. To capture physical variations of urban development, four landscape metrics were used and tested in the analyses. Diminishing returns of night-time lights to population were found in all models. In single landscape metric models, all coefficients of landscape metrics were positively related to night-time lights. In combination models, the aggregation index (AI) was no longer statistically significant. The protocol developed in this study provides an effective way to create analytical units for integrating heterogeneous forms of data. Creating standardized units of analyses will make it possible for researchers to compare their results with other studies. Landscape metrics used in this study for capturing the composition and configuration of urban development patterns will enrich the discussion in the future.

Making hidden spaces visible: Using drawing as a method to illuminate new geographies

In recent years there has been a growing body of scholarship on the use of alternative research methods in Geography, and the social sciences more broadly, as well as ongoing interest in the connections between Geography and art. There has been much less attention, however, given to how drawing might be used practically or productively as a method, and to how it might allow geographers to reach or see places they couldn't otherwise. Although many researchers advocate conducting interviews and research in situ, thinking about the importance of location, there are times when entering a specific space is not possible. This paper details how the practice of drawing enabled me to make spaces that I wasn't able to visit as an ethnographic researcher, spaces that I felt were largely invisible to me, visible. While conducting fieldwork in a shelter for migrant domestic workers who had fled from their employers in Singapore, I used drawing as a way to shed a new light on the homes in which they had been working and to understand their everyday lives and experiences within them. This method made visible the living and working environments of women who had experienced employment abuse, as well as physical and sexual violence, while maintaining their anonymity and confidentiality, from a space of (relative) safety.

An Interdisciplinary Approach for a Water Sustainability Study

ABSTRACTInterdisciplinary research is often challenging as a result of the different backgrounds of researchers from different disciplines. Such difficulty frequently hinders the understanding, communication, and collaboration among researchers from different disciplines. Meanwhile, research methods in geography can effectively link and synthesize different discipline-specific information. In this study, we show the application of geographic information systems (GIS) for the spatial analysis in a water sustainability project. We also show that GIS, as a spatial decision support system, could be effectively used for managing both hydrologic and social factors. With GIS, the project was able to integrate multidisciplinary data sets and visualize spatial information via a Web platform for sharing and communication. Our study demonstrated that geographic research methods could be effective when facilitating collaborations among the humanities, social science, and engineering to quantify social objectives and constraints, and providing insight in solving grand challenge problems.

An Introduction to Scientific Research Methods in Geography and Environmental Studies, 2nd ed. by Daniel R. Montello and Paul C. Sutton. Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE, 2013, 314 pp.

An Introduction to Scientific Research Methods in Geography and Environmental Studies, 2nd ed. by Daniel R. Montello and Paul C. Sutton. Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE, 2013, 314 pp.

Listening to Our Students: Understanding How They Learn Research Methods in Geography

How undergraduate students learn research methods in geography has been understudied. Existing work has focused on course description from the instructor’s perspective. This study, however, uses a grounded theory approach to allow students’ voices to shape a new theory of how they themselves say that they learn research methods. Data from two focus groups, a survey, and in-depth interviews with undergraduates taking a research methods course suggests that students perceive that they learn best when research methods are taught in ways similar to the faculty research process. The conclusion is that students learning research methods need clear illustrations of process, a community setting that facilitates discussion, instruction in theory, and an extended period of time to complete effective projects.

Implementing a Problem-Based Learning Approach for Teaching Research Methods in Geography

This paper first describes problem-based learning; second describes how a research methods course in geography is taught using a problem-based learning approach; and finally relates student and staff experiences of this approach. The course is run through regular group meetings, two residential field trips and optional skills-based workshops. Course evaluations improved markedly following the introduction of this approach and students appreciated the benefits of the problem-based learning approach, particularly through working in groups on authentic problems that were relevant to future workplace scenarios. They were also able to further develop a range of transferable skills, particularly in teamwork. However, they may not have increased other transferable skills (such as in oral communication) as much as desired due to the tendency for groups to draw on individual strengths to complete collaborative group tasks. Other concerns were group size, the high workload and coping with group dynamics. Tutors found the teaching to be enjoyable, relaxing and very rewarding but there were some anxieties due to the unpredictable nature of the course as well as frustration at knowing when to intervene. However, despite these difficulties for both students and staff, the authors are sufficiently encouraged by the response to continue teaching using a problem-based learning approach.

Doing Gender: Feminism, Feminists and Research Methods in Human Geography

Recently, there has been a marked growth of interest in research methods in geography. Stimulated in part by the epistemological questions raised by feminist and post-modem critiques of 'scientific' method, this interest took a severely practical turn when the Economic and Social Research Council required a taught component, including methods, to be part of all postgraduate training. This led to the development of courses on alternative methodological strategies in geography and, especially for human geographers, an interest in developing teaching about feminist methods. In this paper, I discuss some of the issues that may arise from the adoption of explicitly feminist approaches to geographical research. Recognition of the positionality of the researcher and her/his subjects and the relations of power between them, as Pile argued in a different context in his recent paper in this journal, raises important questions for geographers that we are just beginning to address.