Traditional Geographic Approach in the Scientific Research and GIS - Case Study Example

Traditional Geographic Approach in the Scientific Research and GIS A picture is worth a thousand words. Everyone has heard that one. But when it comes to geographic analysis or using geography as a basis to analyze georeferened data, it often seems like what should be a very visual field becomes lost in a mountain of numbers and words. Fortunately, with the ever increasing number of software tools and the growing availability of data created specifically for use with GIS software and other input tools such as GPS, users possess the ability to perform geographic analysis at a level never before possible. It is for this reason that the use of GIS technology has exploded in recent years to such important roles in such diverse areas as land use planning, emergency response, and even business marketing. Even until recently, users of georeferenced data, using strictly simple mapping software programs were not benefitting fully from the analysis capabilities of their data. In the world of commerce, for example, megacorporations, using simple mapping software on prohibitively expensive mainframe computer platforms, end users usually ended up working from charts, reports and convoluted statistics. Despite the mountains of data available to these users, what they often ended up with was data without a usable perspective and thus a seat-of-the-pants aprpaoch to implement, if it was of any use at all. Fortunately, today there is not only a wide range of powerful GIS tools available for use, but there is a growing number of these tools that are made to be easy to use for the most common user. In fact, a growing number of public institutions such as libraries, schools and colleges are outfitted with full GIS tools that can allow users to access endless amounts of data for their personal or business use. A Traditional Approach vs. Geographic Analysis A good example of a traditional versus GIS-based geographic analysis might seem appropriate to illustrate. Let us take, for example, John and Mary, who want to open a small retail business. The couple plans to feature high-end women’s clothes. In the past, this might begin by searching the newspaper for potential locations that might be available for sale or rent. Nothing being readily available, the couple might next visit a realtor, who will not only able to show them what he alone his available, but will no doubt show them first the listings that pay the largest commissions. What would any of these factors have to do with the potential commercial appeal of a particular location? Little, if any. The couple will probably end up buying or renting a location based on what they can afford in an area that might be ill-suited for the type of merchandise they carry, such as a lower income area whose residents cannot afford the type of clothing their store carries. With resulting sales that are inadequate to maintain their business, they will probably soon be out of it. Next, let us consider a GIS/geographic analysis approach to John and Mary’s situation. Fortunately, even before John and Mary decide what to feature in their store, a GIS can help them determine what best to carry in their store, based on a basic analysis of the demographic data that might be readily available from a city or county’s GIS department. After the couple has an opportunity to review the household income data for the various areas of their city/county where they want to locate their store, they can use a GIS-generated map to show in very visual form what areas of the city correspond to the income data. In this form, the relative income levels are much more understandable when pegged to areas on the map instead of a printed table. One of the best features of a GIS is the ability to layer different types of maps atop one-another, allowing users to visualize information in a manner that makes the data more understandable than each indiviaul layer would have been alone. In this case, the sum of the parts is infinitely more than the layers would have been separately. Returning to our example, let us assume that John and Mary are able to view a GIS map that shows household income figures from U.S. Census data. With this, they are able to locate an area where the income level matches perfectly the price range of the clothing they wish to offer. Have they found their ideal location? Maybe, but not necessarily. To make their location decision based solely on this one data layer would be to seriously shortchange themselves and rob them of the full potential of a GIS and the geographic analysis it opens to them. Although Mary wants to feature high-end clothing, the age range of these styles she wishes to carry is between 24-35, or young female professionals. Being the astute GIS user that she is, Mary decides to overlay age data over the income data layer she already has. Whereas the income level layer map led her to decide on one area as the ideal location of her store, age data might, for example, show that although that particular area is where higher-income level households are located, to her surprise the age data for that area shows that the females are clearly above the target market she has identified based solely on the income level. In other words, Mary has located an area that has residents that have a higher income, but are older than the clientele she wishes to serve. As a result, if she wishes to locate her store in this higher income area, it would probably be best to feature larger ticket items but in styles that would appeal to the tastes of older women. Either she should choose to feature more conservative styles instead of miniskirts and gauze dresses. To take this example further, overlaying still other GIS data layers might lead to further refinements of the marketing direction John and Mary wish to take. They will want to incorporate data of available sales or rentals within this area as well as the amount they can afford to pay for a location. A View of the Future There are probably many business owners and managers who wish they owned a crystal ball when it comes to their ability to see the future of their business. Until a genie arrives to deliver such a tool, a GIS may be the next best thing. With a GIS/geographic analysis, users have an educated method of helping to predict future trends in their area. To leave a marketing illustration for another, let us consider examine a popular and quickly growing application of GIS, crime analysis. Today, law enforcement agencies around the world are using GIS and geographic analysis for a wide range of crime analysis functions. Numerous police agencies on all levels have crime analysis units that help them not only plan the best ways to protect areas and their inhabitants, but to apprehend criminals as well. Data Input—New Frontiers Critics of GIS and the capabilities of geographic analysis use in their defense the sometime antiquated data that is sometimes used for creating maps. Unfortunately, to a certain extent, this is true. As is the case with any computerized system, GIS can be a matter of “garbage-in, garbage-out.” Thankfully, GIS users who rely on the data provided have other technologies to thank for having the best possible data available for their applications. The global positioning system, or GPS, for short, is an ever-increasingly common data collection system for a GIS that is as up-to-date as it can be made. GPS, commonly thought of as the satellite system that helps motorists get from one point to another, is also an important method of data collection for use by GIS in valuable geographic analysis methods. GPS is, to a great extent, one of the most important technologies that keep GIS “grounded.” Without the data made possible by GPS, GIS, although useful, is to a certain extent theoretical. With the high level of positional data provided with a GPS, the accuracy that can be used in a GIS is greatly increased. Information that is “geocoded” by GPS and other methods enable the GIS to “understand” data unlike it could without it. To further the crime analysis example begun above, using street address data layers would be an excellent use to illustrate crime data, but without being able to accurately track crime events as to where they took place the information entered into the GIS would not be as accurate as it could be with it. A good example would be a recent crime spree that took place in a major American city in the not too distant past. The city police department had a problem. Banks in a certain downtown area were being robbed, one by one. Being aware of this type of information is important, to be sure, but when the information is geocoded, it became the key to capturing the criminal responsible. Geocoding the crime information into the GIS, the police were able to effectively predict where the next robbery would occur, and approximately when it would happen. It was also possible, using the data storage capability of the GIS, to find a relationship between the parties who were carrying out the robberies, and other crimes that were occurring in the area. This was done by using not only data tracking the robberies and overlaying the data of other crime types that was accumulated from the same area. Otherwise, with different units of the police department focusing on their own types of crime, without the GIS it is a very real possibility that the information gathered by other units would not have been compared for analysis with the robbery data. Only with the integration of a GIS was this capability made possible. Additional Capabilities of GIS Thanks largely to the technical advances of hardware, software, and graphics capabilities, GIS has exponentially increased its capabilities in the last decade. The effectiveness of data analysis made possible with a GIS is largely due to three features. Without these features, whatever the mapping product might be, is not a full GIS. These features are: Drawing and layout functionality. Unfortunately, all GISs are not created equal. There are mapping software products on the market that pass themselves off as fully functioning GISs, but are not. Some of these are simple mapping programs that fall far short in their graphics capabilities. Even some high end programs are, when used in less complicated applications, best described as “big and unwieldy.” ESRI’s ARC/INFO software is an example of such a product that can lose much of its true capabilities in a simpler application. One of the other problems that can seriously affect the geographic analysis capabilities of a GIS is the learning curve often involved with some programs. Fortunately, simpler programs are also available that are very intuitive and can enable the common user with many of the same geographic analysis tools of power users. The analysis tools for many of these programs are often as easy to use as “point and click.” Even the drawing capabilities have been dramatically simplified with many GIS tools, entailing nothing more than entering an X/Y coordinate and the line is displayed. Layout capability. Besides the mapping capability of a GIS, a full-featured program will allow users a considerable array of tools that can accentuate the display provided by a GIS. Streets and other features can be labeled, highlighted with different colors, various shading and cross-hatching schemes, and other graphic tools that will help analyze the data presented. Symbols that indicate schools, hospitals, military installations and other landmarks are also available for use. Graphs, Charts, and Other Reporting Tools. Among other analytical tools available in a full GIS is the ability to expand the use of graphics with charts and other visual aid tools. GIS-based maps, which can be displayed either on electronic screens (projected, computers, iPads, etc.) and others well as printed presentations. The importance of GIS as not only a data display tool, but a data storage tool is not to be underestimated. As discussed earlier, almost every form of data available can in some way be geocoded to a precise point on the earth’s surface. Once that position is located, enormous amounts of data can be stored using a GIS as the reference source. In recent years, despite the ready availability of enormous amounts of data, decision makers all too often rely on what could be called “intuitive-based” decisions. And although intuition should still be an important factor in arriving at decisions, it also cannot be ignored that the inability of decision-makers to use the mountains of data applicable to their work is only exacerbated by the onerous task of compiling that data into a usable format, a task GIS is fully able to manage effectively. Regardless of the application, there is no doubt that with the increasing power of the hardware and software that make a full GIS will continue to improve and make geographic analysis of information even more powerful as a decision-making tool in the future, regardless of the application.. REFERENCES Baker/Baker. Market Mapping: How to Use Revolutionary New Software to Find, Analyze, and Keep Customers, McGraw Hill, 1993. Korte, George, P.E., The GIS Book, 5th Edition, Onword Press, 2000 Longley, Paul A., Advanced Spatial Analysis: The CASA Book of GIS, ESRI, 2003 Mitchell, Andy, The ESRI Guide to GIS Analysis, Vol. 1, Geographic Patterns & Relationships, ESRI, 1999 Read More