Geography Reference
In-Depth Information
Pa rt t wo
Broadening Technology: Applying
GIS to New Sources and Disciplines
The previous three chapters take what might be termed
“traditional GIS data” and apply them to historical research. By “tradi-
tional GIS data” we mean that they are based on quantitative atribute
data that can be well represented spatially using points, lines, or poly-
gons. The major sources used by all three chapters are censuses - sta-
tistical information about clearly defined administrative units that can
be represented by polygons - with additional information on railway
lines and stations in the case of Schwartz and Thevenin and locations
of killings during the Troubles in the case of Cunningham. Represent-
ing these in a GIS is relatively straightforward, and the methodological
challenges - exploring change over time in the face of changing admin-
istrative boundaries and analyzing data in ways that allow relationships
to vary spatially - have been resolved previously and are not the main
subject under discussion. As a consequence, the essays are able to focus
on learning new knowledge about the topic under study, although what
they can teach us about what GIS can, and cannot, offer to the study of
the past is also of interest.
The three chapters that follow face a different set of challenges. In
each case the major issue that confronts the study is that conventional
GIS technology does not easily do what the authors require. They face
two sets of challenges. First, how can the technology be developed and
enhanced in such a way that it is able to handle the sources that they are
using? Second, how can the technology be used to reach new audiences,
including academics who would not traditionally be interested in history,
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