Geography

Theoretical Approaches

Methods

Methods & techniques

Geography from Greek: γεωγραφία, geographia, literally "earth description" is the field of science devoted to the discussing of a lands, features, inhabitants, in addition to phenomena of the Earth and planets. The first adult to usage the word γεωγραφία was Eratosthenes 276–194 BC. Geography is an all-encompassing discipline that seeks an understanding of Earth and its human and natural complexities—not merely where objects are, but also how they earn changed and come to be.

Geography is often defined in terms of two branches: human geography and physical geography. Human geography is concerned with the analyse of people and their communities, cultures, economies, and interactions with the environment by studying their relations with and across space and place. Physical geography is concerned with the study of processes and patterns in the natural environment like the atmosphere, hydrosphere, biosphere, and geosphere.

The four historical traditions in geographical research are spatial analyses of the natural and the human phenomena, area studies of places and regions, studies of human-land relationships, and the Earth sciences. Geography has been called "the world discipline" and "the bridge between the human and the physical sciences".

Techniques

As spatial interrelationships are key to this synoptic science, maps are a key tool. Classical cartography has been joined by a more contemporary approach to geographical analysis, computer-based geographic information systems GIS.

In their study, geographers ownership four interrelated approaches:

Cartography studies the relation of the Earth's surface with abstract symbols map making. Although other subdisciplines of geography rely on maps for presenting their analyses, the actual making of maps is abstract enough to be regarded separately. Cartography has grown from a collection of drafting techniques into an actual science.

Cartographers must learn cognitive psychology and ergonomics to understand which symbolsinformation about the Earth almost effectively, and behavioural psychology to induce the readers of their maps to act on the information. They must memorize geodesy and fairly modern mathematics to understand how the shape of the Earth affects the distortion of map symbols projected onto a flat surface for viewing. It can be said, without much controversy, that cartography is the seed from which the larger field of geography grew. most geographers will cite a childhood fascination with maps as an earlythey would end up in the field.

Geographic information systems GIS deal with the storage of information about the Earth for automatic retrieval by a computer, in an accurate sort appropriate to the information's purpose. In addition to any of the other subdisciplines of geography, GIS specialists must understand computer science and database systems. GIS has revolutionized the field of cartography: nearly any mapmaking is now done with the help of some create of GIS software. The science of using GIS software and GIS techniques to represent, analyse, and predict the spatial relationships is called geographic information science GISc.

Remote sensing is the science of obtaining information about Earth qualities from measurements delivered at a distance. Remotely sensed data comes in many forms, such(a) as satellite imagery, aerial photography, and data obtained from hand-held sensors. Geographers increasingly use remotely sensed data to obtain information about the Earth's land surface, ocean, and atmosphere, because it: a supplies objective information at a style of spatial scales local to global, b authorises a synoptic image of the area of interest, c allowed access to distant and inaccessible sites, d provides spectral information outside the visible portion of the electromagnetic spectrum, and e facilitates studies of how features/areas conform over time. Remotely sensed data may be analysed either independently of, or in conjunction with other digital data layers e.g., in a geographic information system.

Geostatistics deal with quantitative data analysis, specifically the a formal a formal message requesting something that is submitted to an direction to be considered for a position or to be allowed to do or have something. of statistical methodology to the exploration of geographic phenomena. Geostatistics is used extensively in a variety of fields, including hydrology, geology, petroleum exploration, weather analysis, urban planning, logistics, and epidemiology. The mathematical basis for geostatistics derives from cluster analysis, linear discriminant analysis and non-parametric statistical tests, and a variety of other subjects. applications of geostatistics rely heavily on geographic information systems, particularly for the interpolation estimate of unmeasured points. Geographers are devloping notable contributions to the method of quantitative techniques.

Geographic qualitative methods, or ethnographical research techniques, are used by human geographers. In cultural geography there is a tradition of employing qualitative research techniques, also used in anthropology and sociology. Participant observation and in-depth interviews afford human geographers with qualitative data.