Scientific Geography Series

The Scientific Geography Series is a series of small books that each focus on a specific geographic concept from a scientific framework.[1] Geographer Grant Ian Thrall edited the series, and the books were written by prominent geographers such as Arthur Getis and A. Stewart Fotheringham. [2] The term "scientific geography" is defined by the series as involving:

"the precise definition of variables and theoretical relationships that can be shown to be logically consistent. The theories are judged on the clarity of specification of their hypotheses and on their ability to be verified through statistical empirical analysis."

— Grant Ian Thrall, [2][3]

The series was originally published between 1985 and 1988 and sold for $6.50 per issue.[2] It is intended for use as textbooks or as sources for researchers, and the books can be taken individually or used together to learn concepts in geography.[3] The first books in the series are introductory and focus on human geography, while later ones are more advanced and focus on scientific or quantitative geography.[1] While used extensively, these physical copies became difficult to find and use in the classroom.[4] To remedy this, the West Virginia University Regional Research Institute made digital copies of the series available for free as part of their "Web Book of Regional Science" series.[4]

List of Publications
Number in series Title Author Original publication date Online publication date
1 [3] Central place theory Leslie J. King 1985 2020
2 [5] Gravity and Spatial Interaction Models Kingsley E. Haynes and A. Stewart Fotheringham 1985 2020
3[6] Industrial Location Michael J. Webber 1985 2020
4 [7] Regional Population Projection Models Andrei Rogers 1985 2020
5 [8] Spatial Transportation Modeling Christian Werner 1985 2020
6[9] Regional Input-Output Analysis Geoffrey J. D. Hewings 1985 2020
7 [10] Human Migration William A. V. Clark 1986 2020
8[11] Point Pattern Analysis Barry N. Boots and Arthur Getis 1988 2020
9[12] Spatial Autocorrelation John Odland 1988 2020
10[13] Spatial Diffusion Richard Morrill, Gary L. Gaile, and Grand Ian Thrall 1988 2020

Criticism

Critics of the series have noted that while the series editor claimed coverage of science in geography was limited, there were many prominent publications on the topic.[2] The coverage of some topics is described as being a bit inadequate.[2]

The term "scientific geography" is described by an author as an "unfortunate term that, I hope, will not gain widespread currency."[2] This is part of a broader problem of organizing geography, with many competing terms meaning essentially the same thing as "scientific geography."[14]

See also

References
  1. "Scientific Geography Series". West Virginia University Regional Research Institute. Retrieved 28 August 2023.
  2. Gatrell, A C; Bracken, I J (1985). "Reviews: Central Place Theory, Gravity and Spatial Interaction Models, Industrial Location, Scientific Geography Series, Computer-Assisted Cartography: Principles and Prospects". Environment and Planning B: Urban Analytics and City Science. 12 (4). doi:10.1068/b120493.
  3. King, Leslie J. (1985). Central Place Theory. Morgantown, WV: Regional Research Institute, West Virginia University. Retrieved 28 August 2023.
  4. "Web Book of Regional Science". West Virginia University Regional Research Institute. Retrieved 28 August 2023.
  5. Haynes, Kingsley E.; Fotheringham, A. Stewart (1985). Gravity and Spatial Interaction Models. Morgantown, WV: Regional Research Institute, West Virginia University. Retrieved 29 August 2023.
  6. Webber, Michael J. (1985). Industrial Location. Morgantown, WV: Regional Research Institute, West Virginia University. Retrieved 29 August 2023.
  7. Rogers, Andrei (1985). Regional Population Projection Models. Morgantown, WV: Regional Research Institute, West Virginia University. Retrieved 29 August 2023.
  8. Werner, Christian (1985). Spatial Transportation Modeling. Morgantown, WV: Regional Research Institute, West Virginia University. Retrieved 29 August 2023.
  9. Hewings, Geoffrey J. D. (1985). Regional Input-Output Analysis. Morgantown, WV: Regional Research Institute, West Virginia University. Retrieved 29 August 2023.
  10. Clark, W.A.V. (1986). Human Migration. Morgantown, WV: Regional Research Institute, West Virginia University. Retrieved 29 August 2023.
  11. Boots, Barry N.; Getis, Arthur (1988). Point Pattern Analysis. Morgantown, WV: Regional Research Institute, West Virginia University. Retrieved 29 August 2023.
  12. Odland, John (1988). Spatial Autocorrelation. Morgantown, WV: Regional Research Institute, West Virginia University. Retrieved 29 August 2023.
  13. Morrill, Richard; Gaile, Gary L.; Thrall, Grand Ian (1988). Spatial Diffusion. Morgantown, WV: Regional Research Institute, West Virginia University. Retrieved 29 August 2023.
  14. Tambassi, Timothy (2021). The Philosophy of Geo-Ontologies (2 ed.). Springer. ISBN 978-3-030-78144-6.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.