Unit 1.2

1.2 

Geographic Data 

Essential Question: What are different methods of geographical data collection? 

Geographers often refer to the current era as being part of a geospatial 

revolution because they gather data through technical mapping and via satellites or aerial photos. Geographers also have the ability to gather data by visiting places, interviewing people, or observing events in the field. The quality of data gathered by individuals or institutions is important because patterns within the data will influence real-life individual choices and policy decisions. 

Landscape Analysis 

The word landscape comes from older Germanic words that refer to the condition of the land. The term can also imply a specific area, as in a “desert landscape" or the "landscape of Tuscany." The task of defining and describing landscapes is called landscape analysis. 

Observation and Interpretation 

The first part of landscape analysis is careful observation. Geographers are keen observers of phenomena and collect data about what they see. The term field observation is used to refer to the act of physically visiting a location, place, or region and recording, firsthand, information there. Geographers can often be found writing notes, taking photographs, sketching maps, counting and measuring things, and interviewing people as they walk through an area that they are interested in studying. For most of the history of geography, this was the only way to gather data about places. All of the information that can be tied to specific locations is called spatial data. 

Developments in Gathering Data Modern technology has increased the ways in which geographers can obtain spatial data including remote sensing and aerial sources. Remote sensing gathers information from satellites that orbit the earth or other craft above the atmosphere. Aerial photography, professional images captured from planes within the atmosphere, is an important source of observed data available today. Ground-level photography has replaced sketching as a tool for capturing information about landscapes. Sound recordings and the ability to get chemical analyses of air, water, and soil have also changed the way geographers observe a landscape. 

Interpreting Data Once data has been gathered, it must be interpreted. Geographers depend on their skills of synthesizing and integrating, or putting together, all of the collected information to better understand the place, area, 

18 HUMAN GEOGRAPHY: AP° EDITION 

or landscape being studied. A common example clearly observable today is the changes that occur in the landscapes of rural and urban areas over time. A geographer may be interested in understanding what changes are likely to occur as people move into or out of an area: 

• 

• 

• 

Who are the people migrating into this area? Who is leaving? 

What are the cultures of these groups of people? 

What effects will the changes have on the local economy? 

• What are the causes of people moving? 

• What types of human-environment interaction are occurring? 

Geospatial Data 

Geospatial data can be quantitative or qualitative and may be gathered by organizations or individuals. Geospatial data includes all information that can be tied to a specific place. Besides locations of things, such as mountains or roads or boundaries, it includes human activities and traits. Where do speakers of Mandarin live? How common is poverty in each U.S. county? Where is the dividing line in a city between students who attend one high school and those who attend another school? 

SOURCES OF QUANTITATIVE DATA 

LIFE EXPECTANCY, 2019 

Japan 

China 

80 years 

United States 

World 

70 years 

Ethiopia 

60 years 

50 years 

40 years 

- 

<50 years 

60 years 70 years 

80 years 

30 years 

55 years 

65 years 

75 years 

>85 years 

Country 

Afghanistan 

Africa 

63.4 years 

Albania 

61.6 years 

78 years 

Algeria 

76.1 years 

64.8 years 

63.2 years 

78,6 years 

76.9 years 

+1.5 years 

+2% 

+1.6 years 

+3% 

+0.5 years 

<1% 

+0.8 years 

+1% 

MAP 

GLOBAL LIFE EXPECTANCY 2015 AND 2019 

2015 

2019 

Absolute Realtive Change Change 

1770 1800 1850 1900 1950 

GRAPH 

LIFE EXPECTANCY, 1990 AND 2020 

75.20 

years 

World female life expectancy at birth increased by 8.71 years 

2020 

70.41 

years 

World male life 

expectancy at birth increased by 8.47 years 

2015 

American Samoa 

73.6 years 

73.7 years 

+0.2 years 

<1% 

Americas 

76,4 years 

76.8 years 

Andorra 

83.1 years 

Angola 

59.4 years 

Anguilla 

Antigua and Barbuda 

81.3 years 

76.5 years 

83.7 years 

61.1 years 

81.9 years 

77.9 years 

+0.4 years 

+0.7 years 

+1.7 years 

+0.5 years 

+0.5 years 

<1% 

1990 

1990 

<1% 

+3% 

66.49 

years 

61.94 

years 

<1% 

<1% 

DATA TABLE 

Source: ourworldindata.org 

INFOGRAPHIC 

The images illustrate different ways that quantitative geospatial data related to life expectancy can be presented. What are strengths and weaknesses of data presented in each image? 

1.2: GEOGRAPHIC DATA 

19 

Obtaining Geospatial Data 

Geographers collect geospatial data by doing fieldwork, or observing and recording information on location, or in the field. Important sources of this type of data can come from a census of the population, from interviews, or even from informal observations made by geographers. Land surveys, photographs, and sketches are also important ways in which this data is obtained. Technology is making the collection, storage, analysis, and display of geospatial data easier, as well as more accurate, than at any time in the past. The chart in Topic 1.3 illustrates three technologies that have revolutionized the importance of geospatial data. 

Other Sources of Geospatial Data 

Additional sources of data can come from government policy documents such as treaties or agreements, articles and videos from news media outlets, or photos of an area. Many tech companies who design apps for smartphones use locational data elements that make suggestions on food options or activities that are near to you. Most photos taken with smartphones have geospatial data embedded into the image that can be mapped in interactive online maps sites. In fact, many companies and some governments are interested in buying your smartphone geospatial data so they can make targeted advertisements or 

DMM 

F21 

FOREVER 21 

BALLS 

COFFEE 

TSUTAYA 

policy decisions related to your locational activities. Students of geography can be local geographers who gather information projects or field studies. 

for 

Qualitative data can include photos (as of Tokyo to the left), satellite photos (as seen on page 2), cartoons, or interviews. How can qualitative data better help geographers to understand a place? 

REFLECT ON THE ESSENTIAL QUESTION 

Essential Question: What are different methods of geographical data collection? 

Individual Sources 

Institutional Sources 

KEY TERMS 

landscape analysis 

field observations 

spatial data remote sensing 

20 

HUMAN GEOGRAPHY: AP EDITION 

aerial photography fieldwork