Quantitative Geography
September 2016 | 328 pages | Sage UK
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Description

Numerical data are everywhere. Charts and statistics appear not just in geography journals but also in the media, in public policy, and in business and commerce too. To engage with quantitative geography, we must engage with the quantitative methods used to collect, analyse, present and interpret these data.

Quantitative Geography: The Basics is the perfect introduction for undergraduates beginning any quantitative methods course. Written in short, user-friendly chapters with full-colour diagrams, the book guides the reader through a wide range of topics from the basic to the more advanced, including:
  • Statistics
  • Maths
  • Graphics
  • Models
  • Mapping and GIS
  • R
Closely aligned with the Q-Step quantitative social science programme, Quantitative Geography: The Basics is the ideal starting point for understanding and exploring this fundamental area of Geography. 

Contents

PART 1: ABOUT QUANTITATIVE GEOGRAPHY

  • Introducing Quantitative Geography
  • The Use and Abuse of Statistics

PART 2: FOUNDATIONS OF QUANTITATIVE GEOGRAPHY

  • Principles of Statistics (or, how statistics work)
  • Some Maths and Notation
  • Descriptive and Inferential Statistics
  • Statistical Testing, statistical significance and why they are contentious

PART 3: DOING QUANTITATIVE GEOGRAPHY

  • Data Presentation and Graphics
  • Mapping and GIS
  • Looking at Relationships and Creating Models
  • Multiple regression and geography
  • Analysing Geographical Patterns and Differences
  • An Introduction to R

Description

Numerical data are everywhere. Charts and statistics appear not just in geography journals but also in the media, in public policy, and in business and commerce too. To engage with quantitative geography, we must engage with the quantitative methods used to collect, analyse, present and interpret these data.

Quantitative Geography: The Basics is the perfect introduction for undergraduates beginning any quantitative methods course. Written in short, user-friendly chapters with full-colour diagrams, the book guides the reader through a wide range of topics from the basic to the more advanced, including:
  • Statistics
  • Maths
  • Graphics
  • Models
  • Mapping and GIS
  • R
Closely aligned with the Q-Step quantitative social science programme, Quantitative Geography: The Basics is the ideal starting point for understanding and exploring this fundamental area of Geography. 

Contents

PART 1: ABOUT QUANTITATIVE GEOGRAPHY

  • Introducing Quantitative Geography
  • The Use and Abuse of Statistics

PART 2: FOUNDATIONS OF QUANTITATIVE GEOGRAPHY

  • Principles of Statistics (or, how statistics work)
  • Some Maths and Notation
  • Descriptive and Inferential Statistics
  • Statistical Testing, statistical significance and why they are contentious

PART 3: DOING QUANTITATIVE GEOGRAPHY

  • Data Presentation and Graphics
  • Mapping and GIS
  • Looking at Relationships and Creating Models
  • Multiple regression and geography
  • Analysing Geographical Patterns and Differences
  • An Introduction to R
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Quantitative Geography

The Basics


September 2016 | 328 pages | Sage UK

Format Published Date ISBN Price

Numerical data are everywhere. Charts and statistics appear not just in geography journals but also in the media, in public policy, and in business and commerce too. To engage with quantitative geography, we must engage with the quantitative methods used to collect, analyse, present and interpret these data.

Quantitative Geography: The Basics is the perfect introduction for undergraduates beginning any quantitative methods course. Written in short, user-friendly chapters with full-colour diagrams, the book guides the reader through a wide range of topics from the basic to the more advanced, including:
  • Statistics
  • Maths
  • Graphics
  • Models
  • Mapping and GIS
  • R
Closely aligned with the Q-Step quantitative social science programme, Quantitative Geography: The Basics is the ideal starting point for understanding and exploring this fundamental area of Geography. 

Table Of Contents:

  • PART 1: ABOUT QUANTITATIVE GEOGRAPHY
  • Introducing Quantitative Geography
  • The Use and Abuse of Statistics
  • PART 2: FOUNDATIONS OF QUANTITATIVE GEOGRAPHY
  • Principles of Statistics (or, how statistics work)
  • Some Maths and Notation
  • Descriptive and Inferential Statistics
  • Statistical Testing, statistical significance and why they are contentious
  • PART 3: DOING QUANTITATIVE GEOGRAPHY
  • Data Presentation and Graphics
  • Mapping and GIS
  • Looking at Relationships and Creating Models
  • Multiple regression and geography
  • Analysing Geographical Patterns and Differences
  • An Introduction to R

Recent Product Reviews:

A remarkably pedagogic and perfectly illustrated quantitative geography manual that will delight students of all levels as much as their teachers
Thierry Feuillet, European journal of geography
'Quantitative Geography: The Basics' delivers exactly what the title promises. An engaging overview of the field that makes a strong case that all geographers can and should be exposed to statistical methods, if they are to fully engage with the contemporary discipline, and to participate effectively in wider, number-saturated, public debates.
David O'Sullivan, Associate Professor of Geography, Berkeley, University of California
I like the pitch of this book because the reader is encouraged to think and use common sense when looking at statistical outputs and to be critical but not negative for the sake of it. Technical terms are explained, often with an analogy. Graphical presentation is covered in detail with examples of different ways of illustrating the same outputs so it is clear why choices help or hinder interpretation. Particular highlights are that using pie charts is a really bad idea and that the author has used parkrun data. However, as a founder and run director at Skipton parkrun, I must declare that my opinion is biased!
Paul Norman, Lecturer in Geography, University of Leeds
I very much like the idea of this book. As a quantitative-based lecturer in a school of geography I struggle to find texts on statistics that will hold students' interests as they often crave geography-motivated examples. It is useful to have access to a statistics text that explicitly focuses on quantitative geography. The content is laid out in a straightforward manner and is not overly mathematical. I would be happy to suggest the text to my students.
Daniel Goldberg, Lecturer in Geography, University of Edinburgh
This is an important book. Rich Harris makes a compelling case for why fluency with data, its collection, analysis and interpretation, is essential for geographers and geography today. The text provides a platform that encourages students to engage with ideas about data - relevant for all students whether interested in social, cultural or, economic geography, or hydrology, geomorphology or biogeography. This is a valuable addition to any introductory undergraduate geography reading list.
Catherine Souch, Head of Research and Higher Education, Royal Geographical Society

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