Theorizing with GIS: A Tool for Critical Geographies?

Abstract

In this paper I explore the potential of using geographical information systems (GIS) in qualitative research by disentangling the seemingly rigid association of the field of geographic information science with quantitative geography. I examine the opposition between quantitative and qualitative methods as an extension of different epistemologies and not as indicative of their innate incompatibility, and reposition GIS within these methods seen as a continuum. I show that the always-assumed alignment of GIS with quantitative research has never been complete and the many openings in GIS enable qualitative research. I also discuss how critical geographers can engage with and transform GIS as well as enhance their explanations and social theory in general by representing spatially complex social processes and relationships.