Making Data Spatial

Abstract

This chapter illustrates how geographic information systems (GIS) can complement micro-level survey research data. We provide several examples of the use of spatial technology in surveys, introduce some GIS terminology needed by survey researchers, and discuss issues in linking contextual and survey data using GIS methods. We identify some key barriers to incorporating spatial methods into the design, execution, and analysis of micro-level surveys and suggest approaches to dealing with them effectively. Combining GIS with traditional survey research methods can deepen understanding of phenomena represented by survey data by enlightening the underlying relationships between geographic location and spatial proximity. Such relationships may be uncovered using both visual displays and spatial statistical methods, yielding statistical estimates with increased reliability. More importantly, they yield a better understanding of the research phenomena themselves. This chapter concentrates on GIS as a visualization tool for depicting spatial relationships but includes a short section on recent advances in spatial statistics and their applications.