GIS Research Methods: Incorporating Spatial Perspectives shows researchers how to incorporate spatial thinking and geographic information system (GIS) technology into research design and analysis. Topics include research design, digital data sources, volunteered geographic information, analysis using GIS, and how to link research results to policy and action. The concepts presented in GIS Research Methods can be applied to projects in a range of social and physical sciences by researchers using GIS for the first time and experienced practitioners looking for new and innovative research techniques.

1. Why think spatially? -- 2. Spatial conceptualization and implementation -- 3. Research design -- 4. Research ethics and spatial inquiry -- 5. Measurement, sampling, and boundaries -- 6. Using secondary digital and nondigital data sources in research -- 7. Survey and interview spatial data collection and databases -- 8. Public participation GIS -- 9. Qualitative spatial and ethnographic field research -- 10. Evaluation research from a spatial perspective -- 11. Conducting analysis with ArcGIS software -- 12. Spatial analysis of qualitative data -- 13. Communicating results and visualizing spatial information -- 14. Linking results to policy and action -- 15. Future directions for geospatial use.