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Geographic information science or geographical information science (GIScience or GISc) is the
scientific discipline The branches of science, also referred to as sciences, scientific fields or scientific disciplines, are commonly divided into three major groups: *Formal sciences: the study of formal systems, such as those under the branches of logic and mat ...
that studies
geographic information Geographic data and information is defined in the ISO/TC 211 series of standards as data and information having an implicit or explicit association with a location relative to Earth (a geographic location or geographic position). It is also cal ...
, including how it represents phenomena in the real world, how it represents the way humans understand the world, and how it can be captured, organized, and analyzed. It can be contrasted with
geographic information systems A geographic information system (GIS) is a type of database containing geographic data (that is, descriptions of phenomena for which location is relevant), combined with software tools for managing, analyzing, and visualizing those data. In a b ...
(GIS), which are the actual repositories of such data, the software tools for carrying out relevant tasks, and the profession of GIS users. That said, one of the major goals of GIScience is to find practical ways to improve GIS data, software, and professional practice. it is more focused on how gis is applied in real life British geographer Michael Goodchild defined this area in the 1990s and summarized its core interests, including
spatial analysis Spatial analysis or spatial statistics includes any of the formal techniques which studies entities using their topological, geometric, or geographic properties. Spatial analysis includes a variety of techniques, many still in their early devel ...
, visualization, and the representation of uncertainty. GIScience is conceptually related to
geomatics Geomatics is defined in the ISO/TC 211 series of standards as the "discipline concerned with the collection, distribution, storage, analysis, processing, presentation of geographic data or geographic information". Under another definition, i ...
,
information science Information science (also known as information studies) is an academic field which is primarily concerned with analysis, collection, classification, manipulation, storage, retrieval, movement, dissemination, and protection of information. ...
, computer science, but it claims the status of an independent scientific discipline. Overlapping disciplines are:
geocomputation Geocomputation (sometimes GeoComputation) is a field of study at the intersection of geography and computation. See also *Geoinformatics *Geomathematics Geomathematics (also: mathematical geosciences, mathematical geology, mathematical geophysics ...
,
geoinformatics Geoinformatics is the science and the technology which develops and uses information science infrastructure to address the problems of geography, cartography, geosciences and related branches of science and engineering, such as Land Surveying. O ...
,
geomatics Geomatics is defined in the ISO/TC 211 series of standards as the "discipline concerned with the collection, distribution, storage, analysis, processing, presentation of geographic data or geographic information". Under another definition, i ...
and
geovisualization Geovisualization or geovisualisation (short for geographic visualization), also known as cartographic visualization, refers to a set of tools and techniques supporting the analysis of geospatial data through the use of interactive visualization. ...
, which all fall into the geographic branch of
technical geography Technical geography is one of three main branches of geography and involves using, studying, and creating tools to obtain, analyze, interpret, and understand spatial information. The other two branches, human geography and physical geography, can ...
. Other related terms are ''geographic data science'' (after
data science Data science is an interdisciplinary field that uses scientific methods, processes, algorithms and systems to extract or extrapolate knowledge and insights from noisy, structured and unstructured data, and apply knowledge from data across a bro ...
) and ''geographic information science and technology'' (GISci&T), with job titles ''geospatial information scientists and technologists''.


Definitions

Since its inception in the 1990s, the boundaries between GIScience and cognate disciplines are contested, and different communities might disagree on what GIScience is and what it studies. In particular, Goodchild stated that "information science can be defined as the systematic study according to scientific principles of the nature and properties of information. Geographic information science is the subset of information science that is about geographic information." Another influential definition is that by geographic information scientist (GIScientist)
David Mark David Alechenu Bonaventure Mark , is a retired Nigerian Army Brigadier General and politician. He was President of the Senate of Nigeria from 2007 to 2015 and was the Senator for Benue South Senatorial District Benue State. He is a member of the ...
, which states:
Geographic Information Science (GIScience) is the basic research field that seeks to redefine geographic concepts and their use in the context of geographic information systems. GIScience also examines the impacts of GIS on individuals and society, and the influences of society on GIS. GIScience re-examines some of the most fundamental themes in traditional spatially oriented fields such as geography, cartography, and geodesy, while incorporating more recent developments in cognitive and information science. It also overlaps with and draws from more specialized research fields such as computer science, statistics, mathematics, and psychology, and contributes to progress in those fields. It supports research in political science and anthropology, and draws on those fields in studies of geographic information and society.
In 2009, Goodchild summarized the history of GIScience and its achievements and open challenges.


See also

* :Geographic information scientists *
Geographic Information Science and Technology Body of Knowledge __NOTOC__ The Geographic Information Science and Technology Body of Knowledge (GISTBoK) is a reference document produced by the University Consortium for Geographic Information Science (UCGIS) as the first product of its Model Curricula project, st ...
*
Geostatistics Geostatistics is a branch of statistics focusing on spatial or spatiotemporal datasets. Developed originally to predict probability distributions of ore grades for mining operations, it is currently applied in diverse disciplines including petr ...
;Organizations: * Association of Geographic Information Laboratories for Europe *
National Center for Geographic Information and Analysis The National Center for Geographic Information and Analysis (NCGIA) was founded in 1988 and hosted at three member campuses: The University of California, Santa Barbara; the State University of New York at Buffalo; and the University of Maine. The ...
*
UCSB Center for Spatial Studies The UCSB Center for Spatial Studies (spatial@ucsb) is a research center at the University of California, Santa Barbara. The center was founded in 2008 by Michael Goodchild, and focuses on spatial thinking across domains, spatial intelligence, ...
*
University Consortium for Geographic Information Science The University Consortium for Geographic Information Science (UCGIS) is an academic non-profit organization dedicated to geographic information science, incorporated in 1995 in Washington, D.C. It fosters multidisciplinary cooperation among the a ...
;Journals: * ''
GIScience & Remote Sensing ''GIScience & Remote Sensing'' (formerly ''Mapping Sciences and Remote Sensing'' and ''Geodesy, Mapping and Photogrammetry'') is an academic journal published by Routledge about geographic information science and remote sensing. Routledge acquired ...
'' * ''
International Journal of Applied Earth Observation and Geoinformation The ''International Journal of Applied Earth Observation and Geoinformation'' is an academic journal published by Elsevier about remote sensing and geographic information. Its editor-in-chief is F. Van der Meer and its 2019 impact factor is 4.650.2 ...
'' * ''
International Journal of Geographical Information Science ''International Journal of Geographical Information Science'' is a monthly peer-reviewed scientific journal published by Taylor & Francis. The editor-in-chief is May Yuan (University of Texas at Dallas), who succeeded Brian Lees (University of N ...
'' * ''
Journal of Spatial Information Science ''Journal of Spatial Information Science'' is a peer-reviewed open access academic journal covering geographical information science. It is published by the University of Maine and the editors-in-chief are Ross Purves, Benjamin Adams, and Somayeh ...
''


References


External links

*
List of GIScience Conferences

Conference on Spatial Information Theory (COSIT)
{{Geography topics, state=collapsed * Geographic data and information Geographical technology Science and technology Geographic data and information fields of study