"The Steinbergs have produced a very relevant book for the times...While many books have emerged on the details of GIS, few resources exist to help teach the merger of GIS with more standard research methods. The Steinbergs accomplish this goal in a way that is readily accessible even to undergraduates." --Theodore Wagenaar, "Miami University" "The Steinbergs take the reader through all of the essential foundations of GIS! using examples drawn from the social sciences throughout. This book will be essential reading for any social scientist looking for a straightforward introduction to GIS." --Mike Goodchild, "University of California, Santa Barbara" Geographic Information Systems for the Social Sciences: Investigating Space and Place is the first book to take a cutting-edge approach to integrating spatial concepts into the social sciences. In this text, authors Steven J. Steinberg and Sheila L.
Steinberg simplify GIS (Geographic Information Systems) for practitioners and students in the social sciences through the use of examples and actual program exercises so that they can become comfortable incorporating this research tool into their repertoire and scope of interest.The authors provide learning objectives for each chapter, chapter summaries, links to relevant Web sites, as well as suggestions for student research projects. Key Features: Presents step-by-step guidance for integrating GIS with both quantitative and qualitative research * Provides an introduction to the use of GIS technology written at an accessible level for individuals without GIS experience while providing depth and guidance appropriate to experienced GIS users * Offers an associated interactive Web site--http://www.socialsciencegis.org--to provide a forum for sharing experience and ideas, input to the authors, and a variety of other examples, data, and information related to the topics covered in the text Geographic Information Systems for the Social Sciences offers a nuts-and-bolts introduction to GIS for undergraduate and graduate students taking methods courses across the social sciences.
It is an excellent textbook for courses dedicated to GIS research and its applications in the fields of Sociology, Criminology, Public Health, Geography, Anthropology, Political Science, and Environmental Studies.It is also a valuable resource for any social scientist or practitioner interested in applying GIS technology to his or her work. An Instructor's Resource CD, containing Power Point slides, test questions, and suggested Web site links, among other items, is also available to all professors adopting this text.
Author Biography:
Dr. Steven J. Steinberg is an Associate Professor of Environmental and Natural Resource Sciences at Humboldt State University, Arcata, California. He received his bachelor's degree from Kent State University, Ohio; his master's from The University of Michigan, Ann Arbor; and his doctorate from The University of Minnesota, Twin Cities. He has been involved extensively in the development and teaching of geographic information systems (GIS) and remote sensing courses in both the university and professional development arenas. Since coming to Humboldt State University, Dr. Steinberg has taught and developed a variety of courses in the area of GIS, remote sensing, and spatial data analysis, with an emphasis on human interactions with social and environmental surroundings. His recent research interests include the development of simple, Web-based spatial analysis tools. He also has interests in the interactions between people and their surroundings through the use of spatial analysis techniques. As cofounder and director of Humboldt State University's Advanced Spatial Analysis Facility, Dr. Steinberg has overseen a variety of GIS and spatial analysis projects and research with organizations and government agencies in northern California and elsewhere. He was selected as a Fulbright Scholar for 2004-2005, serving as distinguished chair in airborne remote sensing with the Centre for Scientific Computing at Simon Fraser University, Burnaby, British Columbia, Canada. During 2005-2007, he is participating as part of an interdisciplinary team of scientists at Humboldt State University on a National Science Foundation project extending research experience to undergraduate students in a cross-disciplinary computing modeling and applications environment. Dr. Sheila L. Steinberg is Associate Director of the California Center for Rural Policy and is an Associate Professor of sociology at Humboldt State University, Arcata, California. She completed her bachelor's at the University of California, Santa Barbara; her master's at the University of California, Berkeley; and her doctorate at The Pennsylvania State University. Her research interests include sociospatial research, rural poverty, rural health, applied sociology, community development, and environmental sociology. She has conducted field research in Nepal, Guatemala, New Mexico, Pennsylvania, and northern California. The theme throughout this research has been the examination of people and their relationship to space and place. Her current research examines how to integrate GIS into rural health research. In 2000, she joined Humboldt State University, where she now teaches courses on human interactions with the physical environment at the local, national, and global levels.
