GEOG 328 - Quantitative Methods in Geography
Spring 2013
Instructor: Ryan Weichelt
An
introduction to the quantitative methods commonly used to test hypotheses in
geography with an emphasis on interpretation of results produced by statistical
software rather than underlying mathematical structure. Topics include measures
of central tendency, mean center, Chi-square tests, simple and multiple
correlation and regression, spatial analysis, and factor analysis.
The course objective is the achievement of a conceptual
understanding and applied familiarity with the use of basic and intermediate
statistical techniques in geographical research. Examples will be drawn from temporal and
spatial relationships in physical and cultural geography, and the student will
find the material’s usefulness crosses many disciplines. Techniques will include central
tendency, descriptive statistics, mean center, nearest neighbor, correlation, regression,
multiple regression, and factor analysis.
A key characteristic of geographical
research is that the questions posed and the data analyzed involve spatial
properties, such as location, distance, geographical orientation, or spatial
scale. Incautious application of
conventional statistical methods to data which possess spatial properties can
and often will lead to unwarranted inferences.
Hence, spatial attention is devoted to the powers, limitations and
hazard of applying some traditional statistical procedures to data which
possesses various spatial attributes.
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