(A) Personal Details
Role Name Affiliation
Principal Investigator PROF. MASOOD AHSAN SIDDIQUI JAMIA MILLIA ISLAMIA NEW DELHI
Paper Coordinator PROF. ASLAM MAHMOOD JAWAHARLAL NEHRU UNIVERSITY NEW
DELHI
Content writer/Author Prof Bimal K. Kar Geography, Gauhati University,
(CW) Guwahati
Content Reviewer (CR) PROF. ASLAM MAHMOOD JAWAHARLAL NEHRU UNIVERSITY NEW
DELHI
Language Editor (LE)
(B) Description of Module
Items Description of Module
Subject Name Geography
Paper Name Quantitative Techniques in Geography
Module Name Meaning of Quantitative Geography
Module ID QT 02
Pre- Requisites A person should have basic knowledge of geography
Objectives (i) to provide knowledge of geography as a scientific discipline
(ii) to make geographical analysis of various phenomena
objective and convincing
(iii) to focus possibility of analyzing numerical data related to
various geographical phenomena
Key words Quantification, man-environment relationship, spatial pattern,
spatial relationship, temporal trend, coefficient of variation,
spatial mean centre, nearest neighbour analysis, network
analysis, connectivity, connectivity index, bi-variate
linear relationship, spatial gradient of population density.
1
, Meaning of Quantitative Geography
Bimal kar
1. Introduction
Geography has undergone remarkable changes in the content, philosophical base and
methodological treatment in the course of its development. Changing definition of the
discipline and work done in the field give testimony to this fact. However, it does not mean
that the basic definition of geography ‘study of the earth’ is presently out of context. Rather,
as the study of geographical phenomena is based on observation of reality and concrete data,
geography is always regarded as an empirical science. In the beginning of the 20th century
when a division of the discipline into physical and human geographies took place, the main
attention was focused towards the ‘study of man-environment relationship’ to bind tightly
both the branches of geography. But the discipline geography continued to maintain
idiographic tradition (descriptive) relying on the concept of ‘unique’ until the Second World
War. It is worth mentioning that with the introduction of the idea of logical positivism
supported by quantitative measures, the attention has farther shifted to nomothetic approach
(analytical and law seeking) especially after the Second World War. It has been done so to
provide a scientific basis to the discipline and to formulate theories, laws and models
especially in the field of human geography. It was thought that application of quantitative
techniques based on the idea of logical positivism would bring objectivity in the analysis of
the pattern and processes of the human geographic phenomena. In this way, the revolutionary
changes that emerged in the nature of geographical studies from regional-idiographic to
systematic-nomothetic based on quantification, have been termed as the great ‘Quantitative
Revolution in Geography’. This had finally laid the firm foundation of the Locational School
in Geography in 1950s.
2. Basic Need of Quantification in Geography
2
Role Name Affiliation
Principal Investigator PROF. MASOOD AHSAN SIDDIQUI JAMIA MILLIA ISLAMIA NEW DELHI
Paper Coordinator PROF. ASLAM MAHMOOD JAWAHARLAL NEHRU UNIVERSITY NEW
DELHI
Content writer/Author Prof Bimal K. Kar Geography, Gauhati University,
(CW) Guwahati
Content Reviewer (CR) PROF. ASLAM MAHMOOD JAWAHARLAL NEHRU UNIVERSITY NEW
DELHI
Language Editor (LE)
(B) Description of Module
Items Description of Module
Subject Name Geography
Paper Name Quantitative Techniques in Geography
Module Name Meaning of Quantitative Geography
Module ID QT 02
Pre- Requisites A person should have basic knowledge of geography
Objectives (i) to provide knowledge of geography as a scientific discipline
(ii) to make geographical analysis of various phenomena
objective and convincing
(iii) to focus possibility of analyzing numerical data related to
various geographical phenomena
Key words Quantification, man-environment relationship, spatial pattern,
spatial relationship, temporal trend, coefficient of variation,
spatial mean centre, nearest neighbour analysis, network
analysis, connectivity, connectivity index, bi-variate
linear relationship, spatial gradient of population density.
1
, Meaning of Quantitative Geography
Bimal kar
1. Introduction
Geography has undergone remarkable changes in the content, philosophical base and
methodological treatment in the course of its development. Changing definition of the
discipline and work done in the field give testimony to this fact. However, it does not mean
that the basic definition of geography ‘study of the earth’ is presently out of context. Rather,
as the study of geographical phenomena is based on observation of reality and concrete data,
geography is always regarded as an empirical science. In the beginning of the 20th century
when a division of the discipline into physical and human geographies took place, the main
attention was focused towards the ‘study of man-environment relationship’ to bind tightly
both the branches of geography. But the discipline geography continued to maintain
idiographic tradition (descriptive) relying on the concept of ‘unique’ until the Second World
War. It is worth mentioning that with the introduction of the idea of logical positivism
supported by quantitative measures, the attention has farther shifted to nomothetic approach
(analytical and law seeking) especially after the Second World War. It has been done so to
provide a scientific basis to the discipline and to formulate theories, laws and models
especially in the field of human geography. It was thought that application of quantitative
techniques based on the idea of logical positivism would bring objectivity in the analysis of
the pattern and processes of the human geographic phenomena. In this way, the revolutionary
changes that emerged in the nature of geographical studies from regional-idiographic to
systematic-nomothetic based on quantification, have been termed as the great ‘Quantitative
Revolution in Geography’. This had finally laid the firm foundation of the Locational School
in Geography in 1950s.
2. Basic Need of Quantification in Geography
2
