The value of GIS for science: an introduction
by Niels van Manen, Henk Scholten and Rob van der Velde
GIS as a tool for other sciences
The SPINLAB has recently launched an exciting new project. The UNIGIS program, as it is now, begins with a
module discussing the ongoing debate on the definition of GIS: should we speak of GI-System (a technology or tool),
GI-Science (a scientific discipline) or GI-Service (an information provider)? Our project aims to invoke an equally
stimulating debate about the meaning of GIS, but specifically its meaning as a technology for other scientific disciplines.
Our project
The idea to study the value of GIS for science was born during the yearly UNIGIS-conference in Krakow, in the autumn of 2005.
A representative of ESRI presented a list with the faculties worldwide that make use of his company’s software. In total, there
were over one hundred different disciplines. Besides the obvious ones such as geography and urban planning, others included
sociology, archaeology, history, linguistics, psychology and religious studies. One can say that, in one way or another,
almost every scientific investigation has a spatial aspect. But considering the sales of ESRI, it appears that scientists are
increasingly aware of this and see a role for GIS in studying this aspect. This posed the question: in what ways and to what
results do scientists, working in different disciplines, use GIS?
Inspired by a book by the American philosopher of science, Joseph C. Pitt (2001) about the interaction between technology and
science, we are also interested in the other side of the story. Besides the question how GIS can contribute to innovation in
different scientific areas, we are also looking for ways in which scientists who work in these fields, from the specific nature of
their own discipline, can contribute to the further development of GIS.
Approach
We have selected a number of disciplines for which we will study the use of GIS (e.g. archaeology, criminology, history,
health sciences, sociology and economics). By interviewing ‘GIS’-experts in these disciplines, supported by a study of the available
literature on the topic, we will try to get a clear picture of the current state of affairs and make predictions for the future.
We have also designed a model to show the different stages of the integration of GIS in a scientific discipline. Throughout this
project we will mirror developments in the different disciplines to the stages in our model and adjust the model accordingly.
Additional models might present themselves as we go along.
Every month a short article will be published in the Dutch magazine VI-matrix, in which we discuss the state of affairs in one
discipline, illustrated by a case study. An English version of these articles, including an extensive list of references will be available
on our website: www.spinlab.vu.nl.
Also, in the autumn we would like to organise an international conference in which experts from different sciences present the GIS
developments in their discipline. The results will be published in a book (in English).
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