Neogeography and the democratization of GIS: a metasynthesis of qualitative research

ABSTRACT

Neogeography is the name given to the phenomenon of the vastly expanded Geographic Information Systems (GIS) user base. It consists of a collection of practices, tools and users generally found outside of traditional, authoritative GIS. GIS are computer applications that allow users to contribute geotagged data and to access and utilize geospatial data sets in combination with attribute information for a variety of purposes. This paper investigates questions of whether neogeography furthers the democratization of GIS and if increased access translates to empowerment or, conversely, to further marginalization. The research is interpretative and involves a literature review of the topic and a metasynthesis of recent qualitative research. Metasynthesis involves critical evaluation of data to identify an appropriate research sample and synthesis of findings by a compare-and-contrast exercise followed by reciprocal translation of each study into the other studies to reveal overarching metaphors. This is followed by conclusions and recommendations. The findings show that, depending on circumstances, neogeography can result in the democratization of GIS and geospatial data but may also constitute new methods of exclusion depending on technological and societal barriers. Neogeography can also result in empowerment, but this is difficult to define and is often highly contingent on local context.

KEYWORDS:

• Neogeography
• geoweb
• geographic information science
• volunteered geographic information
• metasynthesis

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Notes on contributors

Denise Byrne completed her BSc (Hons) Librarianship with Northumbria University under the supervision of Dr Alison Jane Pickard in 2014. She is currently studying for an MSc in Information Management with Robert Gordon University, Aberdeen. Her research interests include Information rights as Human rights including access issues, digital divide and privacy concerns. [email: [email protected]].

Alison Jane Pickard is Director of CPD and Collaboration in the School, Faculty of Engineering and Environment at Northumbria University in the UK. She is also Programme Leader for the Professional Doctorate in Information Science (DInfoSci). She has worked in public and industrial libraries, and currently teaches units relating to learner support, user needs analysis and research methods. She is the author of Research Methods in Information – a core text on many LIS programmes internationally and a book that has recently been translated into Italian. Joint Editor of Library and Information Research and a member of the Editorial Board of Performance Measurement and Metrics, she regularly delivers CPD workshops to both public and health library staff across the north-east of England. She is also a visiting scholar on the Erasmus Mundus ‘Digital Libraries’ programme, lecturing in Florence and Parma. [email: [email protected]].