From a historical researcher’s standpoint, geospatial visualization and analysis allows us to look at the past in a newer, more high tech way. One of the best and most useful aspects of this technology is its ability to create historical maps that are in proportion to modern space and mapping techniques. One example in historical research where we could use this technology is to georeference, or correct a map that was created a long time ago. Many maps created in the past have errors with the way they were made that can be fixed with the technology that we have today. This helps researchers to understand some of the older maps that may not have made sense because of the mistakes on them from their original creator.
As well as this, creating and analyzing geospatial maps can allow a researcher to get a better understanding, and have an easier time accessing the different patterns that may occur in a data set. While these patterns do occur in data sets, having geospatial maps makes it much easier to spot these patterns and take the data from the data sets. It speeds up the process of someones research which makes their work more efficient.
When talking about geospatial visualization and analysis, we can look into the way that absolute, relative, and representational space play a role. Absolute space is just space that can be calculated and put into units. When talking about relative space on the other hand, this is less accurate as it is just an approximation of where something may be. With relative space we are basing the location of something on the location of another object. Representational space is a little different as it is defined as the everyday space that people produce, inhabit, and act within. Each of these play their own defined role in visualizing as each can help us understand where something is in a different way.
To me, using geospatial visualization is one great way that I can take data from an article or item and understand it in a more timely fashion. Often times reading through a long article can take a good chunk of time, so formatting in a way that shortens your research time is always helpful. Using graphs and charts gives you the opportunity to visualize what you are reading in any way you please. This helps historians and researchers to pull a large amount of data into a smaller, more understandable place. One downside that may be an issue for some people using graphs and charts for research is that you can only fit a certain amount of data in a chart before it looks overwhelming. It is important to take the time to create multiple charts that can help to analyze multiple patterns in data instead of a fewer amount.
Overall geospatial visualization is a key research tool that historians can use to gain important data from anywhere. Creating and analyzing things like charts and graphs can really help to display information in a way that is easy for anyone to understand and learn from.