Is GIS a Science?

Science is a process in which people work to produce new knowledge by asking and answering questions.The lack of reproducibility makes it difficult to verify new knowledge; studies that have produced knowledge which is well known are often easier to replicate than studies which are producing new knowledge or testing new methods (NASEM, 2019). The fact that science depends on collaboration also contributes to its need for reproducibility. Scientists rely on previous knowledge, and in order to build on existing knowledge, other people must be able to understand and replicate existing methods.

My experience with GIS has mostly occurred within a classroom setting. Often, the projects I have done were prescriptive and very basic, with expected outcomes and specific methods which I followed very closely. I think that my use of GIS would thus make it more of a tool rather than a science. I have only been learning how I can use GIS to solve problems or answer questions, but I have not done so for myself. Furthermore, I haven’t been involved in the development of GIS, and I haven’t been doing anything so cutting edge that is shaping the way GIS is used or regarded. If science is a process which requires asking questions and working with others to find new solutions, then my use of GIS has not been science (Wright, D. J., M. F. Goodchild, and J. D. Proctor. 1997),

The discussion about GIS as a singular technology made me think about the differences in using ArcGIS vs QGIS. I took summer classes at UMBC a couple summers ago, and for those classes we were taught using ArcGIS. In these classes, professors said that we were learning skills using software that many businesses and companies use and value. My understanding is that ArcGIS is one of the dominant systems used in the “real world” by businesses and schools alike. What was interesting, however, was when my professor there mentioned that he was interested in revising the class so that students would learn GIS using Q instead of Arc, because he believed that it would be better and more ethical for students to use open source software instead of software that was corporately owned. I know that Middlebury’s geography department is similar.

References

NASEM (National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine). 2019. Reproducibility and Replicability in Science. Washington, D.C.: National Academies Press. DOI:10.17226/25303 Chapter 2: Scientific methods and knowledge (pages 21-30 )

Wright, D. J., M. F. Goodchild, and J. D. Proctor. 1997. GIS: Tool or science? Demystifying the persistent ambiguity of GIS as “tool” versus “science.” Annals of the Association of American Geographers 87 (2):346–362. DOI:10.1111/0004-5608.872057