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URISA Journal, Authors: Yola Georgiadou and Michael Blakemore
Mainstream GIS journals are studied to assess whether the papers they contain reflect the present diversity of GI and GIS research issues, as well as the extent to which the journals can be differentiated as separate GIS brands. Then, focusing on Spatial Data Infrastructures (SDI) as an important area of GI development, the nature of SDI coverage in the journals is examined, as is the extent to which some of the soft literature on SDI covers broader socio-technical issues. The paper draws on similar analysis of discourse trends in information systems research. The research identifies that while there is subtle brand differentiation between the journals, the overall emphasis still is on the science/technical issues of GIS, and that the socio-technical emphasis overall is low. Within the SDI literature the focus is positivist, with expectations of technical benefits overwhelmingly dominating reflexivity and critique. This characteristic is discussed in the context of broader socio-technical research beyond GIS.
Report Link (2006)
