Researching Geography The Indian Context

This book is a one-stop comprehensive guide to geographical inquiry. The volume: traces the step-by-step account of the whys and the hows of research methodology; introduces complexities of thegeographical perspective, selection of research topic, choice of supervisor and formulation of research proposal; fine-tunes the sequence of data collection, analysis, representation and interpretation, and spells out the skill of writing research with geographic flavour; and reinforces concepts and ideas with examples so as not to leave any scope for ambiguity. The second edition updates on the variety of emerging perspectives in geographic research, use of spatial technologies in practice, sampling at different spatial levels and insightful interpretation of data. Lucid, engaging and accessible, this book will be an essential companion for researchers and students of geography, social sciences and South Asian studies.

PART I: Laying the foundation 1. What is geographic perspective? 2. Essential features of quality of a thesis in geography PART II: Prefatory phase: the prelims 3. Issues pertinent to a thesis in geography 4. Research proposal: issues and formulation 5. Literature search and review PART III: Traversing the path: data management 6. Typology of data 7. Data collection 8. Data analysis 9. Data representation 10. Data interpretation PART IV: Catching up with the destination: the finale 11. Research writing 12. The viva voce

Gopal Krishan is Professor Emeritus in theDepartment of Geography at Panjab University, Chandigarh, and National Fellow of theIndian Council of Social Science Research (ICSSR), New Delhi, India.Nina Singh is Professor of Geography and Dean of theFaculty of Social Sciences at Maharshi Dayanand University, Rohtak, Haryana, India.