Demystifying the Persistent Ambiguity of GIS as "Tool" Versus "Science"

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Hvad er GIS? Værktøj eller videnskab? Jeg tror det er et værktøj som kan bruges videnskabeligt, men som også på det seneste har vist sit værd som hvermand eje - videnskbeligt eller ej ...
/Sik

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What is GIS? Is it a tool or is it science? I believe it's a tool for science as well as for all the rest of us - something we have seen over the past few years - wether scientific or not ...
/Sik

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This paper appears in
The Annals of the Association of American Geographers, 87(2): 346-362, 1997.

Dawn J. Wright, Michael F. Goodchild, and James D. Proctor

Copyright reserved by Dawn Wright. May be freely distributed electronically in whole or in part, but please keep this notice attached and do not alter the text.

Abstract

Is GIS a tool or a science? The question is clearly important in the day-to- day operations of geography departments that need to distinguish between GIS as a tool to be taught at the undergraduate level, or a science and thus a legitimate research specialty of faculty and graduate students. We summarize a debate on this which occurred on the GIS-L electronic listserver in late 1993. In evaluating this discussion it became clear that GIS could be understood not by the two distinct positions taken by the GIS-L discussants but as three positions along a continuum from tool to science, focusing on the several meanings attached to "doing GIS" rather than to GIS alone. These are: 1) GIS as tool, involving the use of a particular class of software, associated hardware tools, and digital geographic data in order to advance some specific purpose; 2) GIS as toolmaking, involving the advancement of the tool's capability and ease of use; and 3) the science of GIS, concerning the analysis of the fundamental issues raised by the use of GIS. Recognizing the importance of understanding what is meant by "doing science," as well as what is meant by "doing GIS," we conclude that only one position, "the science of GIS," is found to provide a sufficient condition for science. The debate is certainly problematic in light of the variety of perspectives on science and on GIS. The persistence of the issue suggests, however, that the GIS community should continue to work toward a resolution. [...]

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Read more: http://dusk2.geo.orst.edu/annals.html

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