Research Design and Proposal Writing in Spatial Science

The investigation of the interactions between human and physical systems poses unique conceptual, methodological, and practical challenges.  This book establishes a spatial science framework for policymakers, social scientists, and environmental researchers as they explore and analyze complex problems.  The authors provide guidance for scientists, writers, and students across a broad range of fields on how to tackle discipline-specific issues of space, place, and scale as they propose and conduct research in the spatial sciences. This practical textbook and overview blends plenty of concrete examples of spatial research and case studies to familiarize readers with the research process, demystifying and illustrating how it is actually done. The appendix contains both completed and in-progress proposals for MA and PhD theses and dissertations, as well as successful research grants. By emphasizing research as a learning and experiential process, while providing students with the encouragement and skills needed for success in proposal writing, 'Research Design and Proposal Writing in Spatial Science' can serve as a textbook for research-design or project-based courses at the upper-division undergraduate and graduate level.

Jay D. Gatrell (Ph.D., West Virginia University) is Provost and Professor of Geography at Eastern Illinois University.  His research interests focus primarily on economic geography and spatial research methods inclusive of human-environment interactions.

Gregory D. Bierly (Ph.D., Michigan State University) is Dean of the Honors College and Professor of Geography at Indiana State University.  Greg is a climatologist with interests in circulation patterns, jet streaks and cyclone dynamics, linkages between cyclone airflow and intensity, synoptic climatology of arid environments.

Ryan R. Jensen (Ph.D., University of Florida) is Professor and Chairperson in the Department of Geography at Brigham Young University.  Ryan has primary research interests in biogeography and landscape ecology and expertise in remote sensing and geographic information systems.

Rajiv R. Thakur (Ph.D., Indiana State University) is Associate Professor of Geography and Chairperson at Missouri State University.  Dr. Thakur is an economic geographer with expertise in regional development and emerging interests that reside at the intersection of economics and the environment.