The Use of Maps in Social Research: A Case Study in South China

M iAPS are the most effective means of portraying spatial relationships, but they have been used mainly to present conclusions drawn from the findings of completed research. If maps are used in this way only, much of their value is lost; they can be equally satisfactory as a means of raising questions and giving direction in the early stages of research. Maps have been used in both these ways within individual disciplines, but a greater potential of maps can be realized by utilizing them within an interdisciplinary framework. They can then be applied to a wider variety of problems and can be analyzed in terms of the theories and practices of all the disciplines concerned. An opportunity for such interdisciplinary cooperation is afforded by the Modern Chinese History Project at the University of Washington, where a group of research workers is studying Chinese society and its transformation during the last hundred years. Geography is one of the disciplines represented. The project has opened up a number of possibilities for the application of cartographic techniques to the grouping of data in order to reveal significant relationships among various geographic, economic, social, and political factors.