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Author and Citation Info:
DiBiase, D., DeMers, M., Johnson, A., Kemp, K., Luck, A. T., Plewe, B., and Wentz, E. (2006). Categories. The Geographic Information Science & Technology Body of Knowledge. Washington, DC: Association of American Geographers. (2nd Quarter 2016, first digital).
Learning Objectives:
Explain the human tendency to simplify the world using categories
Identify specific examples of categories of entities (i.e., common nouns), properties (i.e., adjectives), space (i.e., regions), and time (i.e., eras)
Explain the role of categories in common-sense conceptual models, everyday language, and analytical procedures
Recognize and manage the potential problems associated with the use of categories (e.g., the ecological fallacy)
Construct taxonomies and dictionaries (also known as formal ontologies) to communicate systems of categories
Describe the contributions of category theory to understanding the internal structure of categories
Document the personal, social, and/or institutional meaning of categories used in GIS applications
Create or use GIS data structures to represent categories, including attribute columns, layers/themes, shapes, and legends
Use categorical information in analysis, cartography, and other GIS processes, avoiding common interpretation mistakes
Reconcile differing common-sense and official definitions of common geospatial categories of entities, attributes, space, and time
You are currently viewing an archived version of Topic . If updates or revisions have been published you can find them at .
DiBiase, D., DeMers, M., Johnson, A., Kemp, K., Luck, A. T., Plewe, B., and Wentz, E. (2006). Categories. The Geographic Information Science & Technology Body of Knowledge. Washington, DC: Association of American Geographers. (2nd Quarter 2016, first digital).