Geo-Narrative: Extending Geographic Information Systems for Narrative Analysis in Qualitative and Mixed-Method Research∗

Abstract

This research seeks to contribute to advancing qualitative methodologies at the intersection of qualitative geographic information systems (GIS), narrative analysis, 3D GIS-based time-geographic methods, and computer-aided qualitative data analysis. The approach to GIS-based narrative analysis developed in the study, called “geo-narrative,” is based on extending current GIS capabilities for the analysis and interpretation of narrative materials such as oral histories, life histories, and biographies. The three central elements in this approach are (1) narrative analysis as the qualitative approach; (2) 3D GIS-based time-geographic methods as the representational framework; and (3) 3D-VQGIS as the GIS-based computer-aided qualitative data analysis component. A case example based on a study of the lives of the Muslim women in Columbus, Ohio, after 11 September 2001 is used to illustrate the approach.