Practising Human Geography

Practising Human Geography provides a critical introduction to recent disciplinary debates about the practise of human geography, examining those methods and practices which are integral to ‘doing’ geography. Paul Cloke introduces the core issues that inform research design and practise in the discipline in this systematic, comprehensive and pedagogic volume. The book, organized into two main sections, offers a theoretically-informed reflection on the construction and interpretation of geographical data. It is framed by an historical overview of how ideas of practising human geography have changed. Section one examines pre-constructed data from official and non-official sources and constructed data from fieldwork. Section two reviews four interpretive strategies: ordering and sorting; enumeration and the use of numerical methods; ‘scientific’ explanation and analysis; understanding - informed by thinking in the humanities and cultural studies; Illustrated with approximately 35 tables and figures, the text is punctuated by bibliographically referenced text boxes offering definitions of key terms.