What is Symbology

The chapter introduces education researchers to geographic information systems (GIS) and the significant value of incorporating a geospatial perspective within research. The GIS approach to studying and presenting data incorporates geographic location and uses maps to visualize relationships for spatial and nonspatial variables, both of which enhance education research by visualizing local geographies. This chapter unfolds as a step-by-step guide that prepares researchers to identify the data needed for a GIS exercise, to collect or retrieve the data, clean and upload the data to ArcMap, georeferenced and symbolize the data, and interpret and present the results in a manuscript. After completing the exercise, researchers will have a basic understanding of ArcMap functionality and how integrating a geospatial perspective in educational research offers insights that may have otherwise been overlooked when using quantitative research methods alone.