The Exciting World of Scientific Research

The textbook that had been used in this course for several decades is titled Introduction to Scientific Geographic Research. Its use even predates my taking over this course in 2002. It is a fine text and it served its purpose well. However, the text is now out of print. For several years, used copies were relatively easy for students to find online, so I stuck with it as the text for the course. However, it has understandably become more difficult for students to find copies. Although other textbooks exist on the topic of geographic research, most are written at more of a graduate school level and, in my opinion, are not quite suitable for this specific undergraduate course. Therefore, I have put together this “mini-text” to take the place of our using a standard text.

By using this e-book as a mini-text, and supplementing it with a series of handouts throughout the semester, there are two advantages:

1) The cost you will have to pay is much less than that for a standard textbook, and;

2) The material is tailored more directly toward this specific course. The previous text contained some material that we did not cover in the course. Everything you read in this version will pertain directly to the topics we will be covering.

I hope you find this material interesting and useful and that it facilitates your understanding of and appreciation for the exciting world of scientific research