Growth and Structure of Geography

GEOGRAPHERS CONCERNED with the history and nature of their subject have traditionally treated it in a literary, discursive and narrative manner, and such treatments are among the classics of our literature (R. Hartshorne, I939, I959; T. W. Freeman, 1961). It is, however, possible to approach these problems by the analysis of what it is that geographers do, both individually and corporately, in the belief that this will throw light on the character of the subject they profess. The activity of geography is thus treated as itself a subject for scientific study, and the behaviour of geographers becomes a problem in the sociology of science. Such an approach requires three main steps in investigation: first, the selection of certain areas of inquiry; second, the choice, operational definition and refinement of measurable parameters which may meaningfully illustrate certain aspects of these areas of inquiry; and third, the processes of measurement, and subsequent operations upon the measurements, of these selected parameters. Three areas of inquiry are explored here: the growth of geography as a scientific activity; the productivity of geographers; and some aspects of the internal structure and external relationships of geographical work. The purpose of this essay is to apply some ideas in the history of science, developed by Professor D. J. de Solla Price and others, to geography, to suggest possible conclusions, and to see whether geography differs, if at all, from activities normally termed 'scientific'. The sources of data are not yet easily accessible to quantitative analysis in the same way as are those of physics, chemistry and biology, and some suggestions are made for their improvement.