Learning from Place in the Era of Geolocation
This chapter reviews current uses, opportunities, challenges, and privacy concerns related to individual geolocation data in social science and policy research.
Why It Matters
The publication begins with a motivating question: How are scholars and policymakers currently using individual geolocation data, what new analytic and service-provision possibilities does it enable, and what challenges and privacy concerns arise in its use?
Its central contribution is to show that this chapter reviews current uses, opportunities, challenges, and privacy concerns related to individual geolocation data in social science and policy research.
It matters because the findings connect institutional choices to the way authority, public responsibility, and political behavior are experienced in practice.
Key Findings
- Geolocation data allow for richer, more dynamic measurement of individuals' social and physical contexts than traditional geographic proxies.
- Such data enable improved public service delivery and new insights for urban planning, public health, and social science research.
- There are significant challenges in collecting, linking, and analyzing geolocation data, including technical, ethical, and privacy concerns.
- Privacy risks are heightened due to the uniqueness and identifiability of geolocation traces, requiring careful data handling and transparency with users.
Research Design
- Design
- Article
- Geography
- United States (with examples from Maryland and various cities)
- Unit of Analysis
- individuals
- Methods
- Overview and synthesis of existing literature and applications in geolocation data use.; Discussion of methodological challenges such as the modifiable areal unit problem (MAUP) and the uncertain geographic context problem (UGCoP).; Examples of data collection methods including smartphone apps, GPS loggers, and survey integration.
Full Abstract
In this chapter, we give an overview of the ways that scholars and policymakers are currently using individual geolocation data. We also describe some new analytic and service-provision possibilities that geolocation data enables. We discuss several challenges inherent in obtaining geolocation data and making that data useful for social, political, and policy research and practice. We highlight the unique concerns over privacy that arise in this rich data environment, and note some promising approaches for addressing them.
Citation
In Analytics, Policy and Governance.
- Venue
- Analytics, Policy and Governance