Sources of geographic information. Topic “Sources of geographic information. Maps are a special source of geographical knowledge. Geographic methods of studying the environment Sources of information on geography

To study the nature of continents and oceans, geographers use general geographical and industry methods research.

One of the main research methods in geography are observation and dimension, thanks to which they collect primary geographic information about the characteristics of continents and oceans. Direct observations and the necessary measurements are carried out during expeditions, staying directly at the object under study, for example, at a scientific station in Antarctica. Often they are carried out from research ships or even from cruise ships, from the orbits of space stations and geophysical rockets, from artificial Earth satellites and laboratory aircraft (Fig. 4).

Space observations have enriched geographical science with new knowledge. During observations of the ocean near Antarctica with the help of a satellite, ocean vortices with a diameter of 30 to 200 km were first noticed and determined that they are similar to cyclones and anticyclones of the atmosphere. With the help of satellites, movements were recorded lithospheric plates reaching approximately 10 cm per year. Thanks to the survey of the ocean floor by spacecraft, they found differences in the topography of the ocean floor compared to the land surface and created the corresponding maps.

Based on the obtained primary geographic information, layouts or models (Fig. 5) are created for landforms, cyclones and anti-cyclones, rivers with a dam and a reservoir, natural complexes and others, develop various maps.

In geography, there are also methods for obtaining secondary geographic information. This is due to the fact that many geographical objects are inaccessible to direct observation or are very large. Then scientists-researchers resort to the use of previously obtained and ordered data.

Scientists accumulate secondary geographical information gradually. The sources of information for them are maps, especially thematic ones, analyzing which can compare phenomena, create an image specific territory (Fig. 5). Ordered geographic information is given and tables, combining the various characteristics of the territory. An example of such a table is the geochronological scale. The source of secondary geographic information is graphs, charts, profiles.(Remember what kind of graphs of temperature changes, wind rose, climate diagrams, relief profiles look like.)

An important method of obtaining secondary information in geography is also descriptions, especially when it comes to the characteristics of the nature of individual continents, countries, mysterious seas and islands. Nowadays, the function of description is also performed by various video media - cinema and television.

A new source of secondary geographic information is geographic information system (GIS), designed for computer reading, analysis and provision of information. material from the site

GIS is fast. In GIS, there is a certain set of programs that help you quickly (in 3-5 minutes) create any geographic map. At the same time, the necessary data are entered, and their analysis is carried out automatically. And when working with atlas maps, when it is necessary to detect a certain relationship, for example, between relief and structure earth's crust, five times more time is used, because we need maps of different scales located on different pages.

1) What are the first ways people know the world around them.

• Answer: Travel to new lands, observation.

2) What sources of geographic information do you know?

• Answers: Internet information, encyclopedias, maps, etc.

3) What methods does geography use?

• Answer: Travel, observation, description and characterization, mapping, comparative, static, aerial photography, space.

4) What expeditions, to which regions of the Earth, have Russian geographers organized today?

• Answer: Examination of the radioactive waste disposal site in the Sea of ​​Japan and the Sea of ​​Okhotsk.

5) What methods of studying geography did you use in the 6th grade?

• Answer: comparative, description, characteristic.

6) Review the maps of the atlas. Determine which cards are dominant.

a) area coverage.

• Answer: Continents and oceans.

• Answer: general geographical (physical).

Why?

• Answer: They carry more information.

7) Determine on the map of the hemispheres, and then on the globe of the distance:

Compare the results and draw a conclusion.

• Answer:

8) Write what is shown on the map with conventional signs.

9) Describe one of the atlas maps (of your choice).

The name of the card.

• Answer: Physical map of the world.

Type of map by area coverage.

• Answer: World.

• Answer: General geographic.

What is shown on the map and in what ways?

• Answer: Relief, rivers, lakes, big cities(inscription and symbols).

10) What information can be obtained from a physical map?

• Answer: Names of objects, relief, coordinates of objects.

11) How do you understand the words of a famous geographer that, unlike a book and other sources of information, a map “tells” faster, more accurately, more clearly and concisely?

• Answer: The map shows only what is needed.

12) A famous cartographer of our day claims that soon the knowledge of the map will be as important as the knowledge of grammar and mathematics. Express your attitude to this statement.

• Answer: The cards began to appear frequently in the media. The ability to understand the contents of the map is important for every person.

13) What do you think came first - writing or a map? Justify your answer.

• Answer: A map, since earlier the location of objects was easier to draw, not every person could use writing.

Discipline: Geography

Topic: « Introduction. Sources of geographic information.

Practical lesson number 1.

Topic: Familiarization With geographic cards various topics. Drafting kart (scheme), reflective various geographic phenomenaand processes. Usage statistical materials and geoinformation systems.

Lesson type: Learning new

Class type: Lecture - Visualization

Number of hours: 2 hours

Purpose of the lesson: Formation of an idea of ​​the sources of geographical

information.

Tasks:

To give an idea of ​​the role and place of modern geographical information in solving the problems of the development of human civilization.

To form students' ideas about various sources of geographic information, which are designed to help in the development of a new training course.

Continue to develop skills in testing and taking notes of lectures.

Assess the volume and level of students' residual geographical knowledge to determine the degree of readiness of the audience to learn new material.

Equipment, visibility, TCO– laptop, plasma TV, presentation, contour map, atlas,

Lesson progress:

Organizing time.

Setting goals and objectives.

Requirements for the organization of the educational process.

Lecture visualization.

1. Geography as a science.

   Geographic map - special source information about

reality.

1. Statistical materials.

Geography as a science.

Geography is one of the most interesting and important sciences. She studies the territory (territorial complexes different levels), conditions and patterns of its formation and development. Economic and social geography as a branch of geography explores the place and role of man and his versatile activities in a given territory. From how competently a person settles in and develops his habitat, his comfortable living on it depends. Geography allows you to deeply scientifically and, most importantly, comprehensively take into account all factors of the development of the territory - natural (geological structure, climatic features, features of inland waters and natural complexes), economic (features of doing business) and social (human behavior). It is for this reason that it makes such wide use of the achievements of a wide variety of sciences.

Traditional and new methods of geographical research.

Methods (methods) of research are specific methods for studying geographical objects and phenomena.

Geographic Information System (GIS) is an information system that provides collection, storage, processing, access, display and analysis of spatial (spatially coordinated) data.

GIS structure:

Data (spatial data):

Positional (geographic): the location of the object on the earth's surface, its coordinates in the selected coordinate system;

Non-positional (attributive, or metadata) - descriptive text, electronic documents, graphic type data, including photographs of objects, 3D images of objects, videos, etc.

Hardware (computers, computer networks, drives, scanners, digitizers, etc.);

Software (OS, application and add-ons to it);

Technologies (methods, procedures, etc.);

Operators, administrators, users.

Types of geographic information, its role and use in people's lives.

Task number 1 ( Read the text. Make a diagram "Sources of geographic information")

Geography is a science, studying which one should not be afraid to get too much information. There are many sources of geographic information.

First, a geographical map. It provides a one-time broad and complex view of the study area. It is no coincidence that the well-known geographer N. N. Baransky, the founder of Soviet economic and social geography, called the geographical map the “language” of geography. True, one must be able to read a geographical map, that is, one must have the skill of obtaining all the necessary information from it. Secondly, this is literature, and the most diverse - reference, scientific, popular science and even fiction. Thirdly, these are the mass media (newspapers, magazines, television and radio programs, films). Fourth is the Internet. Fifth, these are personal impressions. When studying the features of the territory, no information will be superfluous. It is necessary to "absorb" it from everywhere - read books, newspapers and magazines, watch television programs and movies, use the Internet, go on tourist trips.

Modern world stands on the threshold of globalization. At present, goods, money, any information easily overcome great distances and state borders that once seemed like impregnable bastions. In this regard, there is an inevitable averaging, or unification, of models of human behavior. Of course, this process is not easy. But he is objective. The colossal differences in the cultural traditions of various peoples exacerbate even more, it would seem, the already acute interstate and interethnic contradictions. Geography can help to understand their nature, to understand all their intricacies.

A geographical map is a special source of information about reality.

Geographic map- models with on in a reduced form.

Statistical materials.

Statistical data- this is component global information system, which is formed in accordance with the concept of informatization developed in Russian Federation.

Statistical materials- this is massive quantitative data on important indicators of life and the relationship between them. Statistical is the data of population censuses, tax collection, calculation of land.

Starting testing in the economic and social geography of Russia

Countries that have land borders with Russia:

1. Norway

   Lithuania

   Mongolia

   Finland

2. China

   Belarus

   Turkmenistan

A city in Russia with a population of more than 1 million people:

Murmansk

Nizhny Novgorod

1. Serpukhov

   Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk

Largest coking coal basin in Russia:

Kansko-Achinsk

Kuznetsky

Podmoskovny

Donetsk

4. Full cycle ferrous metallurgy center in Russia:

Murmansk

St. Petersburg

1. Magnitogorsk

5. Fine-wool and semi-fine-wool sheep breeding is most developed in

economic region:

Northern

North Caucasian

Central

Central Black Earth

6. The Trans-Siberian Railway passes through the territory

economic regions of Russia:

North Caucasian

Ural

Far Eastern

Northern

7. Arrange the stages of textile production in technological order - from raw materials to the production of finished fabric

1. Harsh production

   Fiber production

   Yarn production

Answer: 3,4,2,1

8.Three centers of the oil refining industry,

located on the Volga:

1. Saratov

   Yaroslavl

   Smolensk

   Khabarovsk

   Volgograd

2. Arkhangelsk

9. Define the subject of the Russian Federation by its brief description:

“This subject is located in the eastern part of the country, its territory is not washed by the waters of the oceans. One of the largest rivers in Russia flows through its territory with its largest tributary. There are no hydroelectric power plants on these rivers. There are no nuclear power plants in the subject, but powerful thermal power plants on fuel produced in the same subject"

Primorsky Krai

Murmansk region

Irkutsk region

Khanty-Mansi Autonomous Okrug

10. Establish a correspondence between the economic regions of Russia and the centers for the production of cars and trucks:

Economic regions Production centers

Russian cars and trucks

Volgo-Vyatsky A. Serpukhov

Povolzhsky B. Naberezhnye Chelny

Central V. Izhevsk

Uralsky city Nizhny Novgorod

D. Taganrog

Answer: 1-D, 2-B, 3-A, 4-C

Evaluation criteria: 0 errors - "5", 1-3 errors - "4", 4-5 errors - "3", 6 or more - "2".

Question number

Answer

1-D, 2-B, 3-A, 4-C

6. Frontal survey.

List the traditional methods of geographical research known to you.

Answer:

Expeditionary

Descriptive

Cartographic

Comparative

Mathematical

Statistical

Historical

Does the cartographic method belong to traditional methods and what is its role in understanding the world around us?

Answer:

Yes, this is the leading method in geography, with the help of maps we can get a lot of various information.

What role do space research methods play in modern geographical research?

Answer:

Space research methods serve to monitor and study economic components in the world, predict their changes.

List the modern methods of geographical research known to you.

Answer:

experimental

Modeling

Remote (aerospace)

Geographic forecast

Geoinformation systems

Does the geographic forecast refer to modern methods geographical research and what is the purpose of its implementation:

Answer:

Yes, the prediction of the future state of geosystems.

Geosystems - these are natural-geographical units of all possible categories, from the planetary geosystem ( geographical envelope) to the elementary geosystem (physico-geographical facies)

definition by V. B. Sochava

PRACTICE #1

Topic: Acquaintance with geographical maps of various subjects. Drawing up maps (schemes) reflecting various geographical phenomena and processes. Use of statistical materials and geographic information systems.

1. Analysis of maps of various subjects.

As a result of completing the tasks of practical work, each of you should study the stages of the formation of a modern political map of the world; modern processes of changing the political map of the world, the main international organizations of countries, to master the features of the distribution of certain types of natural resources by region.

You must consolidate and develop the following skills:

Make maps (maps), diagrams according to the proposed simple or complex tasks using traditional or your own designations;

Select the necessary information to complete the task; - identify and explain the political and geographical aspects of current events and situations;

Evaluate and explain the information obtained during the selection and analysis;

Equipment: Internet resources, a geographical atlas of the world for grade 10, a contour map of the world, colored pencils, a pen.

Tasks for work:

Exercise 1.

Consider the Atlas of Geography (Grade 10). List the topics of the map.

Answer:

political map

State structure

Land Mineral Resources

Agro-climatic resources

Land and forest resources

Hydrosphere resources

Population

Population placement

2. Human Development Index

   Gross domestic product (GDP)

   Structure of the economy

   Extractive industry

   Power industry

   Manufacturing industry

   Agriculture

   Transport

   Foreign economic relations

   Integration associations

   Territorial structure of the economy

   Political and economic maps of countries

   global demographic problem

   global environmental problem

   global food problem

   Areas of political instability

   World Heritage of Humanity

Task 2.

To complete the task, use various sources of geographical information, as well as your knowledge from the school history and geography course. You can also get the necessary information with the help of Internet resources.

Fill in the missing names of some of the new countries (or their capitals) that appear on political map world at the end of the 20th - beginning of the 21st century. as a result of the division of larger federal states.

States that emerged on the territory of the former Soviet Union, and their capitals: Russia - Moscow; Ukraine, Kyiv; Belarus - Minsk; Moldova– Chisinau; Georgia - Tbilisi; Azerbaijan- Baku; Armenia - Yerevan; Kazakhstan - Astana; Kyrgyzstan– Bishkek; Turkmenistan - Ashgabat; Tajikistan - Dushanbe; Uzbekistan - Tashkent; Estonia - Tallinn; Latvia– Riga; Lithuania - Vilnius.

States that emerged on the territory of the former Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (SFRY) and their capitals: Serbia - Belgrade; Croatia - Zagreb; Montenegro - Cetinje; Macedonia– Skopje; Slovenia - Ljubljana; Bosnia and Herzegovina - Sarajevo.

States that emerged on the territory of the former Czechoslovak Socialist Republic (Czechoslovakia) and their capitals: Czech Republic - Prague; Slovenia - Bratislava.

Task 3.

Draw a map of the pre-existing Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (SFRY) showing the borders of the newly formed countries. Write the names of these countries and their capitals.

Answer:

Thus, today in the territory that belonged to the former Yugoslavia, there are six independent states:

Republic of Serbia (capital Belgrade)
Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina (capital Sarajevo)
Republic of Slovenia (capital Bratislava)
Republic of Macedonia (capital Skopje)
Republic of Montenegro (capital Cetinje, Podgorica)
Republic of Croatia (capital Zagreb)

(There is a little confusion with the capitals in Montenegro. In the country's constitution, the city is named its official capital . It has historically been the center of faith and statehood, the royal residence was located here. In 1946, the capital was moved to Titograd, which in 1992 was returned to its former name - . After Montenegro gained independence in 2006, the title of the capital again passed to Cetinje, but most of the state institutions remained in Podgorica. In order not to transport the government of the country, it was decided to make appropriate changes to the status of cities.

So now there are two capitals in Montenegro, for which new definitions have been invented. The official and cultural capital of Cetinje, in which the president and metropolitan of the country live, and the actual business and political capital of Podgorica).

Task 4.

To complete the task, use the contour map of the world.

On the contour map of the world, find the states that are part of the "Big Seven". Highlight their borders, shade their territories, fill in the hatching in the legend of the contour map, sign the names of the countries and their capitals.

Answer:

G7 countries - USA (capital - Washington), Japan (capital - Tokyo), Germany (capital - Berlin), France (capital - Paris), Great Britain (capital - London), Italy (capital - Rome), Canada ( capital - Ottawa), (since 1994 Russia has been participating in the meetings of the group).

Task 5.

To complete the task, use the data in table No. 1.

Construct a pie chart of the ratio of iron ore reserves in the top five countries. To do this, the sum of the top five iron ore reserves should be taken as 100%, and then calculate the share of each country and mark the corresponding sector in the pie chart. Separate sectors must be highlighted with certain colors or types of hatching. Write a legend for the chart.

Table number 1. Explored reserves of iron ore in the countries of the world (2005)

Place in the world

Country

Region

stocks,

bn t

Brazil

Latin America

Russia

Europe Asia

Canada

North America

China

Asia

Australia

Australia

Ukraine

Europe

USA

North America

Kazakhstan

Asia

India

Asia

South Africa

Africa

Answer:

Iron ore reserves in the countries of the world (2005)

Task 5.

Suggest options for dividing the ten countries indicated in Table 1 into groups according to the volume of explored reserves of iron ore. Write down your suggestions.

Answer:

The following criteria can be defined:

The country with the largest iron ore reserves

The country with the smallest iron ore reserves

Countries with the same amount of iron ore reserves

Which region has the largest iron ore reserves?

Which region has the smallest iron ore reserves

7. Homework.

Buy an atlas and a contour map in Geography for grade 10, colored pencils.

Learn the notes in your notebook.

8. Summing up.

9. Extracurricular independent work

Message "Statistical materials", "Types of geographical maps".

For a long time, man has been interested in what lies beyond the horizon - new territories or the ends of the earth. Centuries passed, civilization accumulated knowledge. The time has come when scientists who have never been to distant lands knew a lot about them. In this they were assisted by sources of geographical information.

This article will tell you about what it is, as well as about their varieties.

General concepts

As you might guess, this is the name of all of which a person can get information of interest to him. What sources of geographic information does grade 5 consider (in a secondary school)? Let's list them:

• All geographical maps, atlases, as well as various topographic plans, including military ones.
• Various geographical descriptions of a particular area.
• Handbooks, encyclopedic articles, results and reports of various expeditions.
• Aerial photographs and space
• and GPS/GLONASS.

Here are the sources of geographic information grade 5 knows in the average general education school. We will try to consider the characteristics of some of them in a little more detail.

Modern technologies

AT last years more and more sources are being converted from paper to digital. And this is not surprising. Almost all 5 sources of geographic information that we just talked about can be found today in digital form. Even professional scientists in recent years prefer to work with the "digit".

It is much more convenient to work with the same GIS system than with a pile of books. Now let's discuss some sources of geographic information in more detail.

Cards

A map is a schematic generalized representation of the surface of a piece of land, the entire planet or celestial bodies. It is built on the principle of scaling, that is, for this, mathematical methods. Depending on the scale, all maps are usually divided into three large groups:

• Large scale.
• Medium scale.
• Small scale.

If we talk about the first category, then these documents may have a ratio of 1:200,000 or larger. This includes almost all topographic plans. Small-scale maps are considered to be all maps whose ratio is less than 1:1,000,000. A typical geographic atlas includes either small-scale or medium-scale plans that are best suited for studying a particular area.

Sorting map information

You should know that long before creating a map, experts make a strict selection of what will be shown on it. This process is called as follows: cartographic generalization. Naturally, the most stringent selection exists in relation to small-scale maps, since they need to contain the maximum amount of useful information with the minimum area of ​​the document. In the generalization itself, an extremely important role is played by the direct purpose of the card, as well as the wishes of its customer.

Terrain plans

This is the name of the drawings of the area, which are carried out on a large scale (1: 5000 or more), and are drawn using special symbols. In this way, they resemble a school geographical atlas. The construction of such plans is carried out on the basis of visual, instrumental measurements, aerial photography, or a combined method.

Since the plans indicate relatively small areas of the earth's surface, when creating them, the curvature of the planet can be neglected. It should be clearly understood that these sources of geographic information that we have just described are fundamentally different from each other.

The main differences between plans and maps

• In a centimeter of the plan, more than five real kilometers on the ground are rarely laid. They are much more detailed than maps, in one millimeter of which hundreds of kilometers of the earth's surface can be laid.
• All objects on the ground in the plans are depicted as detailed as possible. In principle, all more or less significant areas are marked on the average drawing. So, on the topographic plans of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation (and the USSR, of course) even trees and small streams can be displayed. It is impossible to fit all this information on the maps. Actually, this is why the generalization, which we talked about above, is being carried out. Even the exact outlines of the continents on many maps cannot be displayed, and therefore they are often plotted with significant distortions. In addition, the above additional literature in geography uses off-scale conventions.
• We emphasize once again that when constructing the plan, the curvature of the earth's surface is neglected. Maps, especially on a small scale, take it into account without fail.
• There is never a degree grid on the plans. At the same time, there are parallels and meridians on each of them.
• The plan is always simple in terms of orientation. The top of the document is north, the bottom, respectively, is south. On the maps, the direction is determined by parallels.

Ways of depicting objects on plans and maps

Conventional signs in this case are generally accepted options, in which the characteristics of the objects depicted on the map or plan are encoded. With their help, you can display both something concrete (a mountain, for example), and something completely abstract, conditional (population density in a city, village, etc.). Of course, all of them make life much easier for a person who knows the basics of cartography and can read these drawings.

How long does the map remain valid?

Almost all geographers and geologists ask this question at least once in a while. The specific answer to it depends on the purpose, scale, and author of the plan. So, medieval researchers often drew maps literally “on their knees”, so there is no longer any need to talk about their accuracy. But the maps of the General Staff, despite the time, are still striking in their accuracy.

Do not forget that the maps are quite stable, while the plans of the Amazon and the Nile can be safely thrown away fifty years after they were published. These rivers change the relief of the Earth's surface so effectively and quickly that older documents are only useful in a historical perspective.

Geographic descriptions, discoveries

All sources of geographic information discussed above are somehow dry and uninteresting. It is much more exciting to read a description of some region, area or even the mainland, written by the person who discovered it all!

Jokes aside, but descriptions and reports on geographical (geodesic, biological) studies can sometimes provide much more information than the most detailed topographical plan of the area. Moreover, the latter does not display some unpleasant features of a particular area (malaria, which occurs in some central regions of Africa at every step, for example).

The list of references in geography that students are given at school (for example, Nikolina V.V. Geography, lesson developments; Samkova V.A. We study the forest; Forest Encyclopedia: in 2 volumes / chief ed. G. I. Vorobyov ), just the same, and formed thanks to the work of researchers who at one time entered all this information on the map, being in the thick of things.

Brief information about the discovery of Africa

Let's talk a little about the history of the discovery of the Black Continent. Of course, the word "discovery" is not entirely correct here: here is Australia - yes, I had to suffer with it. In the case of Africa, the coastal regions were perfectly explored, where they caught black slaves and bought ivory from Arab traders, but almost no one knew what was happening in the depths of the continent.

Everything changed in the 19th century, when the legendary arrived in Africa. It was he who had the honor of discovering the origins of the Nile and the magnificent Lake Victoria. Few people know, but the Russian scientist V.V. Junker (in 1876-1886) was once engaged in the studies of Central Africa.

For the indigenous population of the mainland, all this ended sadly: the main sources of geographical information (that is, maps), the data for which all these brave scientists collected with such difficulty and constant danger to life, began to be actively used by slave traders ...

So, with maps and plans, we are actually done. Geographic atlases are in the same category. And what is the role of modern sources of geographic information? To answer this question, let's consider the principle of sharing old paper maps and a navigator, which is now actively used even by professional geographers and geologists.

GPS/GLONASS + maps

It should be noted that this method is excellent for determining the accuracy of maps, atlases and topographic plans. In addition, this technique satisfies the needs of historians, as they can see for themselves how much the area has changed, which is described in historical chronicles by contemporaries of certain events. However, literature on geography often contains plans for the area that have not been updated since the beginning of the last century.

To use such an accurate, but rather laborious and somewhat extravagant method, you will have to bind three times (three different maps) to the same piece of terrain:

• First, find a more or less modern map or topographic plan.
• It is advisable to have a fresh aerospace image of the area under study with a topographic reference to the coordinate system.
• Finally, you need the card whose information you are going to check.

The meaning of this operation is to enter into the memory of the navigator all three of these drawings of the area. Modern models of such devices have a fairly powerful processor and an impressive amount of RAM, so you can switch between cards instantly.

Determination of the route

Route planning is best done using a modern map or topographic plan. We do not recommend using old documents for this. It is quite possible that there is now a passable area on the site of the swamp, but you will no longer be able to walk along the edge of the once rare young forest, since the geography of the area has changed dramatically. A map is good, but in most cases such documents are not very accurate.

Why are aerial and satellite photographs preferred over maps?

But why are paper drawings so inferior to the products of modern technology? This is for the following two reasons:

• Firstly, the relevance of space photography or aerial photography in most cases is much higher. When else will cartographers be able to carry out the next generalization of new data and release up-to-date terrain plans?
• In the pictures you can literally in real time determine the characteristics of a particular area. On a map or even a topographical plan, the tree species in the forest will be displayed only schematically and only in a general order. Simply put, it is quite possible to stumble upon a dense spruce forest in the middle of a birch forest, and it is much easier to get lost in a dense coniferous forest.

After choosing a route and checking the new images, it is recommended to refer to the old map. Why such difficulties? Imagine that you are a field biologist. You need to determine how much the forest has grown, what new tree species have appeared, how many types of forest have changed over the years. Ideal for all these tasks is the simple overlay of a new card on its old counterpart. Thus, everything becomes visible as clearly as possible.

Here are the sources used by geography. The map is perhaps the most important of them, but one should not forget that over the past decades science and technology have made a huge step forward, and therefore it is foolish not to take advantage of all modern achievements.

Conclusion

So you have learned which sources of geographic information are currently the most relevant. Oddly enough, but we still use all the same plans and maps that were invented before our era. Of course, adjusted for their modern look.

The volume and quality of socio-geographical information, which is “a body of knowledge and a system of data reflecting the features and patterns of the territorial organization of society, the functioning and development of TOS,” are of great importance in conducting research and writing a research paper.

Among the main requirements that can be presented to socio-geographical information are:

- modernity, i.e. it must correspond to the time interval of the study. However, this condition may not be met when conducting a retrospective analysis of the development of the object of study;

– targeting, i.e. information should be tied not only to time, but also to a certain territory. In the study of a real object (process or phenomenon) in the spatial aspect, the geographical individuality of the study is realized;

- the dynamism of information means its constant change, movement in time and space. The evolutionary development of the object of study is determined by the complication of its structure, the attraction of new functional properties, and the increase in the number of factors in its development. This information should not escape the geographer's field of vision;

- compliance of the information received with the research topic, and, consequently, with the goal. Its relevance and timeliness are of great importance;

– objectivity (reliability) of information ensures the reliability of the findings and recommendations proposed for implementation;

– verifiability. Part of the published socio-geographical information may be questioned in its reliability (correctness), therefore, it is necessary to take a critical approach to the choice of sources of information and verify (clarify, verify) the data obtained through other sources. A researcher should be especially selective in approaching materials published on the Internet.

Given the vastness of socio-geographic research, a significant amount of information resources can serve as a source of necessary information, including:

- scientific and literary sources, including scientific and popular science publications, monographs, textbooks and teaching aids, ongoing periodicals and collections of scientific papers, dissertations for academic degrees, encyclopedic dictionaries, etc.;

– legal sources, including any legal acts of international, state, regional and local significance;

- cartographic or graphic information representing complex processes in a simplified form for perception;

– results of independent field (field) research and observations;

- statistical sources containing data on the course of a particular process, the "behavior" of the object of study;

– archival and stock materials;

– electronic sources;

– results of sociological research;

– data from monitoring studies.

None of the above sources can become "self-sufficient" for conducting socio-geographical research. In the process of work, a set of theoretical and applied developments (research) of previous researchers is used, as well as data obtained independently in the course of field work, sociological surveys, the collection of statistical information, work in archives, etc.

At the same time, information cannot simply be entered into the work. It must be analyzed, verified and interpreted in relation to this study. To perform these operations, a student (undergraduate) must use the time allotted for production and research practices. The extended goal of conducting an internship is to formulate and solve one's own research problem, to develop skills in applying knowledge in the field of economic, social and political geography to solve applied problems. That is why the production practice should have a clearly defined goal and objectives that correspond to the theme of the selected original scientific research in every course of study.

During the period of internships, students (undergraduates) collect and process primary information - statistical data, cartographic materials, graph-analytical constructions, historical and geographical information, sociological information, develop an original research methodology and determine a set of indicators for the purpose of a deeper and more comprehensive study of the object and subject of observation etc. The main places of accumulation and storage of geographic information are libraries, scientific institutions, archives, the territorial department of the Federal Statistics Service of the Russian Federation, regional and municipal authorities, the employment center, various organizations and departments.

The theoretical substantiation of the research being conducted by a student (undergraduate) can be obtained from printed sources of geographical information, which are quite diverse both in content and in scope. Particular attention should be paid to monographs both in social geography and in related disciplines: physical geography, economics, sociology, political science, resource science, ecology, cultural studies, tourism research, etc. Conceptual ideas, important theoretical provisions and practical (applied) data are contained in other sources, including collections of scientific papers, materials of conferences of various levels, scientific reports, etc. The electronic catalog of printed publications that make up the scientific library of Perm National Research University is available free of charge on the website www.library.perm.ru. Here you can also get acquainted with new arrivals, with scientific journals on foreign languages, go to the websites of the US Library of Congress, the Russian State Library (Moscow), the Russian National Library (St. Petersburg), the All-Russian Institute for Scientific and Technical Information (Moscow), etc.

A special source of geographical information is the abstract journal "Geography". It contains abstracts of scientific publications in various areas of geographical science, secondary information materials (bibliographic descriptions, annotations, literature reviews) in conjunction with a reference and search apparatus. For its compilation, more than two thousand different sources, Russian and foreign, are used. Each issue includes approximately 1500 abstracts. Abstract journal "Geography" has been published annually since 1952 (12 issues per year).

Numbers for 1998 - 1999 and since 2009 they have been in the reading room of the Faculty of Geography, the rest - in the scientific and bibliographic department of the PSNIU library.

Another important literary source of geographical information is dissertations for the degree of candidate and doctor of science. The list of dissertations and the dissertations themselves in the specialty 25.00.24 (until 2005 - 11.00.02) - Economic, social and political geography, defended at our university, are stored in the periodical literature department of the PSNIU library. To work with them, it is necessary to draw up a letter certified by the head of the department where the student (undergraduate) is studying.

In any work, new scientific categories, concepts, terms fall into the field of view of a young researcher. In this case, a great help is a variety of scientific and bibliographic literature: dictionaries, encyclopedias, glossaries contained in textbooks and teaching aids. Among them, first of all, it is necessary to name the Great Russian Encyclopedia, the Great Geographical Dictionary, toponymic dictionaries, etc.

An important source of information is the most popular scientific geographic journals, collections of scientific papers periodically published by scientific and educational institutions. They publish innovative articles of a theoretical, methodological and applied nature. For many years, collections of scientific papers from Tartu, Perm, Tyumen and other universities have been published annually. World famous geographical journals: “Izvestiya RAS. Geographic Series (Moscow), Proceedings of the Russian Geographical Society (St. Petersburg), Geography and Natural resources"(Irkutsk, journal of the Institute of Geography of the Siberian Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences), "Geography at School", "USA and Canada: Economics, Politics, Culture", "Japan", "Asia and Africa Today" (published by the Institute of Asia and Africa of the Russian Academy of Sciences) and etc. No less popular are geographical journals published in the leading universities of the country: Moscow, St. Petersburg, Voronezh, Perm, Smolensk, Bashkir, Udmurt, etc.

Important information is contained in periodicals on related sciences: economics, sociology, political science, ecology: "World Economy and International Relations" (published by MGIMO (U) of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation), "Russian Economic Journal", "Bulletin of Economics", "Polis" ( "Political Studies"), "Socis" (" sociological research”), “Expert”, etc. List of journals on geographical and related topics available in scientific library PSNIU, listed in the appendix. 2.1.

With the support of federal ministries and departments, journals are published on individual sectors of the economy: Oil, Gas and Business, Coal, Automotive Industry, etc. In them, a researcher can get information about the latest technical and technological developments of domestic and foreign scientists. It also contains some data on production, consumption, cost, export-import of goods and services.

When writing papers on regional studies, the magazines GEO, Vokrug Sveta, National Geographic Russia, Tourism, Picturesque Russia, etc., can provide assistance, containing a large amount of popular science information on individual regions of Russia and the world. .

It is important to note that the latest issue of most journals lists all materials published during the calendar year. Some of these journals are located in the reading room of the Faculty of Geography of Perm State National Research University.

Another type of periodical press - newspapers - can also include information of interest to the geographer - the so-called current information. Particularly noteworthy in this regard is the newspaper Geography, which is a methodological publication for teachers of geography, ecology and natural history (published since 1992). Among the central newspapers stands out " Russian newspaper"- the official printed publication of the Kremlin (Government of the Russian Federation). It reflects the events of both domestic and international life. Quite informative are the special editions of the newspaper dedicated to certain regions, countries or types of economic activity. When conducting geographical research at the micro-, topo- and nanolevels great importance may have local newspapers published by municipal governments. They cover the entire spectrum of life activities of the population in a clearly localized territory, and in this respect they are indispensable.

A specific type of information is regulatory and legislative documents, including:

– international legal acts (Convention on Human Rights, Kyoto Protocol, UN Maritime Convention, Antarctica Treaty, etc.);

- The Constitution of the Russian Federation, the constitutions and charters of the regions - subjects of the Russian Federation; constitutions of specific countries;

– interstate pacts;

– declarations, federal treaty;

- codes, federal laws, laws of subjects of the Russian Federation and municipalities;

- acts of the President of the Russian Federation, the Chairman of the Government of the Russian Federation;

– annual messages of the President of the Russian Federation to the Federal Assembly;

- acts, laws, resolutions of the chambers of the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation;

- acts of representative and executive bodies of state power of the constituent entities of the Russian Federation and local self-government;

- charters of municipalities, etc.

Students and undergraduates can familiarize themselves with all the listed types of regulatory documents using the ConsultantPlus program, which is available in the reading room, computer class of the Faculty of Geography and in the departments.

The importance of using legislative and legal literature in socio-geographical research is explained by the need to establish a legal framework for scientific research, to determine the official status of a real-life object, an official assessment of a particular process. Socio-geographic research is based on legal norms and follows them. However, research results can serve an important factor making changes (additions), improving, improving the standards and their implementation in practice in the national, regional or municipal development.

In addition to literary sources, cartographic and graphic materials acquire great importance in research work on economic and social geography.

The latter, in a concise, easy-to-read form, can contain a large amount of geographic information.

The advantage of cartographic material over text is that the map is a visual (generalized) model of the territory. It is concise and informative. The map displays links between geographical objects, phenomena, processes in dynamics or statics. Textual information cannot give the researcher more than what is written in it. A map, on the other hand, can illustrate causal relationships and territorial differences. Cartographic materials allow the most complete diagnosis of social, environmental, economic, planning, service, political, environmental phenomena and processes. This information is used in the process of visual and measuring analysis of maps, decoding and removal of information data. That is why such materials are usually included in literary sources. However, some maps or charts that have thematic homogeneity may be published in the form of atlases or thematic collections. For example, “National Atlas of Russia” (vols. 1–3), “Socio-economic geography of the world” (author: V.N. Kholina, A.S. Naumov, I.A. Rodionova. M., 2006), "Regions of Russia" (author: A.L. Chepalyga, I.V. Chepalyga. M., 2006).

A large number of anamorphosis maps, which clearly show the disproportions of world development, are placed on the website www.worldmapper.org in free access (on English language).

Graphic materials also carry important information reflecting the statics and dynamics of socio-economic processes. Graphs and diagrams provide a visual representation of the state and trends in the functioning of territorial systems and can be considered as sources for diagnosing and predicting their future development.

Cartographic and graphic materials can serve as a starting point for research, an impulse for scientific research. Having in its methodological research arsenal necessary approaches and methods, information resources and general knowledge about the course of the process or the nature of the phenomenon, a specialist in the field of socio-economic geography is able to correctly assess and identify development trends, to see the prospective state of the object. The result of these studies may also be a map or a series of maps with a detailed decoding of the encoded information.

Conducting research work is impossible without the use of statistical data characterizing the quantitative patterns of life of territorial communities of people in all their diversity (economic, social, political, spiritual, cultural development, natural environment) in close connection with their qualitative content.

Global studies widely use international statistics published by the UN and its specialized organizations, the International Monetary Fund, the World Resources Institute, the World Trade Organization, Eurostat, and others. World Population” (published by the United Nations Population Fund), “World Development Report”, “World Development Indicators”, “Economic and Social Survey” (World Bank), “Report on the World Social Situation” (Department of Economic and social development UN), World Resources (World Resources Institute), State of Food and Agriculture (FAO), etc. These and other reports are available free of charge on the UN website (Russian version) - http://www.un.org/russian/esa/surveys.htm.

A large amount of statistical information, updated annually on more than 100 indicators, is contained on the official website of the US CIA - www.cia.gov in the "Factbook" section (in English). Classification of countries according to the level of social economic development is published annually on the website of the International Monetary Fund - www.imf.org in the "World Economic Outlook" section. The financial indicators of the development of the countries of the world are reflected on the website of the World Bank (www.worldbank.org) in the annual reports of Global Development Finance. Statistical data on international trade relations are updated annually on the website of the World Trade Organization (www.wto.org) in the "Resources" section.

Among the Russian research institutes that are engaged in the study of international issues and publish some statistical data, it is necessary to name scientific organizations members of the Russian Academy of Sciences: Institute of World Economy and International Relations, Institute of the USA and Canada, Institute of Europe, Institute of Latin America, Institute Far East, Institute of Socio-Economic Problems of Population, Council for the Study of Productive Forces (SOPS), etc.

When studying the processes of development and territorial organization of the Russian Federation and its regions, information from statistical collections is widely used: "Russian Statistical Yearbook", "Regions of Russia", "Russia in Figures" (issued annually), "The Socio-Economic Situation of Russia" (issued monthly, in the country as a whole and in individual federal districts), etc.

Industry-specific statistical information published by the Federal State Statistics Service of the Russian Federation (information site - www.gks.ru) is contained in the collections "Transport in Russia", "Tourism in Russia", "Healthcare in Russia", "Small Business in Russia", etc. .

Geographical studies of the population, geodemographic situation, settlement systems, conditions and living standards of people are usually based on statistical information contained in reports published after the All-Russian population censuses (VPN website 2002 - www.perepis2002.ru, VPN website 2010 - www .perepis-2010.ru), statistical collections such as "Demographic Yearbook of Russia", the electronic version of the journal "Population and Society" - "Demoscope-Weekly" (available on the Internet - www.demoscope.ru), etc.

The Federal State Statistics Service of the Russian Federation also prepares collections concerning the relationship between Russia and its partners, for example: "Russia and the CIS countries", "Group of Eight in Figures", as well as collections on federal districts.

Regional studies use statistical data published in the annual statistical collections of the constituent entities of the Russian Federation.

The territorial body of the Federal Statistics Service of the Russian Federation for the Perm Territory (information site - http://permstat.gks.ru) annually publishes the following statistical collections: "Statistical Yearbook of the Perm Territory", "Economic and Social Situation of the Perm Territory". In addition, collections of " Municipalities Perm region. Key socio-economic indicators”, “Industrial production of the Perm Territory” (published annually), “Perm Territory: socio-economic results” (published monthly), etc.

Statistical data on the state of the natural environment and measures aimed at maintaining a favorable environmental situation, can be gleaned from the annual reports "State and protection of environment of the Perm Territory”, “State and Environmental Protection of the City of Perm” (available since 2000 on the website “Nature of the Perm Territory” – www.permecology.ru).

Statistical information of a sectoral nature is also contained in the annual reports on the activities of industrial and transport enterprises posted on the websites of companies.

When conducting microgeographic studies, statistical information can be obtained using field (empirical) studies. The most common are expeditionary studies, during which primary "field" observations and the collection of primary information about the processes of functioning of territorial systems take place. They are carried out in the study of the geography of the population, agricultural production, the construction industry, transport, the service sector, recreational systems, etc. To conduct such studies, the staff of the Department of Socio-Economic Geography developed a special methodology, which has not lost its significance in modern conditions. Statistical information in this case can be obtained directly from the enterprise, organization, local registry offices, house administrations, municipalities, or through self-observation.

The researcher can obtain subjective information during sociological surveys, interviews, and questionnaires. Sociological methods make it possible to obtain and analyze the opinion of respondents who are local residents (the so-called first-hand information). This is qualitative information, which, however, cannot be considered objective, because. depends on a large number of factors directly affecting it (primarily related to human individuality).

However, the data of opinion polls and questionnaires is an important source of information in recreational, tourist, medical, behavioral, social, and electoral geography. They are indispensable in research that cannot be measured quantitatively (for example, in studies of the way of life, the image of a territory, the way of life of peoples and ethnic groups, etc.), in the construction of cognitive and mental maps.

Questioning involves the presence of a ready-made questionnaire, which the respondents fill out on their own. Therefore, the formulated questions should be understandable to the population. At the same time, they should correspond to the topic of the study, and the answers should provide complete information about the phenomenon or process being studied. Therefore, the wording of the questions should be concise, extremely clear and convenient for coding data for the purpose of their analysis. You should also pay attention to the composition of the questionnaire and the layout of the questions. The sample of respondents should be representative, i.e. correspond to the population of the area, its sex and age, professional, educational composition.

Conducting an interview requires special training of the researcher, who should not impose his own opinion and express his opinions. At the same time, attention should be paid to the environment in which the conversation takes place, as well as to the state of the interlocutor. Interviews are often repeated in order to determine a change in the situation or position of the interlocutor.

It is important to note that some studies can be built on the comparison and opposition of quantitative (statistical) and qualitative (survey data) information. Such research is aimed at identifying inconsistencies between the real situation and the one described in official sources. In this case, the revealed facts themselves serve as a source of geographic information about the state and development of TOS or its individual structural elements.

Another source of empirical information is hiking and travel, during which one gets acquainted with different countries, regions, national heritage, etc.

Archival and stock materials serve as an indispensable source of historical and geographical information. In the archives, one can find information about the socio-economic, political-administrative, demographic, cultural state of a particular territory for a certain historical period.

The State Archives of the Perm Territory (SAAP, website www.archive.perm.ru) is a repository of more than 1 million various documents on paper, photo and electronic media related to the economy, social relations, demographic features of the development of the Perm Territory from the 18th century to the present. up to our time. GAPC stores cartographic and topographic materials. Data on the history, economy and life of the population of the region in the 20th century. can be obtained from the Perm State Archive of Recent History (PGANI, website www.permgani.ru). Work in the state archives is subject to certain rules, which you must familiarize yourself with before visiting the institution. The quantity and quality of information received depends on the correct execution of requests. Partial information about the documents stored in the archives is posted on the official web pages. More complete information can be obtained from thematic collections with a list of documents in the archives themselves. Work with documents, as a rule, is allowed only the next day after the request is made.

Fund materials are stored in archives, scientific institutions, as well as in the personal libraries of scientists, travelers, local historians, etc. These can be scientific reports, field diaries, dissertations, theses, manuscripts of research articles, etc.

Diploma works, final qualifying works of bachelors and master's theses, defended at the Department of Socio-Economic Geography since 2007, are issued for use by students (undergraduates) after a corresponding request. The use of this source of geographic information is advisable at the very beginning of the study in order to get acquainted with the existing developments in the research field, to clearly define the spatio-temporal boundaries of independent scientific research for any other information. In this case, in the text of the research work, it is necessary to refer to the stock materials of the department.

New information opportunities are provided by the computerization of the research process, which became possible due to the development of information and communication technologies. The intellectualization of human labor, the transformation of information into an object of instant transmission, long-term storage and active practical use give rise to a demand for the creation of electronic sources of information.

Among the latter, the global information network Internet stands out, which makes it possible to obtain the necessary information in the shortest time period. Search engine engine (multi-language: Google, Yahoo!, Inktomi, AltaVista, Alltheweb, Bing, DuckDuckGo; Russian-language: Yandex, Mail.ru, Rambler, Aport, Nigma, Qip.ru, Guénon; English-language and international: AskJeeves, Teoma, MSN , TinEye, Ask.Com, MyWay, AOL, About.Com, EarthLink, etc.) provides the opening of a large number of pages of different posting times in different languages. The uniqueness of the search for information on the Internet is due to its immediacy, volume and specific focus. At the same time, it is important to take into account that obtaining the most accurate information about a phenomenon (object or process) is determined by the correct formulation of the search query. At the same time, it is necessary to remember the shortcomings of Internet publications: one should beware of redundancy of information, its bias, and therefore it is necessary to select it, check it against official sources.

Among the many information possibilities of the Internet, it is necessary to name Internet encyclopedias, in which any of the users can be not only a reader, but also the creator of new articles. The unique multilingual universal online encyclopedia "Wikipedia" (www.ru.wikipedia.org) contains more than 450 thousand pages in Russian in all areas of knowledge (including other languages ​​- more than 13 million articles). Another popular electronic encyclopedia is Krugosvet (www.krugosvet.ru).

The Great Encyclopedia of Cyril and Methodius (BEKM) is the most authoritative multimedia encyclopedic publication in Russia, created with the participation of leading Russian scientists: academicians, doctors of sciences and corresponding members of the Russian Academy of Sciences. Fundamentality, completeness of content, breadth of coverage and versatility of materials made BECM the leader of the domestic market of information and reference literature.

The multimedia format provides a fundamentally new level of material presentation: a combination of text, photographs, interactive tables, three-dimensional models, diagrams, audio and video clips makes encyclopedic articles visual, multidimensional and exciting.

The list of the most popular and useful sites in socio-geographical research is given in Appendix. 2.2.

Electronic sources of information are not limited to Internet publications. They can also include databases of geographic information systems (GIS), maps created with their help, electronic catalogs and atlases. The latter have gained popularity and widespread use in recent decades. GIS technologies make it possible to perform various manipulations with data, combine various indicators with each other and build corresponding maps. Electronic sources of geographic information are mobile. Among the popular electronic atlases, we will name the Social Atlas of Russian Regions, which contains extensive analytical information and cartographic materials on a wide range of socio-economic problems in Russia and its regions, various integral indices of social and economic development of the regions of the Russian Federation (developed by the Independent Institute for Social Policy, www.atlas .socpol.ru).

In recent years, information from monitoring observations has become widely used. In many regions there are constant monitoring of the environmental, social and political profile. Monitoring information is most often stored in regional geographic information systems. This information is characterized by dynamic properties, since collected regularly, processed and stored for a long time. The dynamic series of information makes it possible to get an idea of ​​the phenomenon under study not only for a certain date, but also for a long time period, and therefore, to identify development trends and predict future changes.

Modern sources of information significantly expand the possibilities of socio-geographic research and stimulate scientific research in all areas of science.

The combination of various geographic data makes it possible to expand the research problem, conduct comprehensive surveys, most reliably diagnose the current geosituation in any territory and disseminate development trends in the near future. At the same time, a significant amount of available information confronts the researcher with the problem of responsibility for the choice of data used, and, consequently, the final results of scientific research. The solution to this problem can be found in the creation of national databases of geo-information, the active use of geo-information technologies and the increase in motivation for research work.