Research Tools in Geographical Resources

In this article, the author tries to study the compilation of geographical textbooks and research materials with an eye toward useful methods and tools. In ancient times, mathematics and geometry had been used in geographical studies. However, in the Middle Ages, Aristotelian and Ptolemaic perspectives as well as the dominance of Catholic Church led quantitative methods to be replaced by imageries. In the period from 17th century to 1950s and 1960s, geography, found a descriptive feature under the influence of Determinism, and since then, quantitative methods have been used in this field of study. However, because of the problems raised by exaggerated emphasis on quantitative methods, nowadays, geographical studies and textbooks stand between Positivism and Phenomenology.