A Qualitative Method for Collecting Spatial Data on Important Places for Recreation, Livelihoods, and Ecological Meanings: Integrating Focus Groups with Public Participation Geographic Information Systems

The association between humans and their environments is highly interactive, with humans bound to the landscapes and landscapes subject to the actions of humans. Sense of place is a concept used to describe the relationships that exist, bonds that form, and the meanings that humans ascribe to landscapes. This article builds on previous qualitative research using public participation geographic information systems (PPGIS) to develop an alternative and efficient methodology to spatially represent place. The approach integrates participatory mapping procedures within a focus group format. Benefits of this approach include the rich text uncovered in qualitative place studies; the synergy of dialogue, efficiency in sampling, ability to elicit information from a range of groups; and the efficient use of drawn polygons as part of the qualitative PPGIS mapping procedure. This methodology can provide pertinent and spatially explicit findings useful for place based planning and management.