| Abstract: | In the era of information, geography has made remarkable progress in the development of its research objective and approaches. Geographic information System (GIS), which is similar to the quantitative geography developed in the 1950s to the 1970s, is broadly accepted in moderm tinies.However, limitations caused by the functions of GIS, and the complexity of geographic environment has provoked people to find a new research method to meet the demand stemmed from geographical researches. This paper firstly looks back on the history of geographical research methods and makes an analysis of their limitations', then, makes a prospective view on the GIS and its related fields.Based on thes, the paper presents a new research method: comprehensive integration of geographic information, which is guided by Meta-Synthetic-Engineering in methodology and supported by modem technology. Aiming to exploit a kind of research method, discussion on comprehensive integration of geographic information is given to try to answer how geography will develop in the era of information. It will help us to realize much higher hierarchical and macro-systematic comprehension about geographic environment. |
