Један каталог истраживачких метода — сазнајте како свака ради, када се користи и шта не може.
Input-Output Structural Decomposition Analysis (IO-SDA) is an economic-environmental accounting method rooted in Wassily Leontief's input-output framework. It decomposes changes in economic activity and associated environmental impacts (emissions, resource use) over time into components reflecting technological change,
Integral projection models (IPMs) are a class of structured population models that use continuous traits (size, age, height) to describe population dynamics. Introduced by Easterling and colleagues (2000) and developed extensively by Ellner, Rees, and collaborators, IPMs overcome limitations of age- or stage-structured
Inverse distance weighting is a simple, deterministic method for estimating values at unsampled locations by taking a weighted average of nearby measured points, where closer points carry more weight. Introduced by Donald Shepard in 1968, it embodies the first law of geography — near things are more related than distan
Kriging is a geostatistical method that predicts the value of a continuous variable at unmeasured locations from nearby measurements, using the spatial correlation structure captured by a variogram. Formalised by Georges Matheron in 1963, it is the best linear unbiased predictor (BLUP) for spatial data and comes in Ord
Landscape metrics are quantitative indices that describe the composition and spatial configuration of a categorical map — typically land cover — at the patch, class, and whole-landscape levels. Developed in landscape ecology (O'Neill and colleagues, 1988) and made widely usable by the FRAGSTATS software, they turn maps
Least-cost path analysis finds the route between two locations that minimizes accumulated travel cost across a landscape, rather than minimizing straight-line distance. By encoding terrain, slope, land cover, and other frictions into a cost surface and accumulating cost outward from a source, it identifies optimal corr
The Leslie matrix is a deterministic model of age-structured population dynamics, introduced by Patrick Leslie (1945). It projects population size and structure forward in time using age-specific fertility and survival rates. A Leslie matrix encodes these vital rates in a square matrix; multiplying the matrix by a popu
LiDAR (Light Detection and Ranging) Point-Cloud Analysis is an active remote sensing technique that measures distances by emitting laser pulses and recording the time for returns to reach the sensor. First systematically applied to ecosystem science by Lefsky, Cohen, Parker, and Harding in 2002, LiDAR produces dense th
Life Cycle Assessment is a systematic, ISO-standardized methodology for quantifying the environmental impacts of a product, process, or service across its entire life span — from raw material extraction through production, use, and end-of-life disposal. Codified in ISO 14040 and ISO 14044, and comprehensively reviewed
Life Cycle Sustainability Assessment (LCSA) is a comprehensive framework developed by Matthias Finkbeiner and colleagues to evaluate environmental, social, and economic impacts of products and services throughout their entire life cycle. Introduced around 2008, it extends traditional life cycle assessment to address su
Life Table Response Experiments (LTRE) decompose observed temporal changes in population growth rate (lambda) into contributions from changes in specific vital rates (survival, reproduction). Developed by Caswell (2000) and applied extensively by Wisdom and colleagues, LTRE reveals which demographic changes drove obser
LISA, introduced by Luc Anselin in 1995, is a local statistic that computes spatial autocorrelation separately for every observation rather than for the map as a whole. It pinpoints where high or low values cluster and where spatial outliers sit, decomposing the global Moran's I into a contribution from each location.
Log-Mean Divisia Index (LMDI) Decomposition is a quantitative technique for attributing changes in an aggregate indicator — most commonly energy consumption or CO₂ emissions — to its underlying driving factors, such as activity level, structural mix, and intensity. Introduced in its definitive practical form by B. W. A
Local Geary's C is a local indicator of spatial association (LISA) that measures, for each location, how dissimilar its value is from its immediate neighbours. Unlike Local Moran's I, which detects clustering of similar values, Local Geary's C focuses on squared value differences and is especially sensitive to local sp
Local Geographically Weighted Regression (GWR) estimates a separate regression model at each location in the study area, allowing every coefficient to vary spatially. By weighting nearby observations more heavily than distant ones, GWR reveals how predictor-outcome relationships shift across geographic space rather tha
The Local Getis-Ord Gi* statistic identifies statistically significant spatial clusters of high values (hot spots) and low values (cold spots) within a study area. Unlike global measures, it produces a z-score for every location, revealing where concentrated clustering occurs and with what statistical confidence.
Local Hot Spot Analysis uses the Getis-Ord Gi* statistic to identify specific geographic locations where high or low values cluster together more than expected by chance. Unlike global measures that return a single summary for the whole study area, this local statistic produces a z-score for each feature, pinpointing e
LISA, introduced by Luc Anselin in 1995, decomposes a global spatial autocorrelation index into a location-specific statistic for every observation. It identifies where statistically significant spatial clusters and outliers occur on a map, enabling researchers to move beyond a single global summary and pinpoint the ge
Local Kernel Density Estimation (Local KDE) is a non-parametric spatial method that estimates the density of point events at each location by applying a kernel function with a spatially adaptive bandwidth. Unlike global KDE, which uses a fixed bandwidth across the entire study area, Local KDE adjusts the smoothing wind
Local Kriging is a spatially adaptive geostatistical interpolation method that restricts each prediction to a moving neighborhood of nearby observations, fitting a variogram model locally within that window. This allows spatial covariance structure to vary across the study region rather than imposing a single global va
Local Moran's I, introduced by Luc Anselin in 1995, is a Local Indicator of Spatial Association (LISA) that decomposes global spatial autocorrelation into location-specific contributions. For every observation it produces a signed statistic and a significance value, enabling researchers to identify spatial clusters (hi
Local Network-Based Spatial Analysis computes spatial statistics and network measures — such as accessibility, centrality, and density — within restricted local neighborhoods of a spatial network, revealing how connectivity and flow vary across fine geographic scales rather than globally across the entire network.
Local Ordinary Kriging (LOK) is a geostatistical interpolation method that estimates values at unsampled locations using only a spatially defined moving neighborhood of nearby observations. By restricting each prediction to a local data window rather than the full dataset, LOK accommodates spatial non-stationarity, red
Local Spatial Autocorrelation methods decompose global spatial clustering into location-specific statistics, revealing where in a study area significant clustering or dispersion occurs. Each observation receives its own association score and significance value, enabling the detection of spatial hot spots, cold spots, a
The Local Spatial Durbin Model (Local SDM) extends the global Spatial Durbin Model by allowing regression coefficients to vary across geographic space. It combines the SDM's ability to capture both spatial lag of the dependent variable and spatial lags of covariates with a geographically weighted estimation framework,
The Local Spatial Lag Model extends the classical spatial lag model by allowing both the spatial autocorrelation parameter and the regression coefficients to vary across geographic locations. Instead of one global estimate of how neighboring outcomes influence each observation, the model fits location-specific paramete
Local Spatial Regression fits a separate regression model at each location in a study area, allowing regression coefficients to vary continuously across space. Rather than forcing one global slope on all observations, it reveals where and how the relationship between predictors and an outcome changes geographically — p
Local Universal Kriging is a geostatistical interpolation method that combines a spatially varying deterministic trend with a stochastic residual, estimated using only nearby observations within a defined search neighborhood. It generalizes local ordinary kriging by explicitly modeling and removing a polynomial or cova
Location-allocation models decide where to place a set of facilities and simultaneously assign demand points to them so as to optimize an objective such as total travel cost, worst-case distance, or population covered. Rooted in the operations-research work of Cooper (1963) and Hakimi (1964) and central to network GIS,
Map Algebra is a rule-based language and computational framework for deriving new raster layers from existing ones by applying arithmetic, logical, or statistical operations cell by cell or across neighborhoods. Formalized by Dana Tomlin in 1990, it is the foundational algebraic system underlying raster GIS analysis an
Material Flow Analysis (MFA) is a systematic method for quantifying the flows and stocks of materials within a defined system boundary over a specified time period. Introduced comprehensively by Paul H. Brunner and Helmut Rechberger in their 2004 handbook, MFA applies mass-balance principles to track how raw materials,
The Metabolic Theory of Ecology (MTE), developed by Brown and colleagues (2004), provides a unifying framework linking individual metabolic rate to ecological patterns across levels of organization (organisms, populations, ecosystems). MTE predicts how metabolic rate scales with body size (allometry) and temperature, a
Multiscale Geographically Weighted Regression, introduced by Fotheringham, Yang and Kang in 2017, is a spatial regression model that lets each coefficient vary across space at its own spatial scale. It generalises Geographically Weighted Regression by giving every predictor its own bandwidth, so some relationships can
Moran's I is the standard global statistic for detecting spatial autocorrelation: whether nearby locations tend to share similar values. The index ranges from approximately −1 (perfect dispersion) through 0 (spatial randomness) to +1 (perfect clustering), allowing researchers to test whether a geographic pattern differ
Moran's I is a global statistic, introduced by Patrick Moran in 1950, that measures whether and how a continuous variable is spatially autocorrelated across mapped units. A positive value signals clustering of similar values, a negative value signals a dispersed (checkerboard) pattern, and it is most often used as a di
Multiscale Geographically Weighted Regression (MGWR) is a local spatial regression framework that relaxes the single-bandwidth constraint of standard GWR by allowing each predictor to operate at its own spatial scale. Each coefficient surface is calibrated with its own bandwidth, enabling the model to distinguish drive
Multiscale Getis-Ord Gi* extends the classic local hot spot statistic by computing Gi* z-scores across a range of spatial distance bands or neighborhood sizes. This reveals whether clusters of high or low values are scale-dependent — appearing only at fine local scales, only at broad regional scales, or persistently ac
Multiscale Moran's I extends the classic global Moran's I statistic by computing spatial autocorrelation across a series of distance lags or spatial scales. The resulting spatial correlogram reveals at which geographic scales clusters or dispersions of a variable exist, offering richer insight than a single summary sta
Multiscale spatial autocorrelation extends classical spatial autocorrelation analysis by computing and comparing autocorrelation statistics (such as Moran's I) across a range of spatial scales simultaneously. This reveals at which geographic distances or resolutions spatial clustering or dispersion is strongest, provid
Network-based spatial analysis (NBSA) analyzes the distribution and interaction of spatial phenomena constrained to a network structure — such as roads, railways, or rivers — using network distance rather than straight-line (Euclidean) distance. It is the appropriate framework whenever movement, proximity, or risk is g
Niche modeling, also called species distribution modeling (SDM), predicts the geographic range and habitat suitability of species using presence-only or presence-background occurrence data and environmental variables. MaxEnt (Maximum Entropy, Phillips et al. 2006) and GARP (Genetic Algorithm for Rule-set Prediction, St
Object-Based Image Analysis (OBIA) is a remote sensing image processing paradigm that groups pixels into meaningful image objects before classification, rather than analysing each pixel independently. Formally articulated and consolidated by Thomas Blaschke in his landmark 2010 ISPRS review, OBIA draws on multiresoluti
Ordinary Kriging (OK) is the standard geostatistical method for interpolating a continuous spatial variable at unsampled locations. It derives optimal, unbiased weights from the spatial covariance structure of the data, making it the Best Linear Unbiased Predictor (BLUP) under stationarity assumptions. Unlike simpler d
Panel Geary's C extends the classic Geary contiguity ratio to panel datasets, measuring spatial autocorrelation across georeferenced units (regions, cities, countries) observed over multiple time periods. It detects whether neighboring units tend to have similar values, pooling or averaging evidence across the temporal
Panel Geographically Weighted Regression (Panel GWR) extends the standard GWR framework to panel data, allowing regression coefficients to vary both across geographic locations and over time. It captures spatially non-stationary relationships in longitudinal or repeated-measures spatial datasets, combining local spatia
Panel Hot Spot Analysis applies hot spot detection — typically via the Getis-Ord Gi* statistic — repeatedly across multiple time periods on the same spatial units, enabling researchers to track where clusters of high or low values persist, emerge, or dissolve over time. It bridges cross-sectional spatial statistics wit
Panel Kernel Density Estimation (Panel KDE) extends the standard kernel density estimator to panel (longitudinal) data, estimating smooth density surfaces for spatial or attribute variables observed across multiple units and time periods. It reveals how the distribution of a phenomenon shifts, concentrates, or disperse
Panel Kriging is a geostatistical interpolation method that combines kriging's spatial prediction framework with a panel (longitudinal) data structure. It estimates unknown values at unobserved locations and times by borrowing strength from repeated spatial observations across multiple time periods, accounting for both
Panel Local Indicators of Spatial Association extends Anselin's LISA statistics — most commonly Local Moran's I — to panel datasets, identifying spatial clusters and outliers at each location across multiple time periods. By applying local autocorrelation measures repeatedly over time, researchers can detect whether sp
Panel MGWR extends Multiscale Geographically Weighted Regression to repeated-observations (panel) data, allowing each predictor to operate at its own spatial bandwidth while controlling for unit-specific or time-specific fixed effects. It is used when both spatial heterogeneity and temporal structure matter simultaneou
Panel Network-Based Spatial Analysis extends standard spatial econometric models to repeated-measures (panel) data by representing spatial dependence through network connectivity rather than simple geographic proximity. It captures how units connected in a network influence each other's outcomes over time, while contro
Panel Ordinary Kriging extends the classical geostatistical interpolation method — Ordinary Kriging — to panel (longitudinal) datasets where the same set of spatial locations is observed repeatedly over multiple time periods. It produces optimal linear unbiased predictions at unsampled locations for each time slice, ac
Panel Spatial Autocorrelation measures whether observations that are geographically close also tend to have similar values across repeated time periods. It extends classic cross-sectional spatial autocorrelation statistics such as Moran's I to panel data, enabling researchers to detect spatial dependence consistently o
The Panel Spatial Durbin Model (PSDM) extends the cross-sectional Spatial Durbin Model to panel data, capturing both spatial lag dependence in the outcome and spatial spillovers from neighbouring units' explanatory variables across multiple time periods. It simultaneously accounts for unobserved unit-specific and time-
The Panel Spatial Error Model (panel SEM) extends the classical spatial error model to panel data, allowing spatial dependence to enter through the error term across cross-sectional units over multiple time periods. It accounts for spatially correlated omitted variables without imposing a substantive spatial spillover
Panel Spatial Regression extends standard panel data models by explicitly accounting for spatial dependence among cross-sectional units observed over time. It combines the temporal control of panel fixed or random effects with a spatial weights matrix that encodes geographic or network proximity, yielding unbiased and
Panel Universal Kriging extends Universal Kriging to data structures with repeated spatial observations over time (panel or longitudinal format). It simultaneously estimates a deterministic trend surface — incorporating covariates that vary across both space and time — and a stochastic spatially correlated residual, po
Pixel-based image classification is a fundamental remote-sensing technique that assigns each individual pixel in a satellite or aerial image to a thematic land-cover category based solely on its spectral values across multiple bands. Systematically surveyed and formalized by Lu and Weng (2007), the approach encompasses
Population Viability Analysis (PVA), introduced by Shaffer (1981), estimates the probability that a population will persist over a given time period under specified conditions. PVA combines demographic models (Leslie matrices, IPMs) with stochastic simulation to project population trajectories, quantifying extinction r
The Radiation Model, introduced by Simini et al. in 2012, is a parameter-free model for predicting human mobility and migration flows between geographic locations. Drawing an analogy from radiation physics, it predicts trip volumes based solely on population sizes at origin and destination, and the intervening populati