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American University Students’ Understandings of the Concepts of Projection and Scale

  • Journal of the Korean Cartographic Association
  • Abbr : JKCA
  • 2014, 14(2), pp.15-26
  • Publisher : The Korean Cartographic Association
  • Research Area : Social Science > Geography > Geography in general > Cartography

Kim, Minsung 1

1서울대학교

Accredited

ABSTRACT

This study investigated American undergraduate students’ understandings of the concepts of projection and scale. First, in terms of the concept of projection, students who are non-experts in cartography believed the reason the great circle route is not shown as a straight line on maps as follows: 1) to control air transportation and to prevent collision between airplanes, 2) to avoid obstacles such as big mountains, 3) to transfer an airplane, and 4) to be affected by the Coriolis force. Second, the most common misunderstanding regarding the concept of scale was the confusion resulting from the terms, large and small scales, which has been commonly reported in the literature. Most students believed that the large scale map represents the large area because of the term ‘large.’ In addition, several students did not have the concept of scale. This research merits inclusion in the literature because it provides empirical data associated with two important cartographic concepts, or projection and scale. The findings of this study could be beneficial for the design of map-relevant information and the development of effective geography education strategies.

Citation status

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