Geography

The study of Earth’s landscapes, environments, and places, and how people interact with their surroundings.
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Updated May 12, 2026

Overview

This section provides a brief introduction to geography that explores the questions, topics, and fields that shape the study of places, environments, populations, and the relationships between people and the world around them. It also highlights related subjects and resources for learning more about the field of geography.

Geography explores the physical features of the planet, such as landforms, climates, ecosystems, and the human activities that shape our world, including culture and economic development.  It also examines how people and environments influence each other over time and across different places.

 

For an in-depth description of the geography field, see the article Geography from National Geographic.

Geologists study the rocks, soil, mountains, rivers, oceans, and even fossils of the Earth to understand how the planet formed and how it keeps changing. By examining layers of rock and the shapes of landscapes, they piece together past events like volcanic eruptions, earthquakes, shifting continents, and ancient climates.

 

Their work also helps people today in locating water supplies, energy resources, and minerals. They help to understand natural hazards so communities can prepare for things like landslides or earthquakes. In short, geologists explore how the Earth was built, how it works now, and how it may change in the future.

Geography is considered both a natural science and a social science, where geographers study the interactions between the physical aspects of a region and the human activities within it. The two main fields of geography are:

 

  • Human geography 
  • Physical geography

Geography is a highly interdisciplinary field that draws on physical sciences such as geology, which examines Earth's processes and landforms; meteorology, which studies climate and weather patterns; and biology, which explores ecosystems and biogeography.

 

Geography also investigates how human interactions influence physical landscapes. As a result, geographers draw on disciplines like sociology, which analyzes demographics and urbanization; political science, which explores borders and geopolitics; economics, which examines trade and development; and anthropology, which studies cultural practices and migration.

Geography Subfields

While geology is typically classified as a natural science, many of its subfields intersect with the social sciences, particularly where human activity, policy, and societal interactions with Earth systems are involved. Here are the two main geology subfields that have strong social science connections.

Human Geography

The study of how people interact with places and environments, with a focus on cultural, economic, and social behaviors.

Physical Geography

The study of the natural features and processes of the Earth, including landforms, climates, vegetation, and bodies of water.​

IR Literature Reviews

After choosing a topic, conducting a literature review is the next step of the writing process for every social science discipline, including international relations. Two of the most valuable starting points for a literature review are Annual Reviews and Oxford Bibliographies. These resources are designed specifically to help scholars quickly understand the key debates, theories, and major publications in a field. 

Oxford Bibliographies provides scholarly bibliographies in most social science disciplines, including international relations. materials selected and organized by academic scholars. These bibliographies can also help researchers begin building literature reviews by identifying important authors, major debates, foundational studies, and key publications on different international relations topics.

Geography Reference

Geography reference resources provide definitions, concepts, and key terms consistent with how they are used in the field of geography. Geography is also inherently place-based, requiring the use of reference resources like atlases and gazetteers and GIS resources providing accurate spatial data, helping scholars understand where phenomena occur and how location shapes outcomes.

Atlases are fundamentally concerned with geographic location across the globe. Traditional atlases depict physical geography such as mountains, rivers, and political borders.

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General Databases

Academic libraries subscribe to a diverse range of research databases of which EBSCO and ProQuest are two of the largest providers. Most colleges and universities offer access to one or both platforms. Here are some key insights about each:

  • Both are multidisciplinary research databases covering multiple disciplines.
  • Both provide access to dozens of subject databases with a single search interface.
  • Both provide a varied mix of e-books, scholarly journals, peer-reviewed journals, trade publications, magazines, images, and newspapers.

EBSCOhost is a major research database platform that allows users to search multiple EBSCO databases simultaneously. The difference between EBSCOhost and Academic Search is that Academic Search can be searched as part of the EBSCOhost platform or searched separately if your institution has a subscription. To check if your institution subscribes to EBSCOhost, use EBSCO’s Find your institution page.

ProQuest is a major database vendor and platform that provides access to hundreds of database collections. The ProQuest platform provides a multidisciplinary search with access to scholarly ebooks, journals, video and audio, newspapers, and more, all searchable simultaneously. ProQuest is unique in providing dissertations and theses, historical newspapers, and other primary sources.

Scholarly Databases

Scholarly research databases provide peer-reviewed academic journal articles, book reviews, and other scholarly resources authored by scholars, researchers, or academics who are experts in their fields. Unlike magazines (Time, Newsweek, etc.) focused on current events, news, and general-interest stories written by journalists, articles in scholarly journals undergo rigorous review before publication. The following is a list of the most important multidisciplinary scholarly research databases.

Google Scholar is a free academic search engine that helps researchers and students find scholarly literature across disciplines. It indexes journal articles, books, conference papers, theses, patents, and other resources from academic publishers, universities, and professional organizations.

The International Bibliography of the Social Sciences (IBSS), compiled by the British Library of Political and Economic Science at the London School of Economics, provides access to a vast collection of scholarly literature in the social sciences. Covering multiple disciplines, IBSS includes references to journal articles, books, newspapers, and dissertations, with records dating back to 1951.

JSTOR is an important scholarly research database for the humanities, social sciences, and sciences. It provides the full text of articles from thousands of influential academic journals. In addition to journal articles, users can access eBooks, book chapters, images, and primary source documents. JSTOR also provides an AI research tool that provides key points and arguments of articles.

Project MUSE offers online access to a vast collection of scholarly journals, books, and academic resources in the humanities, social sciences, and arts. As a leading provider of digital humanities content, it features high-quality, peer-reviewed publications from prestigious university presses, scholarly societies, and academic publishers.

ProQuest Dissertations & Theses is a database of dissertations and theses from universities worldwide. It provides access to millions of full-text works across many disciplines, including the social sciences, humanities, sciences, and business. Each dissertation includes an abstract or summary that provides a concise overview of the research, its methodology, and key findings.

ScienceDirect is a leading full-text scholarly scientific database that provides journal articles and book chapters from more than 2,500 peer-reviewed journals and more than 11,000 books. It covers over 24 major subjects in the physical sciences and engineering, life sciences, health sciences, social sciences, and the humanities.

Social Sciences Full Text provides access to a wide range of scholarly literature in the social sciences. It covers many disciplines, including sociology, psychology, international relations, political science, anthropology, economics, and education.

Web of Science is a comprehensive, multidisciplinary research and citation index that provides access to a wide range of scientific, technical, social science, and humanities research. It maintains rigorous criteria for the journals and publications it indexes, ensuring that only high-quality, peer-reviewed content is included. Web of Science includes 98 million papers dating back to 1900.

Geography Research Methods

Research methods are how researchers gather and study information to help answer questions. Research methods are the specific strategies, tools, and techniques researchers use to collect and analyze information to answer questions or solve problems.

Research methods can be qualitative (like interviews or observations) or quantitative (numerical and statistical).

As a student, you’ll likely take a research methods course that introduces you to the basics of how social science research works. Below are some of the most helpful resources available that explain different types of research methods and discuss how to collect and analyze both qualitative and quantitative data.

Sage Research Methods

Sage Research Methods is a major subscription database that guides users in understanding research methodologies across different academic disciplines. It provides electronic access to reference books, journal articles, instructional videos, and other qualitative methods resources.

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Do You Know
More than 2,200 years ago, the ancient Greek scholar Eratosthenes calculated the circumference of the Earth with remarkable accuracy—using only shadows, geometry, and the distance between two cities in Egypt. Learn More
Eratosthenes Teaching in Alexandria
Source: Eratosthenes Teaching in Alexandria by Bernardo Strozzi (1635)