Geographic Information Systems (GIS) refers to the interconnected hardware, software, users, data, and procedures that together form a system for geospatial analysis. GIS can be used to study, analyze, and visualize any phenomenon that has a spatial component.  If location plays a role in your research, GIS offers a way to include these spatial features in your analysis.

Many historians have discovered GIS as a tool for looking at their research through a different analytical lens. Historical events, migrations, interactions, and developments can be studied from a spatial perspective, focusing on the "where" rather than the "when."