National Center for Geographic Information and Analysis

This technical report reviews the literature that provides guidance on GIS implementation. It defines Guiding Literature and five Classes of publications included therein. It reviews a representative number of publications of each Class and organizes the proposals by subject. In addition, it analyses the Guiding Literature in terms of issues addressed, theoretical consistency, and theoretical diversity. The contributions of this report are two fold. First, it documents a comprehensive review of the literature on GIS implementation. It can be used as an easy-reference to the Guiding Literature as well as to proposals on one specific subject. The second basic contribution of this report is concerned not with the adequacy of the theories themselves but with their organization for practical use. The results suggest that the current theories need to be organized in a single, comprehensive guide.