Integrating behavioral and geospatial data on the timeline: Towards new dimensions of analysis

Studies of spatial behavior increasingly rely on a combination of audiovisual and geospatial recordings. So far, however, few analytical environments have offered opportunities for integrated and expedient annotation and analysis of the two. Here we report the first study aimed at integrating geospatial data in ELAN, a tool developed for time-aligned annotation of audiovisual media. By calibrating the audiovisual and geospatial signals on the timeline and inserting the geo data as a tier in the annotation tool, we generate an environment in which time-aligned annotations of audiovisually observed behavior can be linked and explored in relation to the corresponding geographical coordinates. We illustrate the technique with linguistic and cultural behavior recorded on the move among indigenous communities in Southeast Asia. Our method is of potential interest to any study or discipline concerned with linking the location and properties of observable behavior.