Why Data Quality Matters - Now More Than Ever
426
0
10-13-2016 10:59 PM
by
JosephKerski
Not long ago, obtaining data for a GIS-based project was an arduous task. Because great time and effort was involved with either creating your own data or obtaining data that someone else created, you had to think carefully about the quality of the data that would go into your project. While it can still be cumbersome to obtain data at specific scales for specific areas, cloud-based data services, crowdsourced maps and databases and real-time streaming make it easy for anyone to obtain vast amounts of data in a short amount of time.
In such an environment where so much data is available, is data quality still of concern? I believe that yes, data quality does matter. In fact, because data is so easy to obtain data nowadays, and with the advent of crowdsourcing and cloud-based GIS such as ArcGIS Online, I submit that data quality considerations actually matter now more than ever before. And for those of us who are GIS, STEM, and geography educators, I believe this topic merits inclusion in many courses. In fact, I have found that discussing this topic connects well to critical thinking, spatial thinking, location privacy, and other relevant themes that we need to address in our courses. In these three examples, I illustrate in an article I wrote for Directions Magazine, I focus on why data qual....
The first example describes my mapping of a GPS-collected track in ArcGIS Online. The second example focuses on mapping health data for Rhode Island towns. The last example is entitled "Walking on Water?" - and it has to do with resolution and scale. But I won't spoil it for you - read the article, and then below this essay, I look forward to hearing how you teach about data quality.
In such an environment where so much data is available, is data quality still of concern? I believe that yes, data quality does matter. In fact, because data is so easy to obtain data nowadays, and with the advent of crowdsourcing and cloud-based GIS such as ArcGIS Online, I submit that data quality considerations actually matter now more than ever before. And for those of us who are GIS, STEM, and geography educators, I believe this topic merits inclusion in many courses. In fact, I have found that discussing this topic connects well to critical thinking, spatial thinking, location privacy, and other relevant themes that we need to address in our courses. In these three examples, I illustrate in an article I wrote for Directions Magazine, I focus on why data qual....
The first example describes my mapping of a GPS-collected track in ArcGIS Online. The second example focuses on mapping health data for Rhode Island towns. The last example is entitled "Walking on Water?" - and it has to do with resolution and scale. But I won't spoil it for you - read the article, and then below this essay, I look forward to hearing how you teach about data quality.
Why Data Quality Matters - Now More Than Ever. Examples.
