The new search technology helps overcome this problem by finding all spatial data describing a given area regardless of the data set the data is held in or the naming and spatial referencing conventions used for that data set. The download service will automatically extract and prepare the data the user requires and output a file suitable for downloading to the users machine. In addition to these two systems a Java TM based help system will enable users to consult a dictionary of spatial data terms. The next stage of the project is to create an expanding sustainable data resource that will promote reuse of data. As data sets are used their users add value to them.
Manipulated data is as valuable as raw data.
An academic may carry out a piece of research utilising a digital data set and disseminate their findings by reporting them in an academic paper. The academic paper represents a reusable piece of knowledge which can be consulted and built upon by others, yet the derived data set tends to be discarded at the end of a piece of work. The aim is to link user groups to resources so that the knowledge and experience brought to bear and developed in the use of data are fed back into the base resource for others to use. The project will provide exemplars and links to bodies of theory, as well as derived data. The project will create the technological framework needed to catalogue derived data and materials.