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Data Acquisition

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29 views2 pages

Data Acquisition

data

Uploaded by

devikarajendran2724
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Data Acquisition

Geographic information system integrates spatial data with attribute data. Spatial data
refers to the data that describes the location of objects and phenomenons. Attribute data on the
other hand refers to the description of the objects and phenomenons.
Acquisition of spatial and attribute data can be classified into two; Primary data
acquisition and Secondary data acquisition.

Primary Data Capture


Primary data capture is a method in which data is collected by means of direct field
observations. In the case of vector data, directly captured data commonly comes from two sources.
They are Global Navigational Satellite System (GNSS) and total station. Total stations are
specialized, primary data capture instruments that measures horizontal and vertical angles, with a
tool to measure the slope distance. It helps us to quickly and accurately derive the topography for a
particular landscape.
GNSS consists of a network of navigation satellites situated around the globe that provides
precise coordinate information for any point on the earth’s surface. These locations can be collected
as individual points or can be linked together to form lines or polygons depending on user
preference. Attribute data such as land-use type, telephone pole number, and river name can be
simultaneously entered by the user. This location and attribute data can then be uploaded to the
GIS for visualization.
GPS is becoming increasingly incorporated into mobile phones now a days. This facilitate
real-time data capture and sharing to the masses. The wide spread availability of this technology
led to a development of crowdsourced data acquisition initiatives. Crowdsourcing is a data
collection method whereby users contribute freely to building spatial databases. This rapidly
expanding methodology is utilized in applications such as Google Earth and Bing Maps.
Raster data obtained via direct capture comes more commonly from remotely sensed
sources. Remotely sensed data offers the advantage of collecting data without any physical contact
with the object being imaged. In addition, huge tracts of land can be covered with little to no
additional time and labour. On the other hand, validation is required for remotely sensed data to
ensure that the sensor is not only operating correctly but properly calibrated to collect the desired
information. Satellites and aerial cameras are the important sources of direct-capture raster data.

Secondary Data Capture


Secondary data capture is an indirect methodology that utilizes the vast amount of existing
geospatial data available in both digital and hard-copy formats. Secondary data are available from a
variety of sources including international agencies, federal governments, state governments,
university websites and commercial websites. Often these data are free of cost.
Vast quantity of secondary sources of data are non-digital in character. In order to use in
GIS, these data has to be converted into a digital format. Three primary methods exist for digitizing
spatial information: two are manual, and one is automated.
Tablet digitizing or Heads down digitizing
In this method, a digitizing tablet and a digitizing puck is used to trace the points, lines and
polygons of a hard-copy map into a computer. The digitizing puck is similar to a multi-button
mouse with a cross hair. The resulting digital file has to be properly georeferenced to ensure that it
will properly align with existing datasets. It is a useful technique because of its ability to accurately
copy maps in poor condition. It is more time consuming than Heads-up digitizing.
Heads-up digitizing or On screen digitizing
This method involves scanning a map or image into a computer. The digitizer then traces
the points, lines and polygons using digitizing software. This method of digitizing has been named
"heads-up" digitizing because the focus of the user is up on the screen. It is also known as “on-
screen” digitizing. It replaced Manual digitizing because of its speed and accuracy. It is, however,
limited to using scans of high quality maps and images.
The automated method of secondary data capture requires the user to scan a paper map and
vectorize the information therein. This vectorization method typically requires a specific software
package that can convert a raster scan to vector lines. This requires a very high-resolution, clean
scanned imagery. If the image is not clean, all the imperfections on the map will likely be converted
to false points/lines/polygons in the digital version. This method is much quicker than the manual
digitizing methods and may be the best option if time is a limiting factor. It is often followed by a
heads-up digitizing session to edit any errors that occurred during automation.
The final secondary data capture method worth noting is the use of information from
reports and documents. Through this method, one enters information from reports and documents
into the attribute table of an existing, digital GIS file. For example, new information specific to
census tracts may become available following a scientific study. The GIS user simply needs to
download the existing GIS file of census tracts and begin entering the study’s report/document
information directly into the attribute table. If the data tables are available digitally, the use of the
“join” and “relate” functions in a GIS are often extremely helpful as they will automate much of the
data entry effort.

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