Georeferencing in MaPSTeDI
georeference - A location in geographic space converted into computer readable form. This usually means making a digital record of the point's coordinates.1
Georeferencing (also called geocoding) is the process whereby a set of data is assigned geographic coordinates which link it to a geographic location on a map. For the purposes of MaPSTeDI, these geographic coordinates are based on the locality information contained in each museum specimen record. These geographic coordinates can then be used to analyze the collection data spatially. Combined with the date the record was collected, georeferencing can enable a researcher using MaPSTeDI to perform spatio-temporal analysis upon on a particular collection or subset of a collection.
Georeferencing is the essential first step in MaPSTeDI, providing the data that will be eventually analyzed spatially and temporally on the MaPSTeDI website. Georeferencing for MaPSTeDI is taking place simutaneously at the University of Colorado Museum, Denver Botanic Gardens, and Denver Museum of Nature and Science. Between the three institutions, over 280,000 records from 16 different collections are being georeferenced. Most of the work is being done by undergraduate students, interns, and volunteers. View the current progress in georeferencing the collections.
MaPSTeDI has defined georeferencing standards that it expects institutions who participate in the project to follow. These standards are laid out in the MaPSTeDI Georeferencing Protocols. Further instruction on georeferencing methods can be found in the Guide to Georeferencing. The Guide to Georeferencing outlines the process of georeferencing from beginning to end. Included are solutions to problems encountered while georeferencing, examples of georeferenced localities, explanation of MaPSTeDI's methodology, and alternative methods of georeferencing. MaPSTeDI's list of Georeferencing Resources provides institutions with a head start on finding regional and national sources for georeferencing-related information.
1 Clarke, K.C., 1999, Getting Stated with Geographic Information Systems, 2nd ed.
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