Definition of Geographical Data
According to International Organization for Standardization (ISO) (2005):
"Data with implicit or explicit reference to a location relative to the Earth's surface."
According to Goodchild (1992):
"Data with location as an inherent property."
According to O'Sullivan and Unwin (2010):
"Quantitative or qualitative information about the physical or human environment, which is associated with a location on the Earth's surface."
According to Longley et al. (2015):
"Data that describes the spatial or temporal characteristics of the Earth's surface or its inhabitants."
Additional Definitions:
According to Maguire (1991):
"Data that describes the real world, including both spatial and non-spatial attributes."
According to Peuquet and Marble (1990):
"Data that contains both geometry and semantics, with semantics being the meaning or interpretation of the data."
References:
- Goodchild, M. F. (1992). Geographical information science. International Journal of Geographical Information Systems, 6(1), 31-45.
- ISO. (2005). ISO 19152:2005 Geographic information - Vocabulary. Geneva, Switzerland: International Organization for Standardization.
- Longley, P. A., Goodchild, M. F., Maguire, D. J., & Rhind, D. W. (2015). Geographic information systems and science. Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons.
- Maguire, D. J. (1991). An overview and definition of GIS. In D. J. Maguire, M. F. Goodchild, & D. W. Rhind (Eds.), Geographical information systems: Principles and applications (Vol. 1, pp. 9-20). Harlow, UK: Longman.
- O'Sullivan, D., & Unwin, D. J. (2010). Geographic information analysis. Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons.
- Peuquet, D. J., & Marble, D. F. (1990). Introductory readings in geographic information systems. Washington, DC: Taylor & Francis.