The Geo-Refer Projects
The Geo-Refer project involves the creation and deployment of a digital library of learning resources targeted at social scientists whose primary discipline is not geography, but whose research requires them to use and link geographically referenced data. Geographical location provides a key mechanism for linkage between sources, for example between individual-level survey responses or health records and existing secondary data such as that provided by the census of population. Further examples include sets of data for incompatible areal units and primary data collection using the global positioning system.
These online learning resources are highly modular and organized into four classes: concepts, methodology, data and exemplar applications. They are designed to be reusable, updatable, and conform to the main educational technology interoperability standards. The site features a user profile form which assists users to profile their own learning needs and returns customised tutorial sequences through the four classes of resources relevant to their own work, accompanied by relevant examples. In addition to authoring these online resources, the project team has also delivered geographical referencing workshops in various locations to assist researchers from a range of disciplines with their georeferencing tasks.