GIS: User Information Needs in Academia

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GIS User Information Needs in Academia

• Mary Ruvane Amanda Henley

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Introduction

• Late 1980s computer technology advances
• Increased use of GIS by specialists
• cartographers, geographers, earth scientists
• 1990s public access to digital spatial data
• government driven
• Academias adoption of GIS

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Project Overview

• Goal Assess use of GIS in Academia (UNC-CH)
• Growth in GIS use Trend
• Spatial data needs User Characteristics
• Information Retrieval Systems - Literacy Levels
• Three phases
• Literature Review/Analysis of 1999 User Survey
• Survey Trend, User Characteristics, Data Needs
• Test selected IR systems

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Guiding Methodology

• Based on Human Computer Interaction (HCI)
• who is the user what are their tasks,
  motivations, skills, level of experience
• Techniques
• Survey Implement(s)
• User Interviews
• Information Retrieval Experiment

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Literature ReviewGIS Data Complexity

• What is a GIS?
• How are GISs being applied in Academia?
• Types of spatial data
• vector, raster - variety, features, attributes
• Data concerns
• scale, accuracy, validity, compatibility, formats

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Literature ReviewAcademic Library Involvement

• ARL GIS Literacy Project 1992
• encourage use of GIS
• provide education
• identify partnerships generate funding
• introduce skills needed to support retrieval of
  data
• Various Approaches Taken
• full service
• hybrid
• self service

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Literature ReviewRole of GIS Academic Education

• Maybe will include as category

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Literature ReviewSources of Spatial Data

• US Federal Agencies 1992 mandate
• USGS, xxxx, xxxx, xxxx
• Online data access user unfriendly
• lat/long, cryptic terminology, unorganized
• Information Library Science opportunity
• audience targeting, cataloguing, IR interfaces,
  transparent integration
• (link to examples Govt clearing house, GNIS,
  University web sites?)

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Literature ReviewUser Characteristics Data
Needs

• Diverse Range of Disciplines
• UNC Geography, City/Regional Planning,
  Anthropology, Health Science
• Elsewhere Business, History, Recreation, Travel
• Skills required
• database management/querying, networking,
  statistics
• Common Data Needs
• unclear????

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Literature ReviewDigital Libraries Spatial
Data IR

• Alexandria Digital Library
• xxxxx
• xxxxx
• xxxxx

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Literature ReviewHuman Computer Interaction

• Understand the User

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Phase I Findings/Summary

• UNC-CH 1999 GIS Needs Activities Survey
• mostly professors/few student responses
• xxxx
• xxxx
• Comparable Research
• 1994 University of GA
• xxxxx

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Phase I Findings (continued)

• User Search Categories
• exploratory
• known item search
• Blah, Blah

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Phase II Way Forward
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Selected Project References