1.1
Many
organisations rely on spatial information to function effectively. For example,
Governments use spatial information to maintain accurate records of land ownership and
function, as well as for conservation and other purposes; Mining Companies use spatial
information for exploration, mining and conservation purposes; Business uses spatial
information to analyse demographic data for marketing purposes or as a guide for business
expansion.
1.2
The
spatial information used by such organisations has been captured over many years, by many
people of varying competence, using software, methods and procedures that have evolved
over time.
1.3
In
many cases the lineage, quality and suitability of spatial data used to make critical
decisions is unknown.
1.4
The
potential liability that organisations face from capturing, managing, trading in and
utilising spatial data is driving the necessity for organisations to better understand the
quality of their spatial data.
1.5
There
are numerous factors that affect the quality of spatial information. These factors are
often loosely grouped under the generic term of ‘Error’.
Most studies of error in spatial information are still at the research level.
1.6
This
report deals with only one aspect of error in spatial information, i.e. the factors that
influence the positional accuracy, error and
uncertainty in spatial information. It was found that there are many factors that
influence the positional accuracy of a given set of spatial data, and that these factors
are interrelated and have an accumulative effect.
