geoXwalk Phase V
The geoXwalk Gazetteer project was originally funded under the Infrastructure programme. The main aim was to develop a demonstrator gazetteer service for the purpose of enhancing geographic searching within the JISC Information Environment.
The rationale behind the project is that there is currently no unified entry point to assist in geographic searching within the existing academic network as each information provider /service adopts different geographic coding conventions (some use postcodes, others place names, some grid references etc.)
The final Phase V of the project will allow JISC to assess its readiness for transition to service.
It will concentrate on:
Geoparser Technical Development. The purpose of this activity is to take the GeoParser from a project demonstrator to a service-ready application which can be presented as a service distinct from, but usable in conjunction with, GeoCrossWalk.
Scoping Study into expansion of geographic coverage. The core of the GeoCrossWalk gazetteer database is built from Ordinance Survey data and as such its geographical coverage is limited to Great Britain. Although geo-enabling the GB related resources within the JISC IE is a significant step forward, many JISC services hold resources from beyond GB, e.g. Northern Ireland, Eire, continental Europe and global datasets. A scoping study is proposed which will investigate
Re-Market Geocrosswalk as a suite of 'added value' API's: e.g. Reference Gazetteer, Query Interface, Geoparser and Bureau Services.
Revised version of the Final Report