Secondary Data
A
Kingston University Geography, Geology and Environment Guide
David Kidd, Department of Geography, Geology and the Environment, Kingston University, May 2020.
Secondary data is data collected by someone else for another purpose,
rather than being collected yourself.
A huge amount of secondary data (and
documents that contain useful data) are available online. These data are varied
in subject, scale and degree of aggregation, geographical coverage, as well as
their completeness, quality, permitted usage and file format the data is
supplied in. The ability to locate, understand, evaluate secondary data, and
then to undertake suitable analysis and visualisation to address a particular
question, is an essential practical and academic skill known as ‘data
literacy’. This document provides a brief introduction to secondary data and
information resources for students of geography and environmental science.
Introduction
The amount and variety of data available for an
area of interest depends on how large it is and where it is in the world. In
general, more small-scale ‘global data’ is available, than large scale ‘local’
data, however, local data is available for certain areas (the UK in particular
through academic licensing). Some global datasets are now of sufficient
resolution that they may be used for regional or even local application, but always
consider error as it may be significant.
The Kingston
GGE List of Secondary Data Sources is a collation of some secondary data
sets and other information resources that are regularly used by GGE students
for their assignments and dissertations. Be aware that there is a lot more
data available on the WWW, so do use search engines to look for other data if
is not listed.
Before using any data set you must evaluate whether
it is ‘fit-for-purpose’ to be used to
answer your question (aim). However,
to answer this, you must first specify your ‘data needs’ which are determined
by the question(s) being asked of the data, geographical area of interest, and
the analytical approaches to be employed – these should be outlined in your
project proposal. Once you have a good understanding of your data needs then
you can begin to look for data that meets your criteria.
When you collect primary data you have control
(within your resource limits) over what data is collected, where and how. You
have no such control over secondary data, so can only work with the materials
(data) that are available. This may result in a mismatch between data
requirements and data availability.
If you cannot find the exact data you need, then
you should consider whether you could make what is required from the data that
is available? For example, I may have to create a UK data set I might need to
combine separate data for England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. If
you are going to combine or analyse data from different sources always consider
their relative geographical scale. In general, ‘down-scaling’ data to the lower
is simpler and more appropriate than ‘up-scaling’ to higher resolutions.
You may also find that the data is sufficient to
partially, but not entirely, address your aim. Whether you can do enough for
your dissertation will depend on how much possible, so you are advised to talk
to your supervisor if this is a concern.
When evaluating data, be flexible and consider
whether you could adapt your aim and methodology to the data. Perhaps data is
available for you to ask the same question of a different organism,
organisation or place; or, maybe it could be answered at a continental or
global scale, but not the scale of regions within a country? Try and think
laterally, ask yourself, ‘what questions
close to your original aim are answerable with the available data?’
Ultimately the ‘fitness-for-purpose’ of the data
you locate is judged on the following in relation to the aim and method:
- covers
the area of interest;
- extends
over the required time period;
- has
the required attributes;
- is
sufficiently complete, with known bias and error;
- the
data format it is supplied in (e.g. csv, shapefile, NetCDF, Web API);
- the
spatial, temporal and attribute resolution;
- its
provenance (who collected it, for what purpose and how); and
- if the data license permits the intended use.
The Data List
The Secondary Data List contains links to approximately
200 secondary data and information resources that may be of use in assignments and dissertations.
- The list is divided by topic, but do look across topics as many sources are cross-disciplinary.
- Look across scales, perhaps there is a high-resolution global data that can be clipped to your local area?
- The list is biased towards the Kingston/Surrey, London, the UK and global sources.
- A lot of the resources relate to GIS data, but there are also sites with other quantitative and qualitative data including surveys of public opinion.
- Always remember that there is a lot more data available that listed here. Use Internet search engines and Data Portals (e.g. data.gov.uk) to find other data that might be more appropriate for your aim.
If know of any resources that you think should be
added to this list then please email them to David Kidd (david.kidd@kingston.ac.uk).
1.
General
1.1.
Data
from publications. Some journals require researchers to deposit their
data in a data repository or as appendices to the publication as a condition of
publication. If data is archived, then this will be detailed in the publication
(or online page for the paper). The Dryad
repository was set up to archive biological data sets, but is open for use by
other communities as well. Figshare
has a wide set of users and varied content that includes unpublshed figures and
conference posters.
1.2.
The London Datastore (Mayor
of London) supplies a very wide range of information and data on the capital.
Look here first!
1.3.
UKMap a modern, highly detailed, feature-rich mapping
database of Greater London. Its unique, innovative design offers users a
flexible choice of integrated map features within a single geographic
information source. Available through Digimap Piolet.
1.9.
SCAR maintain
the Antarctic
Digital Database Map Viewer that has metadata links to data
sources.
1.10. Credo Research
Encyclopaedia – search for general information on a topic across
encyclopaedia and other reference books.
1.11. ESRI Living Planet and ESRI Online data.
ESRI provide a wide range of data through their Living Atlas project as well as data
published by ESRI Online users. Use the three dots on the right of a data set
to open it in ESRI Online or ArcGIS desktop. Layers can also be added directly
to ArcGIS Desktop or ArcGIS Pro.
2.
Basemaps
and Places
2.1.
The Ordnance
Survey supplies digital maps at scales from 1:1250 to
1:50,000. OS Open Data can be
directly downloaded, additional data (e.g. large-scale maps) can be downloaded
from Digimap.
Digimap also provides access to historical OS maps allowing you to see change
through time.
2.2.
OS Code-Point Open locates
all Great Britain (not NI) postcodes as point locations. The geographical area
covered by each postcode is a commercial product, however OpenDoorLogistics
provide a free Reconstructed UK postcode boundaries dataset.
2.3.
The OS Points of Interest® dataset
is the most comprehensive, location-based directory of all public and
privately-owned businesses, education and leisure services in
Britain. Available through Digimap.
2.4.
OpenStreetMap (OSM) is a crowd-sourced effort to create a open
global street level mapping. Shapefiles of OSM data can
be downloaded from various sites. Alternatively, the OSM pbf format can be
opened directly in ArcGIS/ArcPro with the ESRI Interoperability Extension (request
a licence through the KU Service Desk Portal).
2.5.
Natural Earth is
a global public domain map dataset of human and natural features available
at 1:10m, 1:50m, and 1:110 million scales. Suitable for country to global scale
maps. Vector and raster layers.
3.
Elevation
and Bathymetry
3.5.
The General Bathymetric Chart of the
Oceans is a 15-arc second global elevation and bathymetry
model.
3.6.
Open
Topography is a data sharing application for elevation data sets.
Mostly US, but elsewhere as well.
4.
Aerial
Photography and Satellite Imagery
4.1.
Aerial
Digimap provides access to some of the highest quality aerial
photography available for Great Britain.
4.2.
Britain from Above has
images from the Aerofilms collection. The collection includes 1.26 million
negatives and more than 2000 photograph albums dating from 1919 to 2006.
4.5.
The USGS EarthExplorer provides
access to wide range of satellite imagery, elevation models and land use data.
4.7.
The Copernicus
Open Access Hub provides free and open access to Sentinel-1,
Sentinel-2, Sentinel-3 and Sentinel-5P products.
5.
Population,
Demographics and Social Sciences
5.1.
The UK 2001 and 2011 Census are available
through Infuse.
You must download the attributes you want and their census geographies separately
and then join them together in your GIS.
5.3.
I-CeM provides access to
standardised and integrated historical census microdata for Great Britain 1851
to 1911
5.6.
UK
Data Service provides access to a wide range of social and economic
data sets, including surveys.
5.7.
The UK
Data Archive is home to the UK's largest collection of social,
economic and population data.
5.9.
IBSS:
International Bibliography of the Social Sciences. Discover
interdisciplinary research’ anthropology, economics, politics, and sociology
6.
Cultural
Artefacts
6.1.
Culture
Grid is the closest thing the UK has to a national aggregator for
museum collections information. It brings together three million object records
from over a hundred collections, and makes them available to re-use in more
interesting ways elsewhere.
6.2.
English Heritage provide
data on Listed Buildings, Scheduled Monuments, Battlefields and other protected
cultural assets.
7.
Environment
and Biodiversity
7.2.
MAGIC is DEFRA's portal onto geographic
information about the natural environment from across UK government. The
information covers rural, urban, coastal and marine environments across Great
Britain. It is presented in an interactive map which can be explored using a
standard web browser. Links are provided to the sources of data.
7.5.
The NBN is a portal to UK
species distribution records collected by many different organisations.
7.7.
The CEDA Archive is the
Natural Environment Research Council's Data Repository for Atmospheric Science
and Earth Observation data.
7.8.
Environment Agency river and flood maps
and more available through data.gov.uk.
The EA also hosts the Water Quality Archive.
7.10. The Center for Ecology and
Hydrology is a UK Natural Environment Research Council research
organisation that provides data on terrestrial and freshwater environments.
7.11. Natural
England is the body that oversees UK natural environment
conservation designations, schemes and the National Historic Landscape
Characterisation.
7.13. ESPON have several datasets concerning the
extent and characteristic of urban areas in Europe.
7.15. Protected Planet is the most up to date and complete
source of information on protected areas. Updated monthly, it is managed by the
United Nations Environment World Conservation Monitoring Centre (UNEP-WCMC)
with support from IUCN and its World Commission on Protected Areas.
7.16. The Environmental
Data Explorer is the authoritative source for data sets used by
UNEP and its partners in the Outlook (GEO) report and other assessments.
More than 500 different variables, as well national, subregional, regional and
global statistics or as geospatial data sets (maps), covering themes like
Freshwater, Population, Forests, Emissions, Climate, Disasters, Health and GDP.
Display them on-the-fly as maps, graphs, data tables or download the data in
different formats.
7.18. Global Forest Watch provide a viewer on to
forest cover and a lot related global data including land use and biodiversity.
7.22. The London Tree Map is an
interactive map of >75,000 of the estimated 8 million trees in London.
Mostly street trees and some in parks.
7.23. The
USGS HydroSHEDs project supplies global
hydrological data and models derived from the 90m global SRTM elevation model.
7.25. The Atlas of the Biosphere is
a collection of global maps and data sets concerning global land use,
ecosystems, water resources and human impact.
7.28. GBIF is
a global portal onto more than 1.3 billion species records supplied by museums
and other publishers.
7.32. Living Planet Index – a database of species population records used to
calculate change in global biodiversity.
7.33. Google Earth Engine
is a free cloud-based environment that combines a multi-petabyte catalog of
satellite imagery and geospatial datasets with planetary-scale analysis
capabilities and makes it available for scientists, researchers, and developers
to detect changes, map trends, and quantify differences on the Earth's surface.
7.34. NERC
Earth Observation Data Acquisition & Analysis Service. Data from the latest satellite passes
from a number of sensors such as OLCI, VIIRS and AVHRR are downloaded each day
and processed into a range of products including sea surface temperature.
8.
Weather
and Climate
8.1.
WorldClim is a set of global
gridded climate layers with a spatial resolution of about 1 km2. It also has some future and past
(Mid-Holocene and the Last Glacial Maximum) climate models.
8.2.
Andreas Hamann provides a wide range of
climate and derived variables aggregated to various temporal units for North
America, South America, and Europe gridded at a resolution of 1km-4km.
8.3.
UEA Climate Research Unit publish
palaeoclimate records and future and past climate simulation models.
8.4.
Climate change scenarios can be downloaded in
GIS formats from the US National Center for Atmospheric
Research (NCAR).
9.
Geosciences
9.1.
A
1:625,000 scale geological map of the UK and some other spatial
data sets are freely available from the British Geological Survey.
The Geology of Britain Viewer provides
view only access to BGS 1:50,000 geological maps.
9.4.
OneGeology is a community based effort to
create a global geological map with links to data sources.
10.
Hazards,
Conflict, Disaster Management and the Emergency Services
10.1. Download
data on crime
and policing, the Fire Service (via
data.gov.uk) and Ambulance call outs (via
data.gov.uk).
10.3. NOAA NCEI/WDS Global Significant Earthquake
Database, 2150 BC to Present with damage information.
10.5. The UNISDR
Global Risk Data Platform is a multi-agency effort to share
spatial data information on global risk from natural hazards. Users can
visualise, download or extract data on past hazardous events, human &
economical hazard exposure and risk from natural hazards. It covers tropical
cyclones and related storm surges, drought, earthquakes, biomass fires, floods,
landslides, tsunamis and volcanic eruptions.
10.6. EM-DAT provides
information on the human impact of disasters, such as the number of people
killed, injured or affected, as well as economic damage estimates and
disaster-specific international aid contributions.
11.
Food
and Health
11.1. EarthStat serves
geographic data sets that help solve the grand challenge of feeding a growing
global population while reducing agriculture’s impact on the environment.
11.2. The UN Food and Agriculture Organisation Geonetwork portal
provides access to many global data sets.
12.
Transport
12.3. A
global map of Travel time to major cities is
provided by the European Commission's Joint Research Center.
13.
Energy
14.
Historical
14.1. A
Vision of Britain through Time provides an interface onto UK
historical records, administrative areas, population statistics and other
cultural information.
14.3. ConnectedHistories
(British History Sources 1500-1900) brings together a range of digital
resources related to early modern and nineteenth century Britain with a single
federated search that allows sophisticated searching of names, places and dates.
14.5. Layers
of London is a map-based history website developed by the
Institute of Historical Research. Users can access free historic maps of London
and contribute stories, memories and histories to create a social history
resource about their area.
15.
Government and Economics
15.1. Data.gov.uk is
the main portal onto UK government information and data, some of which is
spatial. It is not the friendliest system so do persevere.
15.2. The
Combined
Online Information System (COINS) is a database about UK Government
expenditure, collecting financial data from across the public sector, but not
down to transaction level.
15.3. Kingston
Data allows you to explore information about the London Borough
of Kingston upon Thames aggregated to different administrative units. View
only, no download.
15.5. The World Bank Data Catalog provide a
variety of data on different countries of economic relevance (power, transport,
soils, water, etc.).
15.6. IBISWorld: Industrial and market data.
15.7. International Monetary Fund
supply global economic data and forecasts.
15.8. Mintel: Consumer data and market research and analysis
15.9. Thomson ONE: Company and share price data; mergers
and acquisitions, new issues, repurchases.
15.10. UN Conference on Trade and Development
publish international development and foreign direct investment reports.
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