1 Challenges in Geocoding Socially-Generated Data

An investigation into the difficulties facing researchers attempting to geocode data derived from social networking sites for analysis is presented. A number of issues are identified that arise from the differing levels of detail with which people describe their location, and from the reliance on place-names, which do not necessarily constitute unique identifiers for a given location. These issues include incorrectly locating data due to place name ambiguity, and the introduction of false hotspots into the data due to differing levels of detail in location data. A methodology is therefore presented in order to address these issues, and as such improve the quality and meaning of spatial analysis based upon geocoded socially-generated data, as well as other data where location information is reliant upon place names at a non-specific level of detail. The impact of this methodology is then illustrated with a simple analysis, allowing comparison between data that has and has not been ‘processed ’ in the suggested manner