What is Geocoding? Geocoding is term used to describe the act of address matching. Geocoding is the process of finding a geographic location (x, y point) for an address (such as street number and name, city, state, and ZIP Code) on a map. Geocoding is based off the typical address scheme for the US, in which one side of the street contains even house numbers while the other side of the street contains odd house numbers.
The geocoding process uses an algorithm to find the geographic location of addresses. First, a street segment is identified using the zip code and street name. Next, the geographic location of the address is matched using the building number to determine how far down the street and on which side of the street the building is located.
Geocoding Accuracy The locational accuracy of geocoded addresses may vary from urban to rural areas due to the algorithm used to generate the geographic locations of addresses. The algorithm assumes that the size of parcels are equivalent along a road route. This assumption tends to be more consistent in urban areas, where the size of parcels vary less than in rural areas. Consequently, the results of geocoded addresses in urban areas are usually more reliable than those in rural areas.
For example, the locational accuracy of rural addresses can be slightly off because some parcels along a rural route may be 15 acres while others may be 2.5 acres, but the geocoding algorithm assumes that the addresses are distributed evenly along the route.
A note about data scale:
Scale is an important factor in data usage. Certain scale datasets are not suitable for some project, analysis, or modeling purposes. Please be sure you are using the best available data.
1:24000 scale datasets are recommended for projects that are at the county level. 1:24000 data should NOT be used for high accuracy base mapping such as property parcel boundaries. 1:100000 scale datasets are recommended for projects that are at the multi-county or regional level. 1:125000 scale datasets are recommended for projects that are at the regional or state level or larger.
Vector datasets with no defined scale or accuracy should be considered suspect. Make sure you are familiar with your data before using it for projects or analysis. Every effort has been made to supply the user with data documentation. For additional information, see the References section and the Data Source Contact section of this documentation. For more information regarding scale and accuracy, see our webpage at: <http://geoplan.ufl.edu/education.html>
Process Steps for Yellow Pages Social Service Oriented Locations:
-Searched for social service oriented addresses in www.yellowpages.com -Selected social service oriented addresses under following categories:
Child Care Day Care Centers & Nurseries Nursery Schools Preschool Centers Adoption Services Crisis Intervention Centers Marriage, Child, Family and Indiviudal Counselors Service Leagues Social Workers
Process Steps for Super Pages Social Service Oriented Locations:
-Searched for social service oriented addresses in www.superpages.com -Selected social service oriented addresses under following categories:
Abortion Alternatives Information and Services Abortion Clinics Abortion Information and Referral Services Abuse Information and Treatment Adolescent Counselors Adoption Agencies and Services Adult and Elderly Sitting Service Adult Care Adult Centers Adult Foster Care Adult Sitting Assisted Living Facilities Babysitters Bereavement Counselors Biblical Counseling Birth Control & Family Planning Information Boys Towns Child Abuse Information and Services Child Abuse Treatment Centers Child and Adolescent Guidance Counseling Child Care Agencies Child Care Consultants Child Care Information and Referral Service Child Development Centers Montessori Schools Child Foster Care Child Support Collection and Enforcement Child Therapists Childrens Homes Childrens Services Organizations Christian Counselors Civic Clubs and Organizations Clinical Social Workers Community Action Agencies Community Centers Community Homes Community Service Agencies Community Services Community Services Information and Referral Counseling Counseling Services County Government Offices Crisis Centers Crisis Intervention Crisis Intervention Services Disabled and Elderly Home Health Care Disaster Services Divorce Counseling Domestic Violence and Eating Disorders Counseling Domestic Violence Counseling Eating Disorder Counseling Elder Care Family Service Agencies Food Banks Foster Care Geriatric Residential Facilities Government Offices Group Homes Group Homes and Institutions Handicapped Services Developmental Disabilities Handicapped Services Persons with Disabilities Organizations Health Agencies Health and Welfare Agencies Helping Hand Services Home Child Care Homeless Centers and Housing Assistance Housing Assistance Individual and Faimily Service Organizations Individual Counseling Marriage and Family Counseling Maternity Homes Nannies Parenting Information and Education Psychiatric Social Workers Public Health and Safety Religious Counseling Services Residential Care Facilities Retirement and Life Care Centers Senior Citizens Sexual Abuse Counseling Sexual Harassment Counseling Shelters Social and human Information Service Associations Social and Human Service Information Services Social and Human Service Organizations Social Security Services/Social Service Associations Social Workers State Government Offices Stress Management Counseling Substance Abuse Women's Crisis Intervention Services Youth Centers Youth Service Organizations
Process Steps for FL Dept of Children and Families Customer Service Centers -Accessed address information from <http://www.dcf.state.fl.us/ess/>
Process Steps for Veterans Organizations -Searched for veterans services in www.superpages.com -Accessed information on Veterans Service Organizations from the Florida Department of Veterans Affairs -<http://www.floridavets.org/organization/commanders.asp> -Accessed information on Veterans Service Offices from <http://www.floridavets.org/organization/where.asp#regional>
Process Steps for Geocoding -All addresses from sections above were copied and pasted into a text file, which was then formatted so that it could be imported into Excel and converted to a database file format. -The addresses were geocoded against TeleAtlas 2007 Roads -Shapefile was created using FGDL Albers HPGN map projection (See "Map Projection Parameters" below).
Process Steps for Deleting Duplicates -Calculated XY coordinates for all records -Deleted duplicates where Name and XY coordinates were the same -Deleted duplicates where Address and XY coordinates were the same -Deleted duplicates where Address and Name were the same
Some information from the 2005 dataset was retained -Selected from the 2005 dataset where xys did not match. -Re-geocoded to TeleAtlas Roads 2007 -Deleted where same name and similar address. -Marked duplicates where X and Y coordinates matched. -Deleted records that represented the same location -Some records with identical XYs were kept if they represented two different establishments
Information from the 2005 geocoded data set was retained; this data was retained for two reasons:
1. The Yellow Pages and Super Pages Online are paid advertising sites, some facilities may wish to discontinue their advertising with those companies but they may still exist at that address/location (i.e. Churches etc). 2. The address might have changed slightly (i.e. suite number, building number, or zip code)
Because facilities in reasons one and two may still exist in the real world all the 2005 geocoded features that were not reproduced in the 2008 geocode update were re-geocoded against the 2007 TeleAtlas roads dataset. These facilities were then added to the 2005 geocoded dataset. Facilities that are part of this scenario are represented with a value of 'NIN' (Not In New) in the field called FLAG.
Added Fields -Added DESCRIPT field based on TYPE -Added FLAG field to denote records from 2005 dataset -Added UPDATE_DAY field -Added Socio-Cultural specific data fields OPERATING, OP_CLASS, YR_BUILT, COMMON_USE -Added OLD_AUTOID field based on AUTOID from 2005 dataset -Added AUTOID field based on FID + 1 -Added FGDLAQDATE based on data of last data aquisition (5/01/08) -For NIN records from old dataset 9/01/2005 was used as aquisition date