Definitions

• Accuracy


  Being correct or exact; having no errors
• Annotated


  add notes to (a text or diagram) giving explanation or comment.
• Anomalies


  unusual data which do not fit the general pattern of results
• Cartography

  Making or drawing of maps
• Categories

  groups or classes of things that are similar in some way
• Census


  the official count of a population
• Continous


  without interruption or end
• Deprivation


  Lack of wealth and services. It usually means low standards of living caused by low income, poor health, and low educational qualifications
• Environmental quality survey

  measures different characteristics of a place based on numerical judgements with a simple scoring system
• Equipment

  tools, clothing etc needed to perform a specific task
• Geo-processing


  a framework for processing geographic information gathered by GIS systems
• GIS

  Geographic Information System, A computer system that stores, organizes, analyzes, and displays geographic data.
• Hydrograph


  a graph which shows the the discharge of a river, related to rainfall, over a period of time
• IMD

  Index of Multiple Deprivation. A government measure of how deprived areas are based on factors such as employment, housing and education.
• Mean


  average of the values in data
• Median


  the middle score in a distribution; half the scores are above it and half are below it
• Mode


  The value that occurs most frequently in a given data set.
• Model


  A good example of something that can be copied
• ONS


  Office for National Statistics. An organisation that collects and publishes statistics related to the economy, population and society of the UK.
• Primary data


  First-hand information; fieldwork data that you collect yourself (or as part of a group)
• Qualitative data


  Techniques that don't involve numbers or counting. They are subjective and involve the judgement of the person collecting
• Quantitative data

  Data that can be measured numerically
• Quartiles


  The values that divide the data into four equal parts
• Random sampling

  a sample that fairly represents a population because each member has an equal chance of inclusion
• Range


  the difference between the highest and lowest scores in a set of data
• Reliability


  the extent to which an investigation yields consistent results
• Sample size


  the number of times a measurement is replicated in data collection
• Secondary data


  information that already exists somewhere, having been collected for another purpose
• SMP


  Shoreline Management Plan. An approach which builds on knowledge of the coastal environment and takes account of the wide range of public interest to avoid piecemeal attempts to protect one area at the expense of another
• Stratified sampling


  process that allows a researcher to ensure that the sample represents the population on some criteria
• Systematic sampling


  A procedure in which the selected sampling units are spaced regularly throughout the population; that is, every n'th unit is selected.
• Theory


  An idea that is suggested to explain a fact or event; an opinion or explanation
• Trend


  a general direction in which something is developing or changing
• Validity


  The ability of a test to measure what it is intended to measure