The Geological Survey of Western Australia (GSWA) is dedicated to developing clear and standardised geoscientific vocabularies to improve how its world-class geoscience data is shared and used. This effort follows the FAIR principles: Findable, Accessible, Interoperable, and Reusable, and is a continuous process.
The GSWA Vocabularies have four main goals:
- Uniform Terminology: Ensure consistent use of terms and definitions across GSWA datasets.
- Alignment with Standards: Make sure GSWA terminology matches industry and national standards to improve accessibility.
- Machine-Readable Vocabularies: Provide vocabularies that can be easily read by machines, allowing for smooth data transfer to the cloud under a unified model.
- Improved Findability: Enhance the ability to find data easily.
Over 150 vocabularies, including more than 16,000 individual concepts, have been identified for collection. Each vocabulary follows a Concept Scheme and contains concepts with preferred and alternative names, notations, and definitions.
GSWA experts are helping to compile, review, edit, and validate the vocabulary terms. These vocabularies are registered with the Australian Government Linked Data Working Group and are published on the GSWA VocPrez platform.
The platform is updated regularly as new vocabularies are continually being assembled and published. Feedback is welcome and can be sent to the mailbox in the contact section at the top of this page.
