Semantic Analysis of Categorical Metadata to Search for Geographic Information

The paper proposes a semantic-based approach to analyse geographic metadata during the information search activity. In particular, the analysis of categorical attributes of metadata is considered. Techniques and concepts of Information Visualisation and ontology are analysed and exploited to facilitate the navigation in unfamiliar spaces of geographic data. The approach underlies how semantic information could be exploited by using information visualization techniques to provide the knowledge for the formulation of search criteria.