Data Anomalies

As the Scottish Address Directory utilises data sources which were created and are maintained to meet the needs of external organisations, not ours, NRS acknowledge that there are anomalies within SAD.  Some examples of these are;

• incorrect matches of address records between the OSG and PAF
• grid coordinates errors putting the building in the wrong position
• incorrect classification of the address (i.e. residential when it is in fact commercial)
• duplication of addresses
• vacant properties which are not occupied as residential or a business

There is an ongoing programme of quality assurance of the data taking place to highlight and fix these anomalies, where possible.  This includes identifying incorrect grid coordinates through the postcode boundary work, independent matching of OSG and PAF to verify those held on AddressBase and cleaning of classifications by cross-referencing with other data sources.  A full report of quality assurance work is available in our SAD Quality Assurance document (PDF 357 KB)

NRS also work closely with data suppliers, Ordnance Survey and Improvement Service to report any anomalies and to understand how best to use the address data available.