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As
part of the author's PhD studies, attempts were made to compare
and merge the results of several field survey projects which
have taken place in the Pontine plain (south Lazio, Italy)
since the early 1980s. For most regional studies, field surveys
are the only source of diachronic information about settlement
and land use. It was found that even basic comparisons between
quantitative aspects of field surveys conducted by the same
team but during different campaigns are extraordinarily difficult
to make. Ensuring the compatibility of field survey methodology
and results must therefore become a major international research
aim. The paper presents the author's attempts to compare field
survey data sets, the reasons for their failure, and potential
remedies.
Key words: field survey methods, data compatibility, standards
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