Geocoding from postal codes: what data service providers need to know about PCCF and PCCF+

Postal codes are part of nearly every administrative and research data set, and postal code conversion using PCCF or PCCF+ and related tools is now the usual way of exploiting their rather impressive potential. The resulting small area geography and/or latitude-longitude coordinates have a wide variety of possible uses, even where individual measures of SES are also available on a data set. Familiarity with the methods (tools and techniques), as well as the strengths and limitations of dealing with postal coded data, will allow data service providers to help users to more meaningfully exploit their potential.