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GTECH 201
Lecture 03Data measurements
Data errors
Measurement
The process of obtaining scores for each element for each variable
This can take on a variety of forms – Producing scores (and distributions) of
a widely varying nature The measurement of raw variables
Derived variables and measurement
Measurement of the time component
Measurement of the space component
Measurement of Raw Variables
Primary and secondary data; control over the measurement process
Operational definitions of the measurement process
Highly varied terminology for the different levels of measurement
Derived Variables and Measurement
Why not use raw variables?
Derived variables can be considered as a ratio (or percent or index) of two numbers – the numerator and the denominator (in the ratio a/b, a is the numerator, b is the denominator)
Measurement of the Time
and Space Components Time is a continuous variable
Date, time and datetime
Space is a continuous variable
(x,y) and (x,y,z) location measurement
Distance and bearing alternative
Measurement Scales
Nominal
Ordinal
Interval
Ratio
Most statistical texts follow the original 4-fold measurement structure attributed to a chap called Stevens, written up in 1946:
Geographical Data
Dayta or darta
Data sets used by “geographers”
Geographic vs. spatial data
3 Quick Questions: What would a ‘piece of data’ look
like? Must data consist of numbers? What would a data set look like?
3 Approaches to Data
Definitions
Statistical analysis
Spatial analysis
Data base structures (IT)
The terminology used in handling data sets (in geography) stems from three different sources.
It is now somewhat of a mix of the three.
Some Basic Definitions Element (= observation = entity) – the smallest (measurable) unit Population (of elements) (approximately equal to universe) – the totality of all
elements. May be finite or infinite, with size known or unknown Sample – a subset of the population Variable (= attribute) – a characteristic of the element in which we are interested Data score (or simply datum/data) – an individual value for an element for a variable Data distribution – a set of scores for a variable Data set – an assemblage of related data distributions for a set of elements
Things We Can Do With Data
Data display – a display of a data distribution in the form of a table, graph or map
Data analysis – the analysis of data distributions (including statistical analysis)
Data storage and retrieval – just as the name implies (anything from sheets of paper in a folder to a computer file)
Data Structure
Measurement is the process of obtaining scores for an element
Each element will have an infinite number of characteristics, the relevant ones of which will be measured (the variables or attributes)
The element will also occupy a locational position in time and space; sometimes this position is important, sometimes it is not
Geographic Data Structure
A generalized data structure for each element is:
The data structure that results can be presented (stored) in a data matrix, where the columns are the variables (with or without the temporal and spatial location), and the rows are the elements
{ (var1, var2, ….., vark), (temporal location), (spatial location) }
Introduction to MS Excel
Opening screen
Typical look of an Excel spreadsheet
User Interface Elements Title bar
Menu bar
Toolbars Standard toolbar Formatting toolbar Formula bar Status bar
Worksheets
Name Box
Selecting Cells
Entering and Editing Data Entering Data
Editing Data F2 Double-click Formula
Formatting Text Just as in MS Word
Alignment Bold, italics, underline
Font color
Column Width
Choose Format > Column > Width
Drag cursor on separation line
Double click on separation line
Holding left mouse pressed
Moving to a New Worksheet
Mathematical Calculations Cell arithmetic
AutoSum
Function button
Functions
Function categories
Function wizard
Formatting Numbers
Choose Format > Cells Before
Toolbar
After
Deleting Rows and Columns
Creating Borders
Choose Format > Cells
Border icon on toolbar
Merge and Center
Icon on Formatting toolbar
Autofill
Printing Page setup or Print preview
Creating Charts Step 1 - select the data that you want
charted
Step 2 – pull-up chart the wizard
Modifying Charts
Change size and position
Modify other characteristics
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