Modifiable areal unit problem
- Modifiable areal unit problem
-
The modifiable areal unit problem (MAUP) is a source of statistical bias that can radically affect the results of statistical hypothesis tests. It affects results when point-based measures of spatial phenomena (e.g., population density) are aggregated into districts. The resulting summary values (e.g., totals, rates, proportions) are influenced by the choice of district boundaries. For example, census data may be aggregated into census enumeration districts, or postcode areas, or police precincts, or any other spatial partition (thus, the 'areal units' are 'modifiable'). The issue was discovered in 1934[1] and described in detail by Openshaw (1984), who lamented that "the areal units (zonal objects) used in many geographical studies are arbitrary, modifiable, and subject to the whims and fancies of whoever is doing, or did, the aggregating.".[2]
See also
- General topics
- Specific applications
Notes
- ^ Gehlke and Biehl (1934)
- ^ Openshaw (1984, p. 3)
References
- Cressie, N. (1996). "Change of Support and the Modifiable Areal Unit Problem." Geographical Systems, 3:159-180.
- Gehlke, C. and Biehl, H. (1934). Certain effects of grouping upon the size of the correlation coefficient in census tract material. Journal of the American Statistical Association Supplement, 29, 169–170. doi:10.2307/2277827
- Holt D, Steel D, Tranmer M, Wrigley N. (1996). "Aggregation and ecological effects in geographically based data." Geographical Analysis 28:244–261.
- Openshaw, S. (1984). The Modifiable Areal Unit Problem. Norwich: Geo Books. ISBN 0-86094-134-5.
- Unwin, D. J. (1996). "GIS, spatial analysis and spatial statistics." Progress in Human Geography. 20: 540-551.
Categories:
- Bias
- Geographic information systems
- Spatial data analysis
Wikimedia Foundation.
2010.
Look at other dictionaries:
Spatial analysis — In statistics, spatial analysis or spatial statistics includes any of the formal techniques which study entities using their topological, geometric, or geographic properties. The phrase properly refers to a variety of techniques, many still in… … Wikipedia
Dasymetrische Kartierung — Choroplethenkarte der Bevölkerungsdichte von Podlachien[1] … Deutsch Wikipedia
Fouille de données spatiales — Exploration de données Articles principaux Exploration de données Fouille de données spatiales Fouille du web Fouille de flots de données Fouille de textes … Wikipédia en Français
Geostatistics — evolved in mineral exploration and mining of minerals, ores, and coals. It is currently applied in disciplines such as petroleum geology, hydrogeology, hydrology, meteorology, oceanography, geochemistry, geography, forestry, environmental control … Wikipedia
geography — /jee og reuh fee/, n., pl. geographies. 1. the science dealing with the areal differentiation of the earth s surface, as shown in the character, arrangement, and interrelations over the world of such elements as climate, elevation, soil,… … Universalium
List of statistics topics — Please add any Wikipedia articles related to statistics that are not already on this list.The Related changes link in the margin of this page (below search) leads to a list of the most recent changes to the articles listed below. To see the most… … Wikipedia
Compartmental models in epidemiology — In order to model the progress of an epidemic in a large population, comprising many different individuals in various fields, the population diversity must be reduced to a few key characteristics which are relevant to the infection under… … Wikipedia
Statistical hypothesis testing — This article is about frequentist hypothesis testing which is taught in introductory statistics. For Bayesian hypothesis testing, see Bayesian inference. A statistical hypothesis test is a method of making decisions using data, whether from a… … Wikipedia
Epidemiology — For the Community episode, see Epidemiology (Community). Epidemiology is the study of health event, health characteristic, or health determinant patterns in a population. It is the cornerstone method of public health research, and helps inform… … Wikipedia
Representation theory — This article is about the theory of representations of algebraic structures by linear transformations and matrices. For the more general notion of representations throughout mathematics, see representation (mathematics). Representation theory is… … Wikipedia
