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Automating and utilizing equal-distribution data classification

Data classification, i.e., organising data items in groups (classes), is a general technique widely used in data visualisation and cartography, in particular, for creation of choropleth maps. Conventionally, data are classified by dividing the data range into intervals and assigning the same symbol or colour to all data falling within an interval. For instance, the intervals may be of the same length or may include the same number of data items. We propose a method for defining intervals so that some quantity represented by values of another attribute is equally distributed among the classes. An example is dividing a set of geographic regions into classes according to the values of the attribute “Birth rate” so that the classes have approximately equal total values of the attribute “Population” or “Arable land area”. This kind of classification supports exploratory analysis of relationships between the attribute used for the classification and the distribution of the phenomenon whose quantity is represented by the additional attribute. The approach may be especially useful when the distribution of the phenomenon is very unequal, with many data items having zero or low quantities and quite a few items having larger quantities. With such a distribution, standard statistical analysis of the relationships may be problematic. We demonstrate the potential of the approach by analysing data referring to a set of spatially distributed people (patients) in relationship to characteristics of the areas in which the people live.

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Additional Info
Field Value
Creator Andrienko, Gennady gennady.andrienko@iais.fraunhofer.de
Creator Andrienko, Natalia
Creator Kureshi, Ibad
Creator Lee, Kieran
Creator Smith, Ian
Creator Staykova, Toni
DOI https://doi.org/10.1080/23729333.2020.1863000
Group Sustainable Cities for Citizens
Publisher International Journal of Cartography
Source International Journal of Cartography Volume 7, 2021 - Issue 1 P100-115
Thematic Cluster Visual Analytics [VA]
system:type JournalArticle
Management Info
Field Value
Author Wright Joanna
Maintainer Gennady Andrienko
Version 1
Last Updated 7 September 2023, 18:08 (CEST)
Created 15 February 2021, 14:06 (CET)