NCJ Number
62494
Journal
Evaluation and Program Planning Volume: 2 Issue: 2 Dated: (1979) Pages: 119-126
Date Published
1979
Length
8 pages
Annotation
THREE TECHNIQUES--GEOCODE ANALYSIS, TREND SURFACE ANALYSIS, AND SOCIAL AREA ANALYSIS--ARE PRESENTED FOR ANALYZING GEOGRAPHIC DATA. THEIR USES IN EVALUATION ARE DISCUSSED.
Abstract
THESE TECHNIQUES WHICH CAN ENABLE EVALUATORS TO BETTER ANALYZE AND PRESENT DATA IN EVALUATION STUDIES, INVOLVE THE ASSIGNMENT OF GEOGRAPHIC LOCATIONS TO EACH PIECE OF DATA. EVALUATORS CAN THEN PLOT THE DATA ON GEOGRAPHIC MAPS AND EXAMINE SPATIAL RELATIONSHIPS. SUBSEQUENT ANALYSIS PROCEDURES ALLOW THE STUDY OF RELATIONSHIPS BETWEEN SPECIFIC REGIONS DISPLAYED ON THESE MAPS. GEOCODE ANALYSIS IS A TECHNIQUE DEVELOPED IN THE FIELD OF GEOGRAPHY FOR DISPLAYING AND ANALYZING GEOGRAPHICALLY RELATED INFORMATION, SUCH AS THE DISTRIBUTION OF MINORITY CHILDREN WITHIN SCHOOL DISTRICT BOUNDARIES. IT USES THE INDIVIDUAL AS THE UNIT OF ANALYSIS AND AGGREGATES INDIVIDUAL DATA OVER GEOGRAPHIC AREAS. TREND SURFACE ANALYSIS DIFFERS FROM GEOCODE ANALYSIS BY USING STATISTICAL ESTIMATES (E.G., POLYNOMIAL MODELING) TO DESCRIBE AGGREGATED DATA. IT IS LESS COSTLY THAN GEOCODE ANALYSIS BUT PROVIDES LESS DETAILED INFORMATION. SOCIAL AREA ANALYSIS IS CONCERNED WITH THE STUDY OF RELATIONSHIPS BETWEEN GROUPS OF INDIVIDUALS AND THEIR ENVIRONMENTS; IT STUDIES GROUPS AS ORGANIZED WHOLES, DETERMINES DEMOGRAPHIC CHARACTERISTICS WHICH DIFFERENTIATE SUBPOPULATIONS, AND IS APPROPRIATE FOR ANY EVALUATION OF MAJOR RELATIONSHIPS BETWEEN GROUPS AND GEOGRAPHIC AREAS. ALL THREE PROCEDURES REQUIRE SOPHISTICATED COMPUTER FACILITIES. REFERENCES AND AN APPENDIX ARE INCLUDED.