Classification Methods
These classification methods are used to create classified maps and to create custom continuous color schemes.
In the case of the classified color, width, or size mode, these methods determine how to assign observations to classes. In the case of the continuous color mode, these methods determine how to assign observations to classes.
SpaceStat offers several ways to classify your data.
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Classification |
Description |
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Equal Interval |
This method divides the values into four classes, for example, by dividing the range of the data (max-min) by 4 and creating the classes to be 1/4 of the range, 1/4-1/2 of the range, 1/2-3/4 of the range, and 3/4-4/4 of the range. |
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Quantile (unique values) |
This method divides the values into a set number of classes (4 = quartiles, 5 = quintiles...). This creates uneven distances between class borders but an equal number of unique values within each class. Note, for space-time datasets, the final number of regions in each class may not be the same, because the quantiles are applied over the entire temporal range of the dataset. |
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Optimizes the breaks between classes for a given number of classes. This method compares the within-class to the between-class sum of squares error to optimize class membership. |
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Custom |
When you change the maximum and minimum values for the classification by typing in new class breaks, the classification method reverts to Custom. |