Carol A. Gotway - Böcker

While mapped data provide a common ground for discussions between the public, the media, regulatory agencies, and public health researchers, the analysis of spatially referenced data has experienced a phenomenal growth over the last two decades, thanks in part to the development of geographical information systems (GISs). This is the first thorough overview to integrate spatial statistics with data management and the display capabilities of GIS. It describes methods for assessing the likelihood of observed patterns and quantifying the link between exposures and outcomes in spatially correlated data.This introductory text is designed to serve as both an introduction for the novice and a reference for practitioners in the fieldRequires only minimal background in public health and only some knowledge of statistics through multiple regressionTouches upon some advanced topics, such as random effects, hierarchical models and spatial point processes, but does not require prior exposureIncludes lavish use of figures/illustrations throughout the volume as well as analyses of several data sets (in the form of "data breaks")Exercises based on data analyses reinforce concepts

Understanding spatial statistics requires tools from applied and mathematical statistics, linear model theory, regression, time series, and stochastic processes. It also requires a mindset that focuses on the unique characteristics of spatial data and the development of specialized analytical tools designed explicitly for spatial data analysis. Statistical Methods for Spatial Data Analysis answers the demand for a text that incorporates all of these factors by presenting a balanced exposition that explores both the theoretical foundations of the field of spatial statistics as well as practical methods for the analysis of spatial data.This book is a comprehensive and illustrative treatment of basic statistical theory and methods for spatial data analysis, employing a model-based and frequentist approach that emphasizes the spatial domain. It introduces essential tools and approaches including: measures of autocorrelation and their role in data analysis; the background and theoretical framework supporting random fields; the analysis of mapped spatial point patterns; estimation and modeling of the covariance function and semivariogram; a comprehensive treatment of spatial analysis in the spectral domain; and spatial prediction and kriging. The volume also delivers a thorough analysis of spatial regression, providing a detailed development of linear models with uncorrelated errors, linear models with spatially-correlated errors and generalized linear mixed models for spatial data. It succinctly discusses Bayesian hierarchical models and concludes with reviews on simulating random fields, non-stationary covariance, and spatio-temporal processes.Additional material on the CRC Press website supplements the content of this book. The site provides data sets used as examples in the text, software code that can be used to implement many of the principal methods described and illustrated, and updates to the text itself.