Extensions > Tracking Analyst > Charting temporal data
About charting temporal data |
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Release 9.3
Last modified April 24, 2009 |
Print all topics in : "Charting temporal data" |
Note:
This topic was updated for 9.3.1.
When you view data in its attribute table, and even when you display it using the Playback Manager, you can't always delineate patterns to the data. That's why charting data is an important way to help you analyze temporal data. Charts, such as the Tracking Analyst data clock, help you view temporal patterns in your data.
Imagine you have a dataset showing the occurrences of violent crime in a certain neighborhood over the last three months. The tabular data may give you specific times and places, and the Playback Manager may allow you to display the events in sequence. The data clock, however, can indicate a dramatic increase in crime observations, or hits, between 9:00 p.m. and 11:00 p.m. on weekends, for example. This pattern may not be apparent using other methods of data analysis.
The Data Clock Chart
The Tracking Analyst Create Data Clock Wizard produces a circular chart, which is a table divided into cells and arranged around a center point. The cells are created using concentric lines, or rings, from the center of the chart outward. These rings are intersected by lines coming out from the center, like spokes in a wheel, which divide the chart into wedges.
These cells represent units of time you want to set using the Create Data Clock Wizard. The first unit of each option in the charting method drop-down list represents the division of the concentric rings, and the second unit represents the wedges. For example, the Data Clock Chart shown above uses the 'Months of Year' by 'Days of Month' charting method option. This option divides and labels the rings by month, and it further divides the wedges into numerical dates.
Learn how to use the data clock
Data summary methods
Unlike other types of charts, such as bar graphs, the data clock allows you to modify the summary method for the data before displaying it. You can use the Choose summary method to create data clock drop-down list to define the data clock by days of the week, hours of the day, or another option.
This flexibility allows you to interact with your data, dividing it into different classifications to effectively illustrate certain temporal patterns in the data. For example, you may want to emphasize an increase in observations on a certain day of the week, a certain day of the month, or a certain time of the day. Use the charting method that most clearly shows the pattern you want to emphasize.
Legend settings
The Create Data Clock Wizard allows you to define how you want the legend to appear on the data clock, specifying the number of classes, the colors used, and the display and placement of the legend itself.
Data Clock Manager
Tracking Analyst provides the Data Clock Manager, which helps you keep track of multiple data clock charts you have created. With the manager, you can remove, rename, and edit data clocks you have already created.
Learn how to use Data Clock Manager