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SMOOTHING GEOGRAPHICAL DATA, PARTICULARLY RATES OF DISEASE
Author(s) -
KAFADAR KAREN
Publication year - 1996
Publication title -
statistics in medicine
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.996
H-Index - 183
eISSN - 1097-0258
pISSN - 0277-6715
DOI - 10.1002/(sici)1097-0258(19961215)15:23<2539::aid-sim379>3.0.co;2-b
Subject(s) - smoothing , inference , computer science , econometrics , statistics , data mining , artificial intelligence , mathematics
This paper proposes a linear smoother for geographically‐defined data that consist of standardized rates (for example, adjusted for age). The smoother is viewed as a special case of one that applies to data in the form of ratios, and situations are described under which such a smoother can and cannot be useful. Its application to mortality rates due to prostate cancer in both whites and non‐whites demonstrates its potential to highlight features in the data that might otherwise remain obscure. Some open questions concerning inference of apparent trends are discussed.