Data Analysis
World Map: Historic Data
The World Map is located under the Data Analysis option on the Main Menu of IFs.
http://www.du.edu/ifs/help/use-online/data/worldmap.html
The main function of the World Map is to display data in a visually dramatic format. Instead of representing country-related forecasts as lines in a graph, or columns in a table, the user is able to view the forecasts as shades of color imposed on a map of the world.
The main features of this option are located at the bottom of the screen which allows users to change the data set that is being displayed. Be sure to click the Refresh Map button after making any changes.
- Use Continue button to exit and return to the IFs Main Menu.
- Data availability statistics and source information of each data series are available from the Data Information button.
- The default data table that is available is TimeSeries, a broad group that contains most longitudinal data series in IFs. By clicking the Data Table drop-down menu, users can select from different data sets. These sets then correspond with a larger list of variables displayed in the Data Field list box.
- Below the Data Table option is the Dimension of Variable which allows users to change the year being displayed. Options include individual years, earliest year available for each country and most recent year available for each country.
- Boxes labeled Display Type and Number of Categories allow users to customize the map display. The default display type is set to Equal Interval, which divides the total range of values into the number of categories specified. The alternative categorization, Equal Count, displays an equal amount of responses in each category. For any data display option, users can create up to 7 distinct categories for display.
- Another input box, Color, determines the shading color in which data is displayed.
- Finally, by selecting the Projection option at the very bottom of the page, users are able to toggle between multiple global cartographic projections.
Some final features of the map are located inside the map display.
- The map legend is located to the left of the map. It displays the data points that delineate the different display categories.
- To move around the map, use the arrow buttons located to the right of the map; to reset the view, click the button at the center of the arrow buttons; zoom in or out using the plus/minus bar.
- Hovering over each country in the map displays the associated value of the data set, and left clicking on the map allows users to view either a detailed map of the country or a table of the data values by year.
Analyze Across Countries (Cross-Sectional Analysis)
From the Main Menu, an option under Data Analysis provides users with the ability to examine the relationship between historical variables. From the Data Analysis menu, select Analyze Across Countries (Cross-Sectional) to reach the screen displayed below.
http://www.du.edu/ifs/help/use-online/data/crosssectional/index.html
To do a cross-sectional analysis, specify a dependent variable (a variable you want to understand the causes of) and one or more independent variables (the possible causes of change in the dependent variable). By convention, the dependent variable appears on the y-axis and the independent variable appears on the x-axis on a graph. To select a dependent variable first, scroll through the alphabetized variable list and left-click on any variable in which a user might be interested. Click Select to choose that variable. Users can also type a variable name in the simple text search box directly above the list, which filters series by prefix. Alternatively, there is a more sophisticated search feature available through the Search button at the bottom of the screen. From the search screen, a search on "female", for example, would find all results that contain the word, anywhere in the variable name or description. After selecting a dependent variable, either from the variable list or from the search form, a drop-down list will appear, specifying the year to be displayed. A cross-sectional display includes data for a single year, earliest available or most recent available for each country. The process described here is also used to assign independent variables. To reassign any variable, select the corresponding option button and simply load the new series.
As a demonstration, plot a cross-sectional relationship between female education and reproduction rates. For the dependent variable choose total fertility rates, by selecting TFR from the list of variables. Left-click the variable and two options will appear: Select and Data Information. Click Select to choose that variable. The latter provides detailed information about the scope, availability and source of the data set. The ensuing drop-down list determines the year for which data will be displayed. For this example, choose 2010. Notice that TFR(2010) is then shown as the Dependent Variable. Next, choose an Independent Variable, the level of adult female education, by selecting EdYearsAge15Female for the same year. Click the Plot button to generate the graph displayed below.
http://www.du.edu/ifs/help/use-online/data/crosssectional/index.html
To learn how to use various features on the scatter plot, click here.