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Accuracy and repeatability of commercial geocoding.

Eric A Whitsel1, Kathryn M Rose, Joy L Wood

  • 1Department of Medicine, School of Medicine, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC 27514, USA. ewhitsel@email.unc.edu

American Journal of Epidemiology
|November 4, 2004
PubMed
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Commercial geocoding accuracy and repeatability were evaluated for vendor selection. Vendor A showed high repeatability, while Vendor B had higher match rates but lower accuracy in geocoding addresses for health studies.

Area of Science:

  • Environmental Epidemiology
  • Geographic Information Systems (GIS)
  • Public Health Research

Background:

  • Accurate geocoding of residential addresses is crucial for environmental exposure assessment in epidemiological studies.
  • Commercial geocoding services offer a potential solution for large-scale address geocoding, but their performance varies.
  • Vendor selection requires objective criteria to ensure data quality for studies like the Life Course Socioeconomic Status, Social Context and Cardiovascular Disease study.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To estimate the accuracy and repeatability of commercial geocoding services.
  • To provide data-driven recommendations for selecting geocoding vendors in health research.
  • To assess geocoding performance using multiple metrics including match rates, discordance, and coordinate precision.

Related Experiment Videos

Main Methods:

  • Submitted participant addresses (n=1,032) and air pollution monitor addresses (n=75) to two commercial geocoding vendors (A and B).
  • Assessed repeatability by re-submitting addresses and measuring agreement, discordance, distance, and bearing between geocodes.
  • Evaluated accuracy by comparing vendor-assigned geocodes against US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)-assigned geocodes for monitor locations.

Main Results:

  • Vendor A demonstrated high geocoding repeatability (kappa=0.90, <1m median distance).
  • Vendor B had a higher match rate (88% vs. 76%) but exhibited significantly greater discordance at multiple geographic levels (census block group, tract, county).
  • Vendor B's geocodes were less accurate, with greater median distance (212m vs. 149m) and bearing differences from EPA data.

Conclusions:

  • Geocoding match rates alone are insufficient for vendor selection; accuracy and repeatability are critical metrics.
  • The study provides evidence supporting the use of specific performance indicators for choosing commercial geocoding vendors in health research.
  • Careful vendor evaluation using accuracy and repeatability measures is essential for reliable exposure assessment in epidemiological studies.