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Match rate and positional accuracy of two geocoding methods for epidemiologic research.
F Benjamin Zhan1, Jean D Brender, Ionara De Lima
1Department of Geography, Texas Center for Geographic Information Science, Texas State University, San Marcos, TX 78666, USA. zhan@txstate.edu
Annals of Epidemiology
|October 10, 2006
Summary
The Centrus GeoCoder achieved a higher match rate and better positional accuracy than ArcGIS 9.1 for geocoding addresses. Both methods showed similar performance in proximity analysis for environmental exposure assessment.
Area of Science:
- Geographic Information Systems (GIS)
- Spatial Epidemiology
- Environmental Health
Background:
- Accurate geocoding is crucial for spatial epidemiology and environmental health studies.
- Comparing geocoding tools is essential for optimizing data accuracy and research outcomes.
Purpose of the Study:
- To compare the match rate and positional accuracy of Centrus GeoCoder and ArcGIS 9.1 geocoding tools.
- To evaluate the performance of these geocoding methods in classifying proximity to environmental hazards.
Main Methods:
- Geocoded 11,016 Texas addresses using both Centrus GeoCoder and ArcGIS 9.1.
- Validated geocoded locations against Global Positioning System (GPS) coordinates for 200 addresses.
- Calculated positional errors and assessed sensitivity/specificity for exposure classification.
Main Results:
- Centrus GeoCoder demonstrated over 10% higher match rate compared to ArcGIS 9.1.
- Centrus GeoCoder exhibited statistically significant lower positional errors.
- Both methods yielded similar sensitivity and specificity for classifying proximity to toxic release inventory facilities.
Conclusions:
- Centrus GeoCoder offers superior match rates and positional accuracy for geocoding.
- Despite accuracy differences, both geocoding tools provide comparable results for environmental exposure assessment based on distance.
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