ABSTRACT
In this chapter, a variety of methods for exploring the configuration of point events are outlined. The chapter first discusses some key principles and commonly used approaches are then detailed. Global summaries (e.g., the K function) are outlined first to provide a context for local approaches. In Section 8.3, intensity estimation and distance methods are defined. Section 8.4 is concerned with statistical tests of point patterns. Sections 8.5 through 8.8 focus on global summaries of point pattern structure. Local measures of point pattern intensity are discussed in Sections 8.9 through 8.11, while a local measure of point pattern structure is discussed in Section 8.12. Section 8.13 deals with the identification of clusters or clustering. The application of selected methods is illustrated in the text using the point data described in Section 1.8.3.
